Wireless Networks

WiGLE (Wireless Geographic Logging Engine) is the world's largest public database of wireless network information, containing over a billion entries for WiFi networks and cellular base stations collected through wardriving and mobile device surveys. It provides a searchable map interface and API for locating networks by SSID, BSSID (MAC address), or geographic area.

For OSINT investigators, WiGLE is a powerful location intelligence resource with several distinct applications. First, MAC address geolocation: WiFi access points have unique MAC addresses (BSSIDs) that WiGLE may have recorded with GPS coordinates from a wardriving survey. If a BSSID appears in network logs, device settings, or technical records from an investigation, WiGLE can potentially place that access point at a specific location.

Device location inference: When a device's WiFi probe history includes BSSIDs (networks it has previously connected to), those BSSIDs can be looked up in WiGLE to identify the physical locations where the device has operated. This technique requires access to the device's WiFi scan history — available from certain forensic artifacts — and can reconstruct a location history without requiring GPS data.

Network naming analysis: Custom SSID names frequently contain personal information — last names, pet names, addresses, or business names. WiGLE's searchable SSID database allows investigators to search for networks with specific naming patterns, which can be combined with geographic filtering to identify networks likely associated with a specific individual or organization.

Corporate and organizational WiFi network mapping: Searching for SSIDs associated with a target organization reveals the geographic distribution of their wireless infrastructure, identifying office locations, remote facilities, and even mobile WiFi hotspots associated with company vehicles.

Record BSSIDs queried, reported coordinates, survey dates, and WiGLE record IDs for investigative documentation.