What is file metadata?

Metadata gives information about its source, author and other important details, depending on its file type. Common examples include Last Modified By, Author, etc. Moreover, images often have a type of metadata called EXIF metadata. Often, it stores the make and model of the camera, the GPS location the photo was taken, the camera settings and more.

Why care?

People often forget to scrub the metadata when transmitting these photos, maybe even you! Such (hopefully imaginary) people often exist in CTF challenges as a target to track. By using EXIF data, the easiest OSINT questions can be answered about the target.

How to extract it?

• We recommend the tool exifmeta.com for your simple EXIF data needs.
• Another alternative tool is exiv2.