Today’s threat actors operate in plain sight across public databases and decentralized forums. They utilize publicly available code repositories. In other words, their actions are easily observable long before a new attack is launched. Smart security teams rely on OSINT tools for cybersecurity to do just that.
OSINT (open-source intelligence) is a strategy of collecting, processing, and analyzing publicly available data to figure out what threat actors are doing. By deploying specialized OSINT tools for cybersecurity, analysts and security teams can begin viewing their own organizations through the eyes of an adversary.
DarkOwl is a leading provider of OSINT tools for cybersecurity. They recommend the following types of tools:
1. Hardware Search Engines
Standard search engines index websites and individual pages. But security analysts can leverage specialized search engines that scan the internet looking for connected hardware. They locate index servers, routers, industrial control systems, IoT devices, and even basic webcams.
The most effective of these tools can gather metadata from service banners and system configurations. They can expose open ports and actor protocols. The benefits manifest themselves in better attack surface management.
Security teams can use search data to map exposed company assets and identify unpatched services. The data can help them close unintended ports. It can even help eliminate initial access vectors before adversaries find them.
2. Link Analysis and Relationship Mapping
The next type of tool is one that correlates complex relationships across a selection of data points. It is essentially an advanced intelligence visualization tool. The tool ingests things like domain names and IP addresses. It can utilize email addresses, social media profiles, and DNS records.
All the ingested data is analyzed and converted into a visual presentation – usually a graph. Security analysts use the data for threat hunting and investigative purposes. By visually linking data, the tool makes it possible for analysts to map entire attacker networks in an easily understandable way. Once understood, proactive blocklists can be implemented.
A simpler way to put it is that link analysis and relationship mapping connects the dots. It’s extremely helpful because threat actors do not operate in a vacuum. Their activities and relationships are spread across the dark web, publicly available to anyone who knows how to get there. Link analysis and relationship mapping take advantage of that.
3. Automating Footprinting and Recon
Tools capable of automated footprinting enhance the security team’s recon efforts. The best tools can integrate with hundreds of data sources to query domain names, sub-domains, IP ranges, and more. Intelligence data is aggregated for better recon analysis.
The primary benefit of using a tool of this nature is to perform automated recon on an organization’s own infrastructure. It is an effective way to find leaked employee credentials and exposed servers. Automated footprinting is also a way to identify vulnerable sub-domains that could be susceptible to takeover attacks.
4. Exposure Assessment
The last tool on this list is the exposure assessment tool. This is a lightweight recon tool that searches for everything from individual names and email addresses to vulnerable sub-domains and IPs. The primary goal is to help mitigate one of the biggest risks in cybersecurity: the human element.
By searching for and correlating targeted data, security teams can design anti-phishing training and modify credential management policies to stave off potential social engineering campaigns. At a time when ransomware is so prevalent, exposure assessment tools play a vital role in keeping corporate networks safe.
Modern OSINT tools for cybersecurity are proving their worth every day. Never underestimate their value as a main driver of your organization’s security posture.
