How do Web3 and OSINT Mix? - Real-World Case Study

The intersection of open-source intelligence tooling and the plethora of data provided by the blockchain has permitted intelligence Industries a magnanimous opportunity to collate vast amounts of data on those whose criminal activities operate online.

The story of Aidan Raney, a dedicated anti-trafficking activist, demonstrates how powerful open-source intelligence can be while staying under the radar and bringing perpetrators to justice.

When tracing a particular CSAM event, Aidan and his team were able to trace the guilty parties without arousing suspicion thanks to OSINT Industries’ unearthing a series of associated profiles. By continuing to follow connections beginning with a Telegram account, they accosted the family, discovering 17 other accounts which linked the family’s online behavior to the criminal activity. 

The additional immutability of blockchain transactions, coupled with the transparency the technology offers, ensures Web3 OSINT investigators have a great deal to work with. Researchers have the ability to tap immense amounts of data from a variety of sources. 

These tools can establish links, provide relevant information, ensure its authenticity, and render it actionable instantly.

Web3 OSINT tools can be used for the improvement of cryptocurrency transaction security, traceability, and transparency for compliance and investigative needs. Additional purposes include:  keeping an eye on illegal activities, guaranteeing compliance with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations. 

Other tools that users can use up to date, covering wide scopes in terms of data which can be used for gathering crucial information and in-depth analysis such as:

What are Common Blockchain Data tools?

• Bitquery - financial transactions (source and destination of funds, cross-chain tracking)

• DeBank - Analyzing cross-chain behavior of multicoin Ethereum virtual machine wallets.

• Messari - market research reports regarding cryptocurrency.

• ScamSearch - A database of various frauds and scams

• Chainanalysis - Business- and law-enforcement-orientated blockchain data provider•

• CoinMetrics - Database of distributive economics with respect to cryptocurrency asset networks.

What are Common OSINT Tools?

• OnChain Industries - wallet address, list of accounts. 

• Maltego - cyber investigation platform.

• Shodan - search engine for internet-connected search engines.

• Builtwith - profiler for identifying various technologies being deployed on websites.

• IntelligenceX - search engine data archive.

• Intelligence-On-Chain’s Spectra - designed to connect Web3 wallet behavior with social media like X.com

• Arkham Intelligence - on-chain identification, bounties, and research toolset

The de-centralized structure of blockchain ensures that information is reliable and tamper-free.

The Blessing of Blockchain: Verifiable Public OSINT.

As blockchain-based systems continue gathering attention and popularity, analysts and investigators can find and observe essential data for risk assessment, fraud detection, and decision making in an increasingly digital world simply by tracking and verifying transactions, assets, and interactions in real time.

Blockchain makes it possible for open source information (OSINF) to be recorded in a public manner while guaranteeing that the data would not be changed after it has been stored, which significantly increases the accuracy of the data gathered. The data can be securely and transparently validated by users, preventing tampering and misleading information, thus protecting data integrity and at the same time making the data accessible and verifiable, providing trust and accountability in its performance. Blockchain, in essence, transforms programmable money into an internet truth machine.

The continual development of OSINT techniques across a myriad of fields, institutions, and agencies, combined with the immutability of Web3 networks, offers de-anonymization tools for the most anonymous currencies ever conceived. Perfect digital anonymity is, and remains, an impossible panacea.