Effective methods of gathering information about a company using OSINT

24 September 2024 4 minutes Author: Cyber Witcher

Discover the best OSINT techniques for gathering information about companies that will help you obtain detailed data from open sources. In this article, we will consider the key OSINT methods that allow you to effectively analyze business, find important information about the activities of companies, their financial stability and partners. Learn how these tools can help you get a complete analysis of your company and draw conclusions that will help with business decisions or security research.

How to find and verify information about companies using OSINT

There are several publicly available “deep web” databases that contain records of US companies. This data is particularly interesting because it cannot be found through a normal internet search, as it belongs to deep web resources. In addition, records in such databases are usually verified and reliable, which is rarely found in open sources on the Internet.

Registration of companies

In the US, companies are registered at the state level, and the easiest way to find such registrations is to use Open Corporates. Each state has its own business registration databases accessed through the deep web. To simplify the search for all registration records, you can use Open Corporates, which simultaneously checks several state registries for the information you need. In addition, Open Corporates allows you to search not only for companies, but also for registered trademarks.

Additional information for foreign companies: Registration data for many countries is available through Open Corporates. However, if the country you are looking for is not listed in this resource, you can refer to the Global Open Data Index. It can help find out if a country has a state registry and where exactly to look for it, even if the information was collected back in 2015. For example, the register can be placed on the official website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the “Taxes” section.

Public companies (in the US or abroad)

Public companies are required to file supplemental reports on a regular basis, but this topic is broad enough to cover briefly. Key things to know: The US Securities and Exchange Commission maintains a public database called EDGAR (Electronic Data Collection, Analysis and Retrieval System). It is a convenient tool for finding important information about public companies.

Additional information for foreign companies: There is a website where you can find the relevant securities commissions for other countries. This can be done through the International Organization of Securities Commissions. It presents information about different types of organization members, such as regular, associate or affiliate.

To search for a public company or corporation, you can start with its name in the EDGAR database. One of the most useful documents is the Annual Review, which includes financial figures, names of executives and details of recent court cases, if any.

Illegal activity has passed

It is also possible to evaluate the company by checking its participation in illegal or improper actions. Violations Tracker is a single resource that accesses multiple U.S. government databases to discover whether a company has violated local or national laws or regulations.

Other useful websites

Corporation Directory

A portal for searching state registers of companies in different states of the USA.

CLICK HERE

Tableau Public

A free tool for visualizing data and creating interactive reports.

CLICK HERE

Corporation Wiki

Database for finding information about companies, their structure and managers.

CLICK HERE

SpiderFoot

OSINT tool for automatic collection and analysis of data from open sources.

CLICK HERE

ThomasNet

A platform for finding information about suppliers and manufacturers in the USA.

CLICK HERE

Offshore Leaks

Database of offshore companies and their owners published by ICIJ.

CLICK HERE

Enigma

A platform for analysis and research of open source data for business intelligence.

CLICK HERE

LittleSis

An open database for tracking connections between influencers and organizations.

CLICK HERE

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