You lead a small IT team tasked with keeping your employer’s network and software up and running. Although cybersecurity is not your area of expertise, you are still responsible for it as the head of IT. So here is a question for you: do you know what an OSINT investigation platform is? Do you know what it actually does?
OSINT investigation platforms are relatively new to the cybersecurity landscape. While the concept of threat intelligence has been around for a while, it was not until recently that platform providers like DarkOwl emerged to lead the charge against cybercrime.
One of the many tools they are known for is the OSINT investigation platform. As organizations are learning about these platforms and what they do, adoption is growing. But adoption is not as widespread as it could be.
OSINT and Intelligence Gathering
Security analysts have figured out over the years that intelligence gathering is vital to what they do. They no longer wait around until attacks are launched before learning about their adversaries. Instead, they go out looking for information in much the same way undercover detectives gather evidence in a criminal investigation.
As for OSINT, it stands for ‘open-source intelligence’. OSINT investigations gather intelligence information from publicly available sources. On the traditional internet, this means social media sites, forums, websites, etc.
Those same types of sites exist on the dark web. And in fact, information harvested from the dark web often proves invaluable in stopping threat actors. Therefore, an OSINT investigation platform will almost always include tools for investigating and monitoring the dark web.
Specific Platform Tasks
Let’s move from the conceptual into the practical by discussing specific tasks OSINT platforms are capable of. Consider the following:
1. Data Collection and Aggregation
Investigation platforms automate data collection on a massive scale. Data is aggregated from virtually any and all publicly available resources. Aggregation results in data being brought together in a centralized environment.
2. Processing and Normalization
Platforms are also tasked with processing data to cleanse and normalize it. Duplicate data is removed. Non-standard data is converted to standardized formats. Metadata is organized for easier analysis.
3. Analysis and Correlation
Processed data is then analyzed to develop patterns, connections, and relationships. Those relationships facilitate correlations between cyber criminals, hacker groups, known threats, past incidents, and more. The more thorough the correlations, the more thorough an analyst’s understanding of emerging threats.
4. Risk and Threat Identification
Next, the OSINT investigation platform leverages data analysis and correlation to identify both risks and threats. Suspicious activities and behaviors are monitored. Any indicators of compromised data trigger alerts. The platform brings previously unrecognized threats to the surface so security teams can respond.
5. Reporting
Reporting is a big part of threat intelligence investigations. Reports presented through visual dashboards cut through the noise, thereby allowing analysts to make quick but informed decisions.
6. Real Time Monitoring
Perhaps most important of all is an OSINT investigation platform’s ability to conduct real-time monitoring. Two things are monitored: the organization’s cybersecurity posture and dark web activity. Around-the-clock monitoring guarantees that emerging threats are not overlooked even among the smallest security teams with limited physical resources.
Threat intelligence is a normal part of modern cybersecurity. For organizations like DarkOwl, OSINT makes all the difference in the world. They develop OSINT investigation platforms that make use of all available information – including what is available on the dark web.
OSINT may not be fully reliable all on its own, but when combined with other intelligence sources and the right tools, it completes an organization’s security posture.