Open Source Investigative Intelligence
Open Source Investigative Intelligence (OSINT) in cybersecurity refers to the practice of collecting and analyzing information from publicly available sources to identify and assess potential threats. This information can support various security functions, such as threat intelligence, vulnerability research, incident response, and brand protection.
Here's a breakdown of key aspects of OSINT in cybersecurity:
Sources:
Publicly accessible websites: Search engines, social media, news sites, blogs, forums, code repositories, and dark web resources.
Specialized databases: Domain registration records (WHOIS), IP address information, and vulnerability databases.
Public records: Government filings, company registries, and legal documents.
Techniques:
Search engine optimization (SEO): Using advanced search operators and techniques to find relevant information.
Social media analysis: Monitoring social media platforms for mentions of your organization, employees, or brands.
Dark web monitoring: Using specialized tools to access and monitor dark web forums and marketplaces.
Data mining and analysis: Extracting and analyzing large datasets to identify patterns and trends.
Applications in Cybersecurity:
Threat intelligence: Identifying emerging threats, threat actors, and their tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs).
Vulnerability research: Discovering new vulnerabilities and assessing the risk they pose to your organization.
Incident response: Gathering information about an ongoing attack to understand its scope and impact.
Brand protection: Monitoring for brand impersonation, phishing attacks, and other threats to your brand's reputation.
Phishing Investigations: Identifying the source of phishing attacks and gathering information about the attackers.
Network security: Mapping your organization's external attack surface and identifying potential vulnerabilities.
Benefits:
Cost-effective: OSINT leverages publicly available information, reducing the need for expensive commercial tools.
Wide range of sources: Provides access to vast information that may not be available through other means.
Early warning: Can help identify potential threats before they materialize into attacks.
Challenges:
Information overload: Sifting through large volumes of data to find relevant information can be time-consuming.
Data accuracy: Ensuring the accuracy and reliability of information from open sources is crucial.
Legal and ethical considerations: It's important to respect privacy and adhere to legal regulations when collecting and using OSINT.
By effectively leveraging OSINT, cybersecurity professionals can gain valuable insights into the threat landscape, identify vulnerabilities, and proactively defend their organizations against attacks.
ThreatNG, as an External Attack Surface Management (EASM) and Digital Risk Protection (DRP) solution, offers a variety of features that can be leveraged for conducting Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) investigations in the context of cybersecurity. Here's how ThreatNG can help:
1. External Discovery and Assessment:
Wide-ranging Discovery: ThreatNG automatically discovers and maps an organization's entire public-facing attack surface, including subdomains, IP addresses, cloud services, code repositories, and even mobile apps. This comprehensive view is essential for OSINT investigations, providing a complete picture of the organization's digital footprint.
In-depth Assessments: ThreatNG goes beyond fundamental discovery to assess the security posture of discovered assets. It provides various risk scores like "BEC & Phishing Susceptibility," "Brand Damage Susceptibility," and "Data Leak Susceptibility," which are derived from analyzing multiple factors like domain intelligence, dark web presence, and sentiment analysis. These assessments provide valuable context for OSINT investigations, helping prioritize areas of concern.
Real-time Updates: ThreatNG continuously monitors the discovered assets for any changes or suspicious activity. This ensures that the OSINT investigation always uses the latest information, reducing the risk of acting on outdated data.
Example: If a new phishing site impersonating the organization appears, ThreatNG will immediately detect it and alert the security team, allowing for prompt investigation and takedown.
Deep Dives: ThreatNG offers specialized investigation modules that provide detailed information about specific aspects of the organization's digital presence:
Domain Intelligence: Provides comprehensive analysis of domain names, DNS records, email configurations, and SSL certificates.
Sensitive Code Exposure: Scans code repositories for exposed credentials, API keys, and sensitive information.
Dark Web Presence: Monitors dark web forums and marketplaces for mentions of the organization, leaked credentials, and other threats.
Social Media: Analyzes social media posts from the organization, including content, hashtags, and links.
Archived Web Pages: Provides access to archived versions of the organization's website and related content, revealing historical information that might no longer be publicly available.
Example: ThreatNG's "IP Intelligence" module provides detailed information about IP addresses associated with the organization, including geolocation, ASN, and whether they are shared with other organizations. This can be useful for identifying potential connections between different entities and uncovering hidden infrastructure.
Contextual Information: ThreatNG maintains various intelligence repositories that provide valuable context for OSINT investigations:
Ransomware Events and Groups: Helps identify if ransomware attacks have targeted the organization.
Compromised Credentials: Provides information about leaked credentials that could be used to compromise the organization's systems.
Known Vulnerabilities: Helps assess the risk of known vulnerabilities in the organization's software and systems.
Example: If an OSINT investigation reveals a potential connection between the organization and a known threat actor, ThreatNG's intelligence repositories can provide additional information about the actor's TTPs and past activities, helping to assess the risk and develop mitigation strategies.
5. Reporting:
Organized Findings: ThreatNG's reporting capabilities help organize and present the findings of OSINT investigations clearly and concisely. This facilitates communication and collaboration among security teams and other stakeholders.
6. Complementary Solutions:
Integration: ThreatNG can integrate with other security tools, such as SIEMs and SOARs, to enhance its OSINT capabilities. For example, ThreatNG can feed its threat intelligence into a SIEM to correlate with other security events and provide a more comprehensive view of the threat landscape.
Example: If ThreatNG detects a suspicious domain connected to the organization, it can automatically trigger a SOAR playbook to gather additional information about the domain from external sources, such as VirusTotal or Shodan.
ThreatNG's comprehensive discovery, assessment, monitoring, and investigation capabilities, rich intelligence repositories, and integration with other security tools make it a valuable asset for conducting OSINT investigations in the context of cybersecurity. By providing a holistic view of the organization's external attack surface and digital risk posture, ThreatNG enables security professionals to identify and mitigate potential threats proactively.
