Dark web OSINT investigations have proven themselves invaluable to cybersecurity in recent years. But like nearly everything else in the cybersecurity realm, success is not the result of just one thing. It is a combination of things. In fact, successful dark web OSINT investigations have eight key things in common.
The keys to successful investigations are discussed below. Before getting to them, it’s important to understand what OSINT (open-source intelligence) actually is. Darkness intelligence provider DarkOwl describes OSINT as intelligence data gathered from public resources. Data comes from social media, websites, discussion boards, and marketplaces. Some of these destinations are on the traditional internet while others exist within the shadows of the dark web.
1. Specialized Tools and Technologies
The first key to a successful dark web OSINT investigation is found in tools and technologies. Providers like DarkOwl develop privacy-focused tools capable of accessing the dark web securely and anonymously. They use a variety of strategies to quietly glean information. This is crucial for the simple fact that threat actors make every attempt to protect themselves against outside intrusion.
2. Operational Security
Maintaining anonymity is crucial to operational security. Therefore, a successful investigation will be conducted separate from any personal or work-related data. Anonymous email services and encrypted communications are just two examples. Operational security must be maintained or an investigation could be compromised.
3. Data Collection and Verification
Successful investigations are built on accurate data. Therefore, it’s imperative to collect data and then verify it. Following a systematic approach to both ensures more accurate data over the long term.
4. Ongoing Vigilance
OSINT investigations themselves are subject to various kinds of attacks. Investigators must always be vigilant so as to not compromise themselves or their operations. They must pay attention to things like browser fingerprinting, subtle hacking attempts, and picking up malware from dark web sites.
5. Robust Analysis
OSINT data alone doesn’t provide a complete investigatory picture. Data acts as evidence that investigators need to do something with it. Enter robust analysis. Such analysis looks for connections. It accounts for user profiles, observed behaviors, communication patterns, and so forth. A good OSINT platform offers built-in analytics to make this portion of the investigation more efficient.
6. Continuous Surveillance
OSINT investigations are predicated on gathering the most up-to-date information possible. In order to facilitate it, continuous surveillance is a requirement. It does investigators no good to analyze data that is several weeks old. Threats move so quickly the data can be made obsolete within days – or even hours in some cases. Dark web activity must be monitored around-the-clock.
7. Collaboration and Expertise
DarkOwl stresses that no OSINT investigation truly exists on an island. The connections across the dark web are so deep and profound that independent investigations overlap even when their respective investigators do not know it. This all points to the need for collaboration. Experts within cybersecurity, law enforcement, intelligence, etc. should always be ready to work together to make their investigations more successful.
8. Legal and Ethical Awareness
Finally, successful dark web OSINT investigations are conducted under the umbrella of legal and ethical awareness. Investigators must be mindful of their legal boundaries. They must be cognizant of any ethical restrictions that come with accessing illicit content. Data collection must always be aligned with all relevant laws and organizational policies.
The dark web OSINT investigation has become invaluable to modern cybersecurity. Organizations failing to make use of it are leaving a remarkably effective tool unused and on the table. That makes them more attractive victims to threat actors who have no intention of slowing down.
