Why We Acquired Echosec Systems: The OSINT Revolution

Flashpoint has acquired Echosec Systems to enhance its Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) capabilities. This strategic move integrates Echosec's social media and geospatial intelligence tools with Flashpoint's existing platform, aiming to provide holistic risk reduction for clients. The acquisition emphasizes ethical data access and compliance with social media platforms. While no specific cyber threats are detailed, the merger strengthens organizational abilities to monitor illicit communities, criminal marketplaces, and physical security risks globally. The combined entity aims to support national security, public safety, and commercial security teams by automating data collection and analytics. This evolution allows clients to better assess geopolitical risk and protect assets through real-time situational awareness. The move underscores the growing importance of OSINT as a foundational element in modern intelligence and security operations.

Flashpoint CEO Josh Lefkowitz on the Echosec acquisition and the proven, foundational importance of open source intelligence The post Why We Acquired Echosec Systems: The OSINT Revolution appeared first on Flashpoint .

Flashpoint has acquired Echosec Systems to enhance its Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) capabilities. This strategic move integrates Echosec's social media and geospatial intelligence tools with Flashpoint's existing platform, aiming to provide holistic risk reduction for clients. The acquisition emphasizes ethical data access and compliance with social media platforms. While no specific cyber threats are detailed, the merger strengthens organizational abilities to monitor illicit communities, criminal marketplaces, and physical security risks globally. The combined entity aims to support national security, public safety, and commercial security teams by automating data collection and analytics. This evolution allows clients to better assess geopolitical risk and protect assets through real-time situational awareness. The move underscores the growing importance of OSINT as a foundational element in modern intelligence and security operations. Flashpoint CEO Josh Lefkowitz on the Echosec acquisition and the proven, foundational importance of open source intelligence The post Why We Acquired Echosec Systems: The OSINT Revolution appeared first on Flashpoint . Blogs Blog Why We Acquired Echosec Systems: The OSINT Revolution Flashpoint CEO Josh Lefkowitz on the Echosec acquisition and the proven, foundational importance of open source intelligence SHARE THIS: Josh Lefkowitz August 4, 2022 Table Of Contents Table of Contents The Importance of OSINT Why Echosec Data, Platform, and Compliance Mission and Team The future is Now Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) More subscribe to our newsletter It’s our mission as intelligence providers to some of the world’s most discerning clients to help them stay ahead of the threats that could impede their focus on protecting their people, places, and assets everywhere. Today thus marks a key moment in our evolution as a company. I’m delighted about our acquisition of Echosec Systems, whose team and technology are world class and whose intelligence will help us continue to help companies reduce risk holistically across teams. Here’s why I’m so excited to be able to bring Echosec’s open-source, social media, and geospatial intelligence to a wider audience, and where we go from here. The Importance of OSINT I began my career in the wake of 9/11 analyzing the activities of terrorist groups to support numerous national security investigations and prosecutions. My experiences in this domain spurred the recognition that open source intelligence (OSINT) could be an invaluable counterterrorism tool. When we realized that OSINT in the modern era couldn’t be done without automating data collection and analytics at scale, Flashpoint was born. The online spaces where threat actors congregate and operate have evolved dramatically since the early 2000s and now include illicit communities, criminal marketplaces, paste sites, and foreign-language forums across the deep and dark web. Furthermore, there’s much intelligence to be gleaned from publicly available information (PAI) and OSINT derived from social media, including geospatial data, social sentiment, and other real-time information that can support mission requirements for national security, public safety, and commercial security teams. Today, OSINT is a proven and foundational element to the intelligence community. As Jennifer Ewbank, Deputy Director for Digital Innovation at the CIA, said recently: “Many questions that once had to be answered by more secretive intelligence collection are now answered with a few clicks on a mobile device.” She added, “OSINT is the INT of first resort, informing every aspect of the intelligence community’s mission. When you think about the future of the intelligence business…you should first think about open source.” And the most dynamic and impactful intelligence partners, like Flashpoint, are helping organizations leverage technology to harness OSINT at scale, organize it, classify it, make sense of it, and understand when action is warranted. Why Echosec This is where Echosec is a leader in giving users the ability to leverage real-time OSINT to drive on-the-ground insights and action. Complemented by Flashpoint’s own OSINT and unique collections, this key acquisition continues our evolution as the leading provider of actionable intelligence, supporting cyber and physical security missions around the world. Data, Platform, and Compliance Echosec has built an extraordinarily intuitive and highly user-friendly platform that is helping some of the most demanding and discerning customers address a broad array of threats globally. Echosec maintains broad coverage across critical social media platforms worldwide. Their OSINT provides security teams across the public and private sector localized situational awareness in faraway places, helping them better assess geopolitical risk, keep executives from harm, protect populations and places, and respond to crises in an informed and efficient manner. In...