Open-source intelligence

Testing what an organization says against the public record, so a decision rests on evidence a reader can check.

What the practice covers

Four services below, each scoped once you have named the subject and the decision it concerns.

Brand protection: Finding the fake accounts and lookalike domains imitating your company, and assembling the dated proof a platform or a lawyer will act on.
Media monitoring: Reading the reporting about your company, local outlets included, and telling you what a cluster of stories means for the choice ahead of you.
Threat intelligence: Reading public sources for what could damage your company, and judging how likely each risk is and how near it stands.
Third-party due diligence: Finding out who a supplier or partner really is before you sign, so their hidden troubles do not land on you.

Checking claims against the public record

The question underneath this work is whether what an organization or a person says holds up against evidence that anyone can reach. A statement nobody outside the organization can confirm is written up as unconfirmed, and a question the material leaves open is reported as open. Each conclusion carries a dated reference back to where it came from, so you can hold it against the original and judge it for yourself.

The four services answer questions that tend to arrive together. A campaign aimed at an executive often shows in public reporting days before anyone inside the company hears of it, and a domain imitating your brand can lead back to an operator you would want to check before dealing with them. Most engagements draw on two of the services, and the brief settles which.

Reading official accounts against public evidence is also the skill behind Plague News, the open-source project Amos runs on disease outbreaks.

Who does the work

Newsweek has featured Amos Weiskopf three times on global biosecurity events, and he studied geography at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Questions buyers ask

Is open-source intelligence research legal?

Yes. Only public or lawfully obtained sources go into the evidence, and the subject is not approached during the research.

How does this differ from a cyber threat feed?

A feed reports technical indicators from networks. Much of the harm a company meets arrives elsewhere, and this practice reads public sources for those physical and reputational risks.

Can a confidentiality agreement be signed first?

Yes, before you send names or any other sensitive material.

What does an open-source investigation cost?

That turns on the number of subjects and how far the research has to go. You get a price after sending the brief.

How do I begin an engagement?

Write a short brief naming the subject and the decision that turns on the research. Say who will act on what is found.

Engagements by written brief.

Work begins from a documented problem statement, not a sales call.

Write a brief Or book a meeting