In the world of cybercrime, there are both known players and their emerging counterparts. Known threat actors are dealt with by security teams who studiously monitor them and their activities in order to keep them at bay. But emerging threat actors are largely unknown entities. So how do security experts learn more about them? One method is to employ open-source intelligence (OSINT).
OSINT tools for cybersecurity teams are developed and provided by companies like DarkOwl. The tools make it possible to poke around every corner of the dark web searching for clues that might lead to emerging threat actors and their threats. Once a potential threat actor has been identified, ongoing OSINT threat intelligence can help security teams keep an eye on him.
5 Points of Contact
An easy way to understand how OSINT can identify and mitigate emerging threat actors is to look at five points of contact between OSINT data and the cybersecurity strategies that data informs:
1. Adversary Profiling
OSINT investigations are tools through which security teams can gather and analyze publicly available information to create comprehensive profiles of their adversaries. The information can be gathered quickly and accurately from a diverse range of dark web sources.
The information covers everything from digital footprints to motivations to tactics and infrastructure. It provides a broad external view capable of revealing emerging attackers and their preferred vectors.
2. Real-time Monitoring
OSINT threat intelligence emphasizes continuous, real-time monitoring of all internet-facing assets. The point is to be on the lookout for things like leaked credentials and threat actor chatter. The right data provides early visibility into emerging threats, thereby supporting a proactive defense.
3. Enhanced Incident Response
Some OSINT cybersecurity tools have built-in incident response systems that are enhanced by gathered threat intelligence data. The tools correlate external intelligence with internal logs and historical data for faster threat detection and containment. Best of all, the enhanced incident response supports better strategic planning by more quickly identifying emerging threat actors.
4. Collaboration Between Teams
OSINT threat intelligence encourages better collaboration between teams. OSINT platforms create centralized data warehouses that enable cross-team visibility and more coordinated responses. Improved collaboration leads to better defensive strategies against things like phishing and ransomware attacks.
5. Extended Reach
OSINT extends its reach beyond internal security. Simply put, it is more than just a defensive tool. OSINT, and the tools and investigations that power it, support:
- Brand protection
- Third-party risk management
- Fraud detection
- Law enforcement investigations
This extended reach is commensurate with OSINT’s effectiveness at identifying fraudulent activities and adversarial actions. The better an organization’s OSINT cybersecurity tools, the better its investigations will be. Productive investigations glean invaluable data with endless cybersecurity applications.
Real-Time and Publicly Available
The real value of open-source data underscores all the possibilities linked to OSINT threat intelligence: it is publicly available and generally up to date. By scouring dark web properties like hacker forums and marketplaces, investigators get real-time access to information that can make an enormous difference in stopping future attacks.
This real-time information it also quite useful in the task of identifying emerging threat actors. It is often more useful than proprietary information, which has a tendency to be stale and outdated. Identifying threat actors as they emerge requires the most up-to-date information possible, and that information is almost always available through publicly accessible sources.
OSINT threat intelligence is a complicated enterprise requiring knowledge, skill, and the right cybersecurity tools. But at the hands of experts, OSINT can identify emerging threat actors and their planned attacks. Doing so is crucial to stopping them.
