The Hidden Post
🔍 Details
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Challenge Name | The Hidden Post |
| Category | OSINT |
| Difficulty | 🟢 Easy |
| Flag | F4H{bAlOnsYAAp**********} |
📝 Description
A mysterious user, HumorBrave1641, has posted something important on a popular discussion platform.
Your mission is to track them down and retrieve the hidden flag.
🧩 Hints
- A famous detective once said, "The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes." There’s a tool named after him that specializes in tracking usernames across multiple websites.
- Use tool called sherlock to hunt the user. Just a reminder, you are looking for a global discussion platform.
💡 Solution
This OSINT challenge involves tracking down a username across platforms using a tool called Sherlock.
- Open a terminal and run:
sherlock HumorBrave1641 - The tool will scan many websites and return any matches where that username exists.
- Among the results, you will find a link to Reddit, where the user has a post containing the hidden flag.
- Visit the Reddit profile or post and retrieve the flag from the content.
📚 Insights
This challenge demonstrates a real-world OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) technique — searching for a username to discover online activity.
- Username correlation is often used in investigations to link accounts across platforms.
- Tools like Sherlock automate this process, saving time and improving coverage.
- Many users reuse usernames across services, which can unintentionally expose information.
- OSINT skills are crucial in cybersecurity, CTFs, and threat intelligence.
By combining a public identifier (like a username) with freely available tools and platforms, you can uncover surprisingly detailed information.