Wonder why some companies don't have a more proactive OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) operation inside their own institution, looking at and analyzing potential “Threat Intel” across their global domains?
While there are very expensive services that can package up exactly what you are looking for, sometimes it just takes a little more time and the right “Sources."
You could get a service at x-iDefense or even a more wide range of collection capabilities from the likes of x-Cyveillance to assist the in-house OSINT operation.
Throw in some Stratfor, OSAC and one or more variations of Symantec or Qualys or Seerist and you have it mostly covered. Except for one thing.
Plenty of "Gray Matter.” How many qualified analysts do you have on your team?
We might agree that there is more information out there than anyone could possibly imagine accessible with a few clicks and keystrokes.
Yet the easy part is the collection and the filtering or storage. Making any sense of it all with the relevance you seek is the "Holy Grail" for you, today.
Yet that might change tomorrow.
It's the consistent development of a new hypothesis and testing it that determines who will get the next new piece of information ready for OSINT.
And still the question remains. Will this be better kept a secret, or out in the “Wild"?
The argument usually isn't whether the results of the test should be published, it's more about when to publish.
Open Source Intelligence is going to be around for some time to come. The tools are getting even better to find and process massive volumes of information.
Think AI. Think GPU.
The only real impediment will continue to be those who want to wait and hold on to it, a little longer…
