Social media has become a double-edged sword. While it connects billions of users worldwide, it also presents a growing risk landscape. Phishing scams, misinformation campaigns, and brand impersonation are just a few of the cyber threats that thrive on social platforms. Yet the same data that makes social media a...
At a time when our lives are becoming ever more integrated with the online realm, dating apps have become a new norm. And their stellar rise in popularity is hardly to be wondered at. After all, a lot of people simply don’t have large enough social circles—or a...
The corporate world is well aware of the manifold risks that M&A and other investment deals can pose. This is reflected in the immense growth of the commercial due diligence market, which currently has an astonishing growth rate of 9.5% and is set to hit a volume...
API solutions are indispensable for various intelligence platforms and investigations. The seamless operability that comes with API integration means that all kinds of workflows and processes can be streamlined, collaboration becomes natural and effortless, many routine tasks just vanish, and the productivity of the whole organization soars. Our new article...
In today’s climate, background checks have become a staple of verification, and open-source intelligence has risen to the fore as an indispensable element of this widespread practice. Anyone who’s applied for a job may be aware of basic screening checks. But, in fact, the world of background checks...
To the uninitiated, background checks may appear to be straightforward things. But the truth is they come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from the basic checks employers might run off from a CV to profoundly enhanced checks reaching into the recesses of the Dark Web for more serious matters....
Intelligence work is a multifaceted thing. To anyone acquainted with the field, this will be obvious from the many -INT terms that seek to categorize the various sides of the discipline. And this article is all about one of these in particular—HUMINT (Human Intelligence)—and the tools out there...
It’s a pillar of the modern intelligence cycle, taken very seriously by the national security departments of leading global powers, and is entering the mainstream in various ways. But what exactly is OSINT (open-source intelligence) in 2025? The truth is that open-source intelligence encompasses a lot, but don’t...
It’s time for our quarterly OSINT product updates where we bring everyone up to speed on what we’ve added to our functionality over the last few months. And so far, the first quarter of 2024 has been hugely productive, seeing us introduce some major new features connected to...
While it’s hard to deny the utility of open data in investigative work, how to make the most of it is not so obvious. Investigators can’t become seasoned data analysts overnight, and the effort required to process information can even be counterproductive. The place where investigative work meets...
That’s right, this is part 2 of open-source intelligence games (here is the first part if you missed it). But to recap, this two-part guide is all about learning OSINT in an entertaining way. After all, it turns out that many of the skills and techniques that make a...
Big news! Social Links has partnered with a leading provider of breached identity data, Constella Intelligence. To mark the start of this exciting partnership, we—the two companies—are getting together for the co-hosted webinar: Stealer Logs for Investigations: A New Era in OSINT. Join us on April 4, at...
When learning a new technical discipline, a major hurdle often lies in the terminology. Even if the underlying concepts aren’t that difficult to understand, the way they’re expressed can get in the way of comprehension. And OSINT, alas, does have its technical side, which can put off non-technical...
Getting to grips with open-source intelligence is a challenge, we know. With investigators needing to get their heads around so many different sub-disciplines, it’s understandable that the learning curve can be daunting. The good news is that learning can happen in many ways, and getting OSINT practice can be...
The open-source intelligence industry boom has naturally led to a confusing flood of solutions on the market. But choice can be a double-edged sword—while more options mean you have a better chance of finding the OSINT tools that best suit your needs, it also makes the actual process of...
Social media has become a double-edged sword. While it connects billions of users worldwide, it also presents a growing risk landscape. Phishing scams, misinformation campaigns, and brand impersonation are just a few of the cyber threats that thrive on social platforms. Yet the same data that makes social media a...
There’s a common misconception that OSINT work encompasses eavesdropping into private communications, such as messages exchanged via WhatsApp or Instagram. The truth is that, while OSINT can be profoundly insightful, it is ultimately limited to publicly available data extracted from open sources, meaning that private conversations, including encrypted messages,...
At a time when our lives are becoming ever more integrated with the online realm, dating apps have become a new norm. And their stellar rise in popularity is hardly to be wondered at. After all, a lot of people simply don’t have large enough social circles—or a...
The verb “to google” has been a fixture of the English dictionary for some time now, highlighting just how synonymous the engine’s proprietary name is with the action of finding information online. And considering Google processes a staggering 5.9 million searches every minute, this linguistic status should come...
With 25% of daily internet searches involving adult content, it can’t be denied that online pornography makes up a major aspect of consumption across the internet. While a large proportion of the activities surrounding such content falls within the law, the sphere has also seen the rise of a...
Open-Source Intelligence has become an invaluable tool for countless professionals across a range of industries. Whether it’s law enforcement tracking criminal networks, cybersecurity experts hunting for network vulnerabilities, compliance teams performing due diligence, or companies protecting their brand, OSINT provides a versatile and accessible way to solve complex problems...
