Insights
Decoding the Architecture of the Internet
How Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) saved our client millions of dollars and protected them from reputational risk
Neon Senior Intelligence Analyst, Belén Carrasco Rodríguez, explains how our investigation into a client’s investment uncovered critical intelligence, including corporate governance and supply chain scandals, a multi-million dollar class-action lawsuit and indirect links between the CEO and offshore companies leaked in the Panama Papers.
Background:
Our client, a global asset management group managing multiple funds, were concerned about an investment: a fast fashion ecommerce group that was being subjected to countless negative headlines. They required critical intelligence that would allow them to take informed and decisive action, cutting through considerable media noise to reveal the truth.
The board of the asset management group wanted to know more about how the fast fashion business was structured and operated, requiring intelligence around its supply chain, how the founder moved money between entities, and to what extent the founder’s family were involved in the running of the business.
Finding the signals in the noise:
Neon’s boardroom intelligence is gathered from all corners of the deep, unindexed web. Our approach leaves no trace, ensuring complete anonymity for our clients.
Using COSMIC, our in-house OSINT platform, our global team of analysts sifted through data on thousands of webpages, exploring connections between pieces of information and entities that hadn’t been discovered before. We were able to identify the most critical intelligence by diving into deep web sources such as company and legal records, online archives, leaks databases, and deploying a range of cutting-edge tools.
In the case of our client, we discovered pivotal intelligence, such as corporate governance and supply chain scandals dating back to 2009, a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit against one of the company’s subsidiaries, and indirect links between the CEO and offshore companies exposed in the Panama Papers.
Boardroom Intelligence for decision-makers:
Acting upon our intelligence, the client decided to divest their shares in this company.
Neon’s deep web investigation allowed the client to make a confident decision, saving them millions of dollars and protecting them from severe reputational risk.
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OSINT sets new standards in investigative practices and enables far more robust outcomes in scenarios ranging across industries. It is immensely powerful and has the capability to unlock meaningful insights, inform business decisions and protect the financial health and reputation of investors.
At Neon, we recognise that boardrooms need intelligence more than ever. With more than half a million new websites created every day, the depths of the internet provide game-changing intelligence, relating to mergers, acquisitions, litigations, associations, and other corporate issues.
Our elite team is sourced from world-class institutions such as NATO, GCHQ, the RAND Corporation, the EU, and ‘Magic Circle’ law firms, and is fluent in all the world’s major languages. There is no field, sector or geography that we cannot illuminate for our clients.