The digital age has transformed the landscape of law enforcement, emphasizing the need for sophisticated intelligence-gathering tools. Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) and Social Media Intelligence (SOCINT) have become integral components in this new era. But with this wealth of new data comes its own challenges: managing, collecting, analyzing, and utilizing insights gained in ethical and compliant ways.
This article aims to explore the tools LEAs need at their disposal to efficiently and effectively leverage the wealth of data offered by OSINT and SOCINT sources. It will also position Spokeo for Business within the larger ecosystem of intelligence tools for law enforcement, spanning both regulated and OSINT sources, and detail its potential value as both a standalone product and a complement to existing tools.
The Role of Advanced Digital Tools in Law Enforcement
OSINT is not monolithic, and neither are the tools used to capture and analyze data from OSINT sources and process it into actionable intelligence. The advanced digital tools used by investigators and analysts can be categorized by their areas of focus.
Connected Device Analysis Tools
These tools, including Shodan, Censys and Binary Edge, are search engines that seek out internet-connected devices, as opposed to websites. These range from networked industrial and infrastructure control devices to the “smart” consumer devices found in homes.
Tools like Shodan can assist in cybercrime investigations and threat assessment, by exposing vulnerable systems that criminals might exploit. They have also been successfully turned against cybercriminals to detect any lapses in their own operational security (OpSec). Shodan can also play a defensive role, helping law enforcement agencies proactively detect any vulnerabilities in their own networks and devices.
Comprehensive Online Data Gathering Tools
These tools can take a number of different forms. Some, including Security Trails and Spiderfoot, focus on websites and networks. They can help identify network assets used by the victims or perpetrators of cybercrimes. Others, including Spokeo for Business, specialize in aggregating information about individuals and their associates, linking social media profiles to regulated and unregulated structured data about people — which creates a reliable connection from the digital world to specific entities (which can be one of the main challenges of leveraging OSINT and SOCINT). A third class of OSINT providers, including IntelTechniques and OSINT Framework, do not market a singular OSINT tool of their own but instead aggregate curated lists of tools for specific tasks.
Collectively, these tools are valuable for locating missing persons or persons of interest, tracking and forecasting cyber threats, or forensic examination of both successful and failed cybercrime attempts.
Advanced Data Mining and Visualization Tools
Tools such as Maltego are law enforcement’s equivalent of the “big data” analysis tools used by major corporations to monitor consumer behavior for advertising purposes. They offer detailed analytics and network visualizations, identifying patterns and drawing links that can help unravel complex criminal networks in cases such as organized crime, terrorism and human trafficking.
Ethical and Legal Considerations in Digital Intelligence
In 2017 the Bureau of Justice Administration published a resource guide for open-source analysis (ROSA, in the Bureau’s terminology), which included a set of best practices for respecting privacy, civil rights and civil liberties (P/CLCR) in the use of OSINT:
- Evaluate source reliability and content validity.
- Evaluate the content of the threat and assess the significance and potential risk associated.
- Check the information against appropriate law enforcement indices as determined by the level of suspicion required for such action.
- Assess open source information against current threat reporting, including documented SLTT and federal situational awareness, warnings, and notices.
- Confirm that the use of ROSA is authorized under agency authorities and is consistent with applicable laws, regulations, and policies.
- Confirm that the use of ROSA is consistent with the agency’s privacy policy and/or ROSA policy.
Intelligence sources drawing from regulated data, as opposed to OSINT, are also useful tools and provide a valuable complement to open source intelligence. Data from these regulated sources is narrower but of higher quality than OSINT, but information derived from regulated data must also be treated as regulated data. This poses a potential limitation for investigators, unless they are able to replicate any such data from public sources. In the final analysis a balanced approach, integrating both open-source and regulated data, is essential for a legally sound intelligence framework.
Addressing Challenges in Modern Law Enforcement
Despite their transformative impact, these tools present challenges like data overload and ethical dilemmas. Overcoming these hurdles requires continuous training and a strategic approach to technology utilization.
This begins with assessing the available data tools, and their compatibility with the personnel and resources available within the LEA. Establishing how those tools will be used within the framework of existing departmental policy, and how policy might need to be extended in order to maintain compliance with privacy legislation and civil rights as the new tools are deployed, is a second challenge.
Drawing on sister agencies’ experience in the use of OSINT tools can help administrators shape their own policies accordingly. Choosing software tools that have administrative oversight baked-in can also simplify the task of holding investigators and other personnel responsible for their use of both OSINT search tools and the data resulting from those queries.
Spokeo for Business: Unraveling Complex Networks
Spokeo for Business is not just an OSINT tool, it’s a comprehensive solution for law enforcement agencies. Its proprietary technology has been proven effective in the field, enabling officers to navigate through an extensive array of data. The sheer volume of data available through open source intelligence is both its strength and a major weakness; Spokeo brings clarity by aggregating billions of data points drawn from over 5,000 individual sources, and delivering concise reports on demand.
Social media intelligence (SOCINT) is one of the richest forms of OSINT, but also one of the most difficult for investigators to navigate due to its decentralized nature. Weakness in SOCINT is a characteristic of many other data services, but a specific strength of the Spokeo product. With coverage extending to over 120 social platforms and to regulated data sources, Spokeo for Business offers a multidimensional view of suspects’ online presences, revealing critical contact points, physical locations, property holdings, and intricate relationship networks.
This is crucial for piecing together suspect profiles and understanding their behaviors, and can suggest new avenues for investigation or reveal previously-unknown connections between suspects and their associates.
Applications in Real-World Law Enforcement Scenarios:
When used strategically, OSINT tools including Spokeo for Business can improve the effectiveness of policing efforts in several areas. A few high-impact examples include:
- Criminal Investigations: Spokeo for Business is vital in uncovering suspects’ and witnesses’ whereabouts and connections.
- Cybercrime Prevention: Tools like Shodan are critical in preempting and investigating cybercrimes such as ransomware and fraud, or potential acts of terrorism against infrastructure.
- Community Policing: Platforms for social media analysis aid in understanding public sentiment and trends, crucial for effective community engagement.
- Counterterrorism: Data mining tools are key in analyzing and disrupting terrorist networks.
Tools like Spokeo for Business, with its exceptional reach in the social media sphere, can help identify influencers and persons of interest even when they are concealed behind online usernames or “handles.” This in turn can inform LEAs’ use of other investigative and data tools, by opening up new lines of inquiry.
Spokeo for Business also provides administrators with a powerful, easy to use Dashboard which provides oversight of team members’ searches and the resulting reports, providing transparency and accountability for compliance purposes.
Conclusion: The Pivotal Role of Digital Intelligence in Law Enforcement
The integration of advanced tools like Spokeo for Business, with its extensive social media and data source coverage, has revolutionized law enforcement strategies. Embracing these tools, while adhering to ethical and legal guidelines, enhances the effectiveness of law enforcement in maintaining public safety. This approach underscores the critical role of digital intelligence, with Spokeo for Business leading the charge, in providing accurate, comprehensive, and actionable insights for modern policing.
If you’re ready to explore how Spokeo for Business can integrate into your department’s tool stack, reach out today to begin your complimentary trial.
About the author: Stephen Henderson Jr:
For more than 30+ years, Stephen Henderson Jr. has worked and held senior positions for both
Fortune 500, startup and Business Process Outsourcers. Prior to becoming the Client Services Manager of Spokeo’s Law Enforcement & Government Division, Stephen Henderson, Jr. served as an exceptional intelligence and law enforcement officer for over two decades, including as full time Dignitary Protection for the former US Ambassador to Spain as well as at the Fullerton Police Department and Orange County Sheriff’s Department. He honorably retired from public service in May 2018 with the rank of Reserve Lieutenant. Today, Henderson Jr. leverages this brackground to lead Spokeo’s efforts to accelerate new growth and provide real value to the buisnesses that rely on Spokeo’s data for mission-critical operations.
Sources:
National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center: Open Source Tools Available to Assess Risks to Internet Facing ICS
CSO Online: How Shodan Helped Bring Down a Ransomware BotNetBureau of Justice Assistance: Real-Time and Open Source Analysis: Resource Guide