“Cobwebs Technologies was one of the first companies to bring AI into open-source security and intelligence. Our vision is to protect communities and organisations, harnessing AI for a safer world”

In the past, corporate security and threat investigation relied on manual processes to uncover threats but this was often a costly and broad process that could not produce specific insights or solutions. Cobwebs Technologies realised this early on in their assessment of digital threat when they first worked alongside law enforcement agencies. The problem of cyber threat became more encompassing, they realised, which led to the development of their “AI-based approach that gives analysts the ability to quickly derive actionable insights” from online data, says Udi Levy, CEO of Cobwebs Technologies. The need to target risk using AI-based and machine learning algorithms has formed the foundation of Cobwebs Technologies’ customer-driven solutions. In this way, a dual process is initiated through their AI-platform approach: not only does digital threat become detected quickly and effectively, but this diagnosis also leads to an actionable plan that companies can work to put into place.

In a time where digital infrastructure is constantly evolving and at a much more rapid pace, there is a need to address and understand data in a way that seeks to identify threats as well as provide a solution that organisations can work with if the threat becomes a problem. “Cobwebs Technologies was one of the first companies to bring AI into open-source security and intelligence. Our vision is to protect communities and organisations, harnessing AI for a safer world,”says Levy.

All this is to say that Cobwebs Technologies provides an AI-based method of digital investigation to identify and target complex threats in a way that makes the specificity of the technologies’ capabilities lead to more promising and precise solutions. A mouthful sure, but something that is so important to understand as security is becoming increasingly important in today’s online spaces. In an expanding sea of information, the potential for intelligence exists everywhere - in texts, social media, geo-spatial data, etc., and the challenge has become trying to acquire specific insights from this sea of data.

Adaptable and Dynamic Solutions
Cobwebs Technologies’ AI-based solutions, both open-source intelligence solution (OSINT) and web intelligence solution (WEBINT), allows for a more structured and specific search through online data in order to be able to extract insights. Cobwebs Technologies’ success is all about having both processes as adaptable, dynamic, and automated as possible. What’s more, these solutions go beyond the means of observable data (information that you can find in regulated online spaces) and instead goes to places like the dark web which houses a staggering 95 percent of hidden information. Both solutions, by enabling AI-based algorithm functionalities, “assist investigations by extracting comprehensive intelligent insights for many types of investigations from fraud detection to cyber and digital risk protection to cryptocurrency activity,” notes Levy.

How exactly does this process work though? Both OSINT and WEBINT produce specific techniques and tools of extracting intelligence, one such tool being Tangles. Tangles searches the dark web to find patterns in information. Investigators can “type into the system’s search bar any kind of a lead such as a digital identifier or blockchain address and find the identity of the person it’s linked to as well as other unknown addresses and accounts found by searching across the open, deep, and dark web”, says Levy. This unifies the investigation and brings a holistic understanding to found information.

Levy aptly uses the example of cryptocurrency to help demonstrate this process of AI-based digital forensics tracking threats online. “Financial investigators need to use open-source intelligence to trace illicit funds and criminal activity associated with cryptocurrencies. Blockchain is the technology that enables the existence of cryptocurrency, providing a shared, immutable ledger for recording transactions, tracking assets, and building trust.” Cobwebs Technologies’ platform, given this example, takes its AI-powered blockchain analysis to investigate web spaces that might leave behind indicators of suspicious blockchain transactions as well as cite specific vulnerabilities in crypto wallets. This exposition of vulnerabilities provides answers to questions such as: how can the gaps in security in one system be closed?

Redefining Cyber Threat Investigations
Cobwebs Technologies’ commitment to providing scalable and adaptable data models sounds very much like the company’s current workplace ideology. The constant need for innovation is what first propelled the company to look at the foreseeable changes happening in the digital space and conclude that its fast-paced evolution also needed a fast-paced and dynamic AI-based solution capable of insight extraction. In the same way, Cobwebs Technologies has been committed to adaptability for the customer as a driving component of their work. The customer’s needs are always taken into account when considering changes in data models. For instance, the platform’s capabilities allow for the “intake and analysis of critical intelligence not just via algorithms but also through user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design. This is critical to providing easier access and onboarding for customers, which makes the platform much more scalable and easier to use”, says Levy. This means that customers can access Cobwebs Technologies’ built-in solutions easily and dynamically so not just one use-case can be addressed, but many.

It is easy to see why Cobwebs Technologies is changing the space of threat investigation and system security. By being aligned with research and development strategies as a way to drive innovation, Cobwebs Technologies’ AI-based solutions keep up with change and worsening, more nuanced flurries of cyber attacks. “The goal then, as it is now, is to lead with a sophisticated product that offers an ease-of-use to customers so that they can generate real insights and intelligence to ensure safety in our communities and security in our organisations”, says Levy. This vision is especially key to understanding what the future holds for Cobwebs Technologies. Increasingly, disruption is becoming an integrated part of everyday life, not only in the types of social breaks the world experiences (such as the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, financial downturn etc.,), but also in the way that digital technology becomes embedded in how people live and conduct work. This is important for Cobwebs Technologies since ensuring safety in communities and organisations is one of their top priorities and will continue to be as the online space, and one’s integration into this space, evolves. Cobwebs Technologies keeps up with the changing online environment so that customers experience a solution driven by need and necessity, by priority and recognition, and by adaptability and innovation. These capabilities spearhead much of Cobwebs Technologies' drive and output, as well as their visions for the future of threat recognition and response.