Maltego

Maltego is a proprietary software platform used for open-source intelligence (OSINT) and link analysis. Developed by Paterva, and now owned by Securonix, it provides a graphical interface for analyzing relationships between pieces of information gathered from various publicly available sources.

Maltego operates on the concept of entities and transforms. Entities represent real-world objects such as people, organizations, websites, documents, IP addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and more. Transforms are operations that query various data sources to find connections and relationships associated with these entities. The software allows users to visualize these connections in a graph layout, making it easier to identify patterns and hidden relationships.

The platform is frequently used in investigations related to cybersecurity, law enforcement, fraud prevention, and competitive intelligence. Maltego can be used to map out an individual's or organization's online presence, identify infrastructure, and uncover connections that might not be immediately apparent.

Different versions of Maltego are available, ranging from community editions with limited functionality to commercial versions offering access to a wider range of data sources and features. Its extensibility, through the use of transforms and custom integrations, makes it a powerful tool for investigators seeking to leverage publicly available information.