Surface Web OSINT
Surface Web OSINT refers to collecting and analyzing information that is freely available on the public internet, also known as the "surface web" or "clear web." This information can be accessed using standard web browsers and search engines without specialized tools or techniques.
Examples of Surface Web OSINT sources:
Search engines: Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo
Social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram
News websites and blogs: BBC, CNN, New York Times, TechCrunch
Company websites and online forums: Official websites, discussion forums, review sites
Public records and databases: Government websites, WHOIS records, court records
Dark web search engines: Shodan, Censys (for exposed devices and systems)
Applicability to Cybersecurity:
Surface Web OSINT plays a crucial role in various cybersecurity activities, including:
Threat intelligence: Identifying potential threats, vulnerabilities, and attack vectors by monitoring online chatter, hacker forums, and data leak websites.
Vulnerability research: Discovering publicly disclosed vulnerabilities and exploits related to specific software or systems.
Incident response: Gathering information about ongoing attacks, identifying affected systems, and understanding the attacker's tactics.
Security awareness training: Educating employees about social engineering techniques, phishing scams, and other online threats by demonstrating real-world examples.
Risk assessment: Evaluating the online exposure of an organization, its employees, and its assets to identify potential security risks.
Competitive intelligence: Monitoring competitors' online activities, product launches, and security practices.
Benefits of Surface Web OSINT for Cybersecurity:
Cost-effective: Most surface web sources are freely accessible, making OSINT a cost-effective way to gather intelligence.
Easy to access: No specialized tools or skills are required to access surface web information.
Wide range of information: The surface web contains vast information on various topics, making it a valuable source for intelligence gathering.
Real-time updates: Surface web sources are constantly updated, providing up-to-date information on emerging threats and vulnerabilities.
Limitations of Surface Web OSINT:
Information overload: The sheer volume of data on the surface of the web can make it challenging to find relevant information.
Misinformation and disinformation: Not all information on the surface web is accurate or reliable.
Limited scope: Surface web OSINT only provides access to publicly available information. More profound insights may require exploring the deep and dark web.
Surface Web OSINT is a valuable tool for cybersecurity professionals, providing a cost-effective and accessible way to gather intelligence, identify threats, and improve security posture. Organizations can effectively leverage surface web sources to enhance their cybersecurity defenses and stay ahead of emerging threats.
ThreatNG leverages Surface Web OSINT extensively within its Research and Development efforts to build and continuously evolve its intelligence repositories and enhance its discovery and assessment capabilities. Here's a breakdown of how they utilize it across their platform:
1. Fueling Intelligence Repositories:
Dark Web Monitoring: ThreatNG scours the surface web for indicators of dark web activity, like mentions on forums or paste sites, to enrich its dark web intelligence repository. This helps identify compromised credentials, data leaks, and ransomware group activities linked to their users.
Vulnerability Databases: They continuously scrape public vulnerability databases, security advisories, and exploit repositories to keep their vulnerability knowledge base up-to-date. This feeds into their risk scoring for various vulnerabilities (e.g., exposed sensitive ports).
ESG Violations: ThreatNG monitors news sites, press releases, and social media for reports on ESG violations, legal actions, and controversies. This information populates their ESG exposure and feeds into brand damage susceptibility assessments.
SEC Filings & Financial Data: Publicly available SEC filings, financial news, and press releases are analyzed to identify potential risks related to economic health, legal issues, and negative news sentiment. This data calculates brand damage, data leak, and BEC & Phishing susceptibility scores.
2. Enhancing Discovery and Assessment Capabilities:
Domain Intelligence: ThreatNG utilizes surface web data to enrich its domain intelligence module. This includes:
DNS Records: Identifying hosting providers, name servers, and other infrastructure details through WHOIS records and DNS enumeration.
SSL Certificates: Analyzing certificate information to identify misconfigurations, weak encryption, and potential vulnerabilities.
Subdomain Enumeration: Discovering subdomains through search engine scraping and DNS brute-forcing techniques to identify potential attack vectors like forgotten or misconfigured subdomains.
Exposed APIs and Development Environments: Scanning for exposed APIs, development tools, and frameworks through search engine queries and code repositories.
Bug Bounty Programs: Identifying publicly disclosed bug bounty programs and their scope to assess an organization's security posture and potential vulnerabilities.
Social Media Analysis: ThreatNG monitors social media platforms for posts, comments, and mentions related to the organization being analyzed. This helps identify potential phishing campaigns, brand impersonations, and negative sentiment.
Sensitive Code Exposure: They utilize surface web search engines and code repositories to identify exposed code, credentials, and sensitive information that attackers could exploit.
Cloud and SaaS Exposure: ThreatNG leverages surface web data to identify an organization's cloud services and SaaS applications. This includes:
Scanning for publicly exposed cloud resources: Identifying misconfigured cloud storage buckets, databases, and other services.
Analyzing job postings and company websites: Discovering information about the organization's technology stack and cloud service providers.
Sentiment and Financials: They analyze news articles, social media posts, and financial reports to gauge public sentiment and identify potential financial risks.
Archived Web Pages: ThreatNG uses web archives and historical data to identify past vulnerabilities, exposed information, and changes in the organization's online presence.
3. Continuous Monitoring and Reporting:
Real-time Updates: ThreatNG continuously monitors surface web sources to provide real-time updates on emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and risks.
Automated Alerts: They leverage surface web intelligence to generate computerized alerts for critical events like data breaches, website defacements, and brand impersonations.
Comprehensive Reports: ThreatNG generates detailed reports incorporating surface web intelligence to provide a holistic view of an organization's security posture and risk exposure.
4. Collaboration and Management:
Evidence-based Questionnaires: ThreatNG uses surface web intelligence to generate dynamic questionnaires that facilitate collaboration and information sharing among security teams and stakeholders.
Policy Management: Surface web data informs the creation of customizable risk configurations and scoring models that align with an organization's risk tolerance and security policies.
By effectively utilizing Surface Web OSINT, ThreatNG strengthens its ability to:
Provide superior discovery and assessment capabilities: Uncovering a wider range of potential threats and vulnerabilities.
Continuously evolve its intelligence repositories: Maintaining up-to-date and comprehensive data on threats, vulnerabilities, and risks.
Empower users with actionable insights: Enabling informed decision-making and proactive security measures.
This approach ensures that ThreatNG remains a cutting-edge solution for external attack surface management, digital risk protection, and security ratings.
