Cyber Security

In today’s digital age, people needs to maximizing technology to dig up a lot of useful information. For example, you want to know how to open a business, develop an organization, find functional tools for professional purposes, to learn about several cyberthreats so that you can prevent and avoid the high risk of cyber attacks.  This practice aids in maintaining a robust security posture for organizations.

Understanding digital tools such as Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), allows us to have a lot of insight and a broad understanding of many types of topics. In this article, we’ll explore best practices for security analysts to effectively leverage open source intelligence.

What is Open-Source Intelligence?

Open source intelligence is the technique of a technology to collect a lot of information and data from various sources on the internet. In cybersecurity, using Open source intelligence is crucial because security analysts can have a knowledge about the cybersecurity threat landscape and make informed decisions on how to protect their organisation’s digital assets.

Why is OSINT important?

Open source intelligence provides many benefits and saves you a lot of time to research on a particular topic. In addition, it can serve as a tool for your organization to operate properly and securely in the long run.

Discovering public-facing assets

The first step in leveraging open source intelligence is discovering public-facing assets. These are the resources or data about an organisation that is publicly accessible, such as websites, IP addresses, social media profiles, and domain names. By identifying these assets, security analysts can assess potential vulnerabilities that attackers might exploit. For example, publicly available employee information or company infrastructure can become targets for cybercriminals. Therefore, discovering and analysing these assets is a critical aspect of safeguarding an organisation.

Collate discovered information into an actionable form

Once public-facing assets are identified, the next step is to collate the gathered information into an actionable form. This involves organising the data into categories, such as threats, vulnerabilities management, and potential attack vectors. By doing this, analysts can identify patterns or areas of concern that need further investigation. Organising the information also helps in prioritising security measures, so the most critical threats are addressed first. The goal is to transform raw data into insights that can be used to strengthen the organisation’s security measures and protect against cyberattacks.

Discover relevant information outside the organisation

Studying competitors as one of the rivals of our organization can make us look for ways to excel and maximize the organization. For example, the advantages of competitors who work in the same field as our organization can be a new idea or innovation that can be applied in the internal organization. In addition, the information can help security analysts understand the broader threat landscape and anticipate potential risks. By monitoring external factors, analysts can detect emerging threats and vulnerabilities before they impact their organization. This proactive approach to OSINT helps build a comprehensive security strategy that addresses both internal and external risks.

How does open-source intelligence (OSINT) work?

The way open source intelligence works is to collect data from credible sources from the internet. It crawls the sources that are considered to provide the most relevant, direct, and clear answers to users who use open source intelligence. The sources taken can come from various platforms such as social media, search engines, news, databases, and websites. By continuously monitoring open sources, security teams can stay ahead of potential attacks and safeguard their organization’s data.

Why Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT)?

Doing research on a certain topic that you need usually takes a lot of time because you have to analyze whether the source is credible or not. However, open source intelligence can provide an effective and efficient solution because you can find information that you think is credible and save your time for gathering many informations. In addition, the meaningful data you are looking for is unlimited. By gathering open data for your organization, analysts can uncover potential risks, track criminal activities, or identify malicious actors targeting an organization. Therefore, using open source intelligence properly will have a good impact on your organization.

Common OSINT techniques

Social Media

Apart from being a platform for communication, social media also provides many benefits because it can also be an informative platform. You can monitor many events, organizations, and other competitors by using social media. Therefore, it can detect potential threats or identify trends that indicate security risks like social media phising.

Search Engines

Search engines are very popular tools because users can find a lot of information in a simple and fast way. Using advanced search operators and filters, analysts can find data about organizations, individuals, and potential security risks like search engines phising. Search engines also provide access to hidden websites, such as those on the deep web, which may contain important information for cybersecurity analysis.

News Sources

News provides a lot of information from various topics or events that are happening at a certain time, making users aware of various issues in global events to cybersecurity trends that are increasingly developing. By gathering data information through news, it means that users are always up to date on the development of cyber attackers and can become an awareness in order to keep the network system secure.

Public Records

Public records hold a variety of sensitive data that is so important that it is sometimes valuable information for some agencies. Analyzing such data and collecting data through open source intelligence can help with many things such as tracking ownership information, contact details, and so on. 

Data Analysis Tools

Data analysis tools help security analysts process large volumes of data quickly and efficiently. These tools are essential for sorting, filtering, and visualising open-source data. By using these tools, analysts can identify trends, anomalies, and security risks that may not be immediately apparent. Some popular data analysis tools include spreadsheets, databases, and specialised open source intelligence software.

Web Scraping

Web scraping uses software to extract data from websites. This automated process significantly speeds up information gathering compared to manual methods. Scrapers navigate websites, identify relevant data (text, images, links), and store it in a structured format. Popular programming languages like Python, with libraries such as Beautiful Soup and Scrapy, are frequently used for web scraping.

Top OSINT tools

Here are some credible open source intelligence tools that you can operate with.

Maltego

Handling an organization with many platforms and many users requires clear and structured data analysis for the smooth running of the team. In doing data visualization analysis, especially in organizations that run businesses, maltego is a popular tool for this problem. It can analyze the relationship between entities and mapping the complex networks so as to make your network system more secure.

Mitaka

Handling an organization with many platforms and many users requires clear and structured data analysis for the smooth running of the team. In doing data visualization analysis, especially in organizations that run businesses, maltego is a popular tool for this problem. It can analyze the relationship between entities and mapping the complex networks so as to make your network system more secure.

SpiderFoot

To dig up a lot of and detailed information, spiderfoot can be one of the best tool options because it is a tool for analyzing data and gathering data from many variations of sources. You will also potentially get clear reports on potential vulnerabilities that might attack your networks. Therefore, SpiderFoot is widely used for threat hunting and identifying security risks.

Spyse

Spyse is an open source intelligence tool that offers an extensive database of internet resources, including domains, IP addresses, and ASN data. Security analysts use Spyse to gather intelligence about websites, servers, and networks. The tool’s comprehensive database helps analysts track down security threats and identify vulnerable target.

BuiltWith

BuiltWith provides information on the technologies used by websites. It helps analysts determine which platforms, frameworks, and services a website uses, which can be useful for identifying vulnerabilities in the website’s architecture. BuiltWith also allows analysts to track potential targets for cyberattacks.

Intelligence X

Intelligence X is an open source intelligence tool that aggregates data from the deep web, darknet, and public records. It helps analysts track down sensitive information, such as leaked credentials, stolen data, and personal information. Intelligence X is used by security teams to identify data breaches and potential cyber threats.

DarkSearch.io

DarkSearch.io is a search engine designed for exploring the dark web. It provides analysts with access to hidden websites, forums, and marketplaces where cybercriminals exchange stolen data or plan attacks. DarkSearch.io is an essential tool for security teams focused on monitoring cybercrime activities.

Grep.app

Sometimes, sensitive information or code vulnerabilities are things that the team needs to know to keep the organization more secure but the information is very difficult to find. Therefore, the greep app analyzes public data repositories that contain sensitive information and is usually used to uncover exposed credentials, security flaws, or other potential risks.

Recon-ng

Recon-ng is also a tool that analyzes and collects open source data that has a large range, allowing you to get useful and informative information for organizational needs. Recon-ng is widely used in penetration testing and threat intelligence.

theHarvester

TheHarvester is a tool that aims to provide important information about email addresses, IP addresses, and domain names. This will be very helpful and useful during penetration testing and provide precise and fast analysis of information about their targets. 

Shodan

Shodan is really beneficial for organisation to discover internet-connected devices and services. It provides detailed information about servers, routers, webcams, and other devices connected to the internet. Moreover, Shodan helps analysts identify vulnerable devices that could be targeted in cyberattacks.

Metagoofil

Metagoofil is a tool used for gathering metadata from publicly available documents. It extracts information from files like PDFs, Word documents, and presentations, revealing hidden data such as author names, software versions, and file paths.

Searchcode

Searchcode is an OSINT tool that allows analysts to search through open-source code repositories for sensitive information or vulnerabilities. It helps security teams detect exposed API keys, passwords, and other credentials in public code.

Babel X

Babel X is an OSINT tool used for linguistic analysis and geolocation. It helps analysts determine the geographical origin of online activity or track down individuals based on their language use. Babel X is particularly useful in threat intelligence to monitor international cybercrime.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Open-source intelligence is a vital component of modern cybersecurity strategies. By leveraging OSINT, security analysts can proactively identify vulnerabilities, track emerging threats, and safeguard their organisations. Whether it’s using social media, search engines, or specialised OSINT tools, gathering open-source data is a cost-effective and efficient way to stay ahead of cyber threats.