Espen Ringstad is the Chief Tradecraft Officer at SockPuppet, where he leads the development and innovation of digital identity methodologies and technologies for covert online investigations. With nearly two decades of experience in open-source intelligence, investigations, and digital identity operations, he focuses on advancing how online investigative techniques are designed, refined, and deployed at scale.

Espen’s career spans government, corporate, and private intelligence work, where he has supported investigative, analytical, and training initiatives across multiple sectors. He also co-founded Kase Scenarios, an immersive OSINT training platform, and contributed to The OSINT Curious Project, helping shape the broader professional community around open-source intelligence. In addition, he has served as technical editor for two books on OSINT, providing subject-matter review on investigative accuracy and methodology.

At SockPuppet, Espen focuses on building realistic, resilient digital identities and the operational frameworks that support them. His work helps organizations strengthen covert collection capabilities, enhance attribution management, and conduct online investigations with precision and security.