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| osint mapping |
Using Maltego for Link Analysis and Relationship Mapping - Discover how Maltego empowers OSINT professionals to perform link analysis and relationship mapping. Learn its key features, use cases, and integration for cyber investigations.
Investigators and intelligence professionals face a complex web of data across internet. Making sense of this chaos requires tools that can visualize relationships in a way that is both intuitive and scalable.
Maltego, developed by Cortex XSOAR / Paterva, is a powerful OSINT tool designed to map relationships and perform link analysis from open sources and third-party data integrations. Whether you're tracing source of a cyber attack, mapping a social network, or tracking a criminal network Maltego can uncover patterns that would be nearly impossible to detect manually.
What is Maltego?
Maltego is a graph-based link analysis tool used by cybersecurity professionals, ethical hackers, researchers, and government agencies for:
- Data collection from public and commercial sources
- Visualizing complex relationships
- Analyzing threat actor infrastructure
- Tracking online footprints
Core Features of Maltego
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Link Analysis Graphs | Visualize and connect relationships between entities. |
| Transforms | Pre-built and custom queries to enrich entities from OSINT, DNS, WHOIS, social media, etc. |
| Entity Mapping | Support for people, websites, devices, companies, IPs, and more. |
| Integration with External APIs | Access to Shodan, VirusTotal, HaveIBeenPwned, WhoisXML, and more. |
| Custom Transform Development | Users can build their own Transforms using Maltego Transform Hub. |
| Collaboration | Real-time collaborative graph editing among analysts. |
Top Use Cases of Maltego in OSINT and Cybersecurity
1. Investigating Phishing Campaigns
By starting with a phishing email domain, analysts can map its WHOIS records, DNS history, related IP addresses, and associated infrastructure using Maltego.
2. Uncovering Social Media Networks
Maltego can be used to map relationships between public social media profiles, followers, and cross-platform usernames, useful for digital forensics and background checks.
3. Corporate Threat Intelligence
Track fake websites impersonating a brand, monitor domain registrations, and map out associated emails or registrants.
4. Law Enforcement and Crime Mapping
Used by police and military cyber units (including TNI and POLRI in Indonesia) to map criminal networks, online fraud rings, or human trafficking routes.
5. Dark Web Investigation
When integrated with dark web indexing platforms, Maltego can help identify links between darknet forums, vendors, and associated email or Bitcoin addresses.
Popular Maltego Transform Integrations
| Source | Use Case |
|---|---|
| Shodan | Discover exposed devices and services |
| VirusTotal | Analyze malicious URLs, files, and hashes |
| HaveIBeenPwned | Check if email addresses were in data breaches |
| WHOIS XML | Domain registration data |
| Twitter, Facebook | Profile connections and metadata |
| DNSdb | Historic DNS records |
Maltego vs Other Tools
| Tool | Visualization | Automation | Data Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maltego | ✔️ Excellent | ✔️ High | 🔄 Multiple APIs |
| SpiderFoot | Good | High | Medium |
| OSINT Framework | None | Manual | Broad |
| Recon-ng | Minimal | High | CLI-based |
| IBM i2 Analyst's Notebook | Excellent | Medium | Closed platforms |
Ready to power up your OSINT skills?
