OSINT for Business: Leveraging Open Source Intelligence for Risk Assessment
Cybersaviours Team
Cybersecurity Expert
Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) is the practice of collecting and analyzing information from publicly available sources. While often associated with intelligence agencies, it is a powerful tool for corporate security.
Applications of Corporate OSINT
- Due Diligence: Investigating potential partners, acquisition targets, or executive hires beyond standard background checks.
- Brand Protection: Detecting phishing domains (typosquatting), fake social media profiles, and counterfeit products.
- Physical Security: Monitoring social media for threats against company executives, events, or facilities (e.g., protests, riots).
- Shadow IT Discovery: Finding company assets (servers, S3 buckets, code repositories) exposed to the internet that IT doesn't know about.
Methodology: The OSINT Cycle
1. Planning and Direction
Define the intelligence requirement. What question are we trying to answer? (e.g., "Is this vendor financially stable?" or "Has our source code been leaked?")
2. Collection
Gather raw data using tools and techniques:
- Search Engines: Advanced Google Dorking (e.g.,
site:target.com filetype:pdf "confidential"). - Social Media: Analyzing LinkedIn connections, Twitter sentiment, and geolocation data.
- Public Records: Business registries, patent filings, court records.
- DNS/Whois: Mapping network infrastructure.
3. Processing and Analysis
Filter out noise and verify the data. Correlate information from multiple sources to build a complete picture.
4. Dissemination
Present the findings in an actionable report. "We found X, which means Y risk to the business. We recommend Z action."
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