Open-Source Intelligence

What is Authentic8’s role in geospatial intelligence and open-source intelligence (OSINT)?

Everyone has their own unique definition of OSINT. But effectively it’s a unique intelligence collection discipline and it provides a multitude of valuable information that could help frame a comprehensive picture to key intelligence questions the community may have. One of the things Authentic8 does is provide a mechanism for analysts to access publicly available information in a safe and effective manner. And it does this through the means of a secure web browser that allows analysts to access a lot of information that is publicly available.

Who are Authentic8’s main customers and users?

The main users of our solutions have a strong presence in the public sector from the federal, state, and local levels including law enforcement. They also cover a variety of industries in the private sector, such as financial services, technology, healthcare, legal services, and insurance organizations. Our solutions are also used by many cybersecurity pros as well, specifically in security operations and fraud analysis.

What solutions and services does Authentic8 provide its customers?

Software as a service is what you may commonly know us as, but Authentic8 also provides two main web-based browser products. Our first product is called Silo, which is essentially a remote cloud browser that embeds security, identity, and data policies directly into the browser. For our analysts, we offer Silo for Research, which is what we call our managed attribution platform. It allows you to anonymously conduct investigations across the open, deep, and dark web without any worry about detection or malware. Finally, because a lot of these tools may be a little bit scary for people to use, especially in the evolving discipline of OSINT, we offer something called OSINT Academy—training that helps analysts navigate the web safely and also teaches unique search techniques.

How has Authentic8 leveraged USGIF membership and resources?

Authentic8 has been a member of USGIF for the last four years, as we are a relatively young organization. But we have participated in the GEOINT Symposium to help spread the word about safe browsing practices. I like to discover those new relationships that we build in these environments and also understanding the viewpoints of potential customers and what people really are looking for from us. 

What excites you about the future of GEOINT?

There are many things over the last several years that excite me about the future of GEOINT. Over the last few years, we’ve made progress in things like commercial satellites and radio frequency. And what we’re seeing now is increasing continuity. But if you combine all of your intel disciplines together, you’re going to have situations where you will have 100% continuity because you are filling in the gaps with OSINT. Open source is always on and you can always expect somebody someplace around the world to give you information about what’s happening there. And I’m excited to see how much we’ve grown in the technology realm over the years.