Relationships are currency. The way people, organizations, and ideas link together shapes how information spreads, how influence takes hold, and how communities form. Social Network Analysis (SNA) is the field that maps and measures these relationships, shifting the view from isolated individuals to webs of interconnected nodes. Applied to digital...
In the sprawling, interconnected digital landscape of the 21st century, social media has grown from a simple communication tool into a detailed, living record of human activity. And this vast store of publicly available information has become an essential resource for a particular field: online investigation. Social Media Intelligence (SOCMINT)...
In our vast, interconnected digital world, information is the ultimate currency. For cyber defenders, the ability to gather, analyze, and act upon information is what separates success from failure. It’s also the purview of OSINT, which in the context of cybersecurity, represents the art of turning the endless sea...
Imagine the classic police-room evidence board covered in photos and documents, and interconnected by strings, with the detectives sitting back trying to identify patterns, establish connections, and so on. This technique, in essence, is link analysis—only, with today’s tech, the data involved can be scaled up to a...
In the dynamic landscape of open-source intelligence, investigators are continually searching for reliable methods that deliver actionable results. Among these, reverse image search has emerged as a cornerstone OSINT technique, employed by intelligence professionals, law enforcement agencies, investigative journalists, and security researchers worldwide. Social Links have led the way in...
At the turn of the century, intelligence systems were shut away behind professional barriers—you needed a license, a security pass, and a load of costly resources just to start digging around a subject. In today’s digitized and interconnected world, techniques that were once the exclusive purview of intelligence...
The landscape of criminal investigations has undergone a fundamental transformation over the past 15 years. As criminal enterprises increasingly operate across both physical and cyber-domains, law enforcement agencies must adapt their methodologies to effectively counter these evolving threats and challenges. In this climate, open-source Intelligence (OSINT) has emerged as a...
While there are a number of great learning resources online, when it comes to structured and comprehensive ways to deepen your knowledge in a given area, it’s difficult to beat a good old book—especially in the vast and at times bewildering discipline of OSINT. But when there are...
In the current era of hyperconnectivity, the digital footprints left by individuals and organizations are a critical intelligence source for security professionals. As publicly available data has swelled and evolved, social media intelligence (SOCMINT) has emerged as a go-to discipline for transforming vast amounts of raw data into actionable intelligene....
OSINT investigations are a lot like unraveling a web. Investigators pull on different threads to reveal the bigger picture. But this process isn’t one-sided. Just as investigators gather data on their targets, those suspects can also acquire information on them—if they’re not careful. And in the world...
In today's digital landscape, the open-source data API has become an indispensable tool in helping developers, product teams, and analysts build effective, data-driven products and processes. By providing access to a wide range of data types from open sources, such APIs can simplify the development process and add...
Every dataset tells a story—but one that’s often incomplete. While a powerful resource, raw data can only take us so far before the blind spots start showing. Whether it’s tracking cyber threats, streamlining hiring processes, or verifying identities, organizations across the board are discovering that context is...
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...
The Internet has revolutionized accessibility in many ways, ranging from shopping and education to banking and more. Yet, this digital realm has also given birth to secondary online personas, where individuals can transform into entirely different characters. While many people harness these digital identities for creation and connection with others,...
Note: This webinar will be specifically useful for Indian customers. Join us and our partner MH Service on November 9, at 11.30 IST for the free webinar: OSINT: A Game-Changer for Modern Investigations. This event will provide an overview of how OSINT works as a discipline—a wide palette...
The explosion of generative AI has sure made a splash, with organizations across multiple spheres scrambling to put this burgeoning technology to good use. And the OSINT industry has likewise embraced these advances, opening up new possibilities in the world of data analysis and making a massive difference in all...
This week in the Social Links Center of Excellence Column, we’re diving into using DNA as a resource for open-source intelligence. This time, we will share ways and techniques to use biological identifiers when revealing suspects and building a case. So, let’s move to the investigation! GEDmatch: A...
Note: This webinar will be held entirely in Portuguese and will be specifically useful for Brazilian customers. On November 8, at 10 am CST, we’re teaming up with our partner Aimart for the webinar: OSINT Tools for Advanced Investigations: SL Professional for i2. Join us for this free event,...
In our newest weekly article segment, fully prepared by the Social Links Center of Excellence, we explore our experts' roles in various fields, from investigations to technical training. So, as an introduction, we’re focusing on what the team does and what their plans are for the future. Let’...
