Powering global security operations centers with OSINT capabilities

Learn how OSINT transforms Global Security Operations Centers into proactive intelligence hubs, enhancing threat detection, physical security, incident response, and brand protection worldwide.

For large organizations that operate in multiple countries or even continents, managing security globally requires a central hub for monitoring, assessing, and responding to a broad array of threats that may affect business operations, personal safety, and corporate assets. That is where the Global Security Operations Center (GSOC, also called a Security Command Center) comes in. The main task of a GSOC is the management of corporate security operations at all geographic locations where the organization operates.

In global organizations, the GSOC and different regional SOCs must collaborate closely. They regularly share information with a fusion center. This center combines cyber and physical threat intelligence to give a clear picture of the organization's risk.

For instance, a GSOC might notify the SOC about a physical protest at a data center. In turn, the SOC might inform the GSOC about a cyber threat group targeting the travel plans of executives. 

GSOC teams use several different techniques and technologies to manage their operations effectively, including:

• Physical surveillance systems: CCTV, Access Control Systems, Intrusion Detection, Perimeter Sensors
• Threat intelligence platforms: These are software solutions that aggregate, correlate, and analyze threat data from various sources, including OSINT
• Security information and event management (SIEM) & logging: Such as Splunk, IBM QRadar and LogRhythm
• Geospatial analysis and mapping tools: Mapping solutions are used to visualize threats and assets on a map. Examples include Esri ArcGIS and Google Earth Pro
• Emergency communication tools: Such as mass notification systems (e.g., Everbridge, Send Word Now), satellite phones, two-way radios, panic button apps

However, adding OSINT techniques to the GSOC arsenal brings with it a substantial set of advantages over traditional security monitoring.

OSINT involves gathering actionable intelligence through the use of public sources, such as social media and public databases. It helps GSOC teams anticipate emerging threats before they can happen and make timely and relevant decisions with regard to real-time information about worldwide events, natural disasters, political unrest, and other security-related threats that may affect their operations. In addition, applying OSINT significantly reduces operation costs compared to reliance on commercial intelligence services alone, providing a more comprehensive and timely view of the global security posture. 

This article outlines how OSINT can help enhance the capabilities of GSOC teams to enhance the organizational security posture.

How can OSINT help enhance the capabilities of a GSOC?

The integration of OSINT into GSOC operations significantly enhances the efficiency of security teams through extending situational awareness, improving the ability to anticipate threats, and enabling rapid, intelligence-driven decision-making. 

Traditional security monitoring methods have typically depended on commercial intelligence providers, proprietary threat databases, and closed-source information feeds. Although these resources are still valuable, they often have major drawbacks, such as:

• High subscription costs
• Possible delays in sharing information
• Gaps in coverage for specific areas or threat types
• Reliance on third-party analysis that may not match an organization’s specific risks or operational needs
• Lack of context (generic alerts are provided without context to understand its importance to your business operations or personnel)
• "Alert fatigue" from irrelevant information (the number of generic alerts can be very high causing analysts to miss the few critical pieces of information that are truly relevant to their organization)
• A "Black Box" problem (where the sources and methodologies behind the intelligence are not transparent, which makes it difficult to verify)

In addition to this, commercial feeds usually concentrate on predefined threat categories, which may overlook new risks that do not follow established patterns or fit within traditional intelligence collection methods.

OSINT has fundamentally transformed this approach by delivering continuous, real-time data streams from a vast array of publicly available sources. These sources span the entire spectrum of digital and physical domains that affect organizational operations, in addition to countless other information repositories that collectively formulate a comprehensive picture of the global threat landscape:

• Social media platforms where threats often first emerge
• News outlets reporting on breaking events
• Government databases containing regulatory and compliance information
• Weather services providing critical environmental alerts
• Transportation systems broadcasting disruption notices
• Public safety communications revealing local security incidents
• Academic publications discussing emerging threat methodologies

The main areas that OSINT can help improve GSOC operations include early threat detection, boosting physical security monitoring, improving incident response capabilities, and brand protection.

Early threat detection

OSINT allows security teams to identify threats in advance before they target the organization's infrastructure or disrupt business operations. It provides critical support to the GSOC in several key use cases: detecting physical threats, locating compromised credentials, anticipating compliance and supply chain risks, and revealing planned cyberattacks.

Detect physical threats

OSINT can be used to monitor public sources, such as social media platforms and news outlets, to anticipate events that may impact personnel or organization's physical facilities. For example, by doing social media intelligence, or SOCMINT, the security team may reveal planned protests near a major facility office. To respond to this threat, the company may decide to enact a mandatory work-from-home day, ensuring employee safety and avoiding operational disruption.

Locating compromised credentials

Hackers commonly advertise leaked employees' credentials (username and password) on Pastebin sites and darknet marketplaces. OSINT can help GSOC staff find leaked credentials before they get exploited by threat actors.

Suppose a security team found a list of 500 corporate emails and passwords from your company, posted just hours ago on a Pastebin site. The team immediately forces a password reset for all affected accounts through the Identity and Access Management (IAM) system, which results in nullifying the threat.

Anticipating compliance & supply chain risks

The global political landscape changes continually. OSINT can be used to provide early awareness when new government sanctions or trade restrictions are issued that may impact global operations — for instance, when a new sanction has been announced against a country where your company has a supplier. The OSINT team can alert leadership, who can quickly pivot to an alternative partner to avoid legal penalties and supply chain delays.

In the same way, OSINT can be used to assess the impact of political instability on business operations. For instance, by monitoring international news and official government travel advisories, the GSOC gives an early warning about rising political tensions in a country with a critical data center. This helps with contingency planning, like switching to a backup site in a more stable area.

Revealing planned cyberattacks

Threat actors often use platforms like Telegram, Discord, and semi-private forums to coordinate attacks, share tools such as malware and exploits, and exchange techniques. Their conversations can reveal important information about specific software vulnerabilities, including both newly published and unknown zero-days, that may impact an organization's technology stack. By actively monitoring these platforms with OSINT techniques, security teams can identify these threats early and take action to defend against them.

For example, suppose a GSOC analyst discovers a threat group discussing a proof-of-concept exploit for a specific firewall model used by their company. In that case, they can quickly implement compensating controls or apply a patch before an attack takes place.

Boost physical security monitoring

Among the main responsibilities of a GSOC is ensuring the physical security of an organization’s physical assets and personnel across all global locations where it operates. OSINT plays a critical role in this direction by strengthening situational awareness and improving decision-making through several practical applications. 

Local crime and safety intelligence

OSINT provides real-time visibility into crime patterns and safety issues around corporate sites. GSOC teams can track local police feeds, crime watch groups, and regional news to identify issues that may impact operations. For example, a GSOC monitoring a city-level crime map may notice a spike in nighttime break-ins within 500 meters of a company distribution center. The team may adjust guard patrol intervals, increase external lighting, and notify local law enforcement of potential targeting.

Weather conditions and natural disaster alerts

OSINT allows GSOC teams to monitor weather forecasting services, geological survey agencies, and emergency management platforms for alerts on natural or environmental disasters that might affect operations. For example, a tropical cyclone watch from a national weather service indicates a likely impact zone near a company’s regional data center. The GSOC can act accordingly as follows: halt non-essential operations, secure backup generators, and coordinate staff evacuation timelines.

Social media monitoring for physical threats

Real-time content from platforms like LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and TikTok can reveal immediate dangers around corporate sites. Employees or passersby often upload geotagged images, videos, or warnings that offer early indicators of risk.

For example, multiple posts appear on X reporting a protest crowd gathering near an office tower entrance. The GSOC checks the geolocation, confirms crowd movement using traffic camera OSINT feeds, and temporarily reroutes employee entry through a secondary entrance.

Travel security intelligence

OSINT strengthens executive and employee travel safety by monitoring geopolitical conditions, international health risks, and local instability in visited countries. For instance, suppose a GSOC is monitoring local news and social media in a Southeast Asian country where a key executive is set to travel. The OSINT team does not find a direct security threat, but they spot a series of escalating protests by a labor union. These protests are aimed at the city’s main international airport, with plans to block access roads on the day of the executive’s departure.

Rather than just issuing a security alert, the GSOC suggests an operational solution. They rebook the executive on a flight leaving from a secondary airport in a neighboring city. They also arrange secure ground transport to avoid the protest zone completely and provide the traveler with real-time updates through a secure app. This response prevents major travel disruption and possible involvement in a tense situation, even though there was no direct threat to the executive.

Improve incident response capabilities

When a security incident occurs, OSINT can help GSOC teams add critical context to understand better and handle the situation effectively. For instance, by using OSINT techniques, analysts can determine if a particular incident is isolated or part of a coordinated campaign targeting multiple organizations or locations simultaneously.

For instance, if the organization is hit by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, OSINT research may reveal that other companies in the same industry are facing similar attacks at the same time. This could indicate a coordinated effort by a hacktivist group or a nation-state actor. Understanding this context helps GSOC teams decide how serious the threat is, predict attackers next move, and work with industry partners or law enforcement. 

OSINT is also helpful during data breach incidents. When an organization finds unauthorized access to its IT systems, OSINT techniques can help determine the scope and impact of the breach. For instance, by monitoring paste sites like Pastebin, hacker forums on the darknet, and social media platforms, GSOC analysts can find out if stolen data has been published online, sold in underground markets, or shared among cybercriminal communities.

In 2021, when Facebook faced a massive data breach that affected 533 million users, security teams used OSINT to quickly identify that the leaked data was being shared across multiple forums and Telegram channels. This allowed them to assess the full extent of the exposure and notify affected users promptly.

Brand protection

Brands are frequently the target of disinformation campaigns, attacks on reputation, and other online exploitations. OSINT ensures brand protection through its work of constantly monitoring brand mentions across social media platforms, news websites, blogs, and online forums. This active, early monitoring allows GSOC teams to identify negative sentiment, false information, or coordinated attacks against the reputation of an organization before they have built in momentum and become severe crises.

OSINT can also be applied for the detection of leaked documents or employee credentials associated with a particular brand or company. A good example is monitoring file-sharing websites, databases of cloud storage leaks, and hacker forums that may reveal confidential business documents, customer data, or other internal communications. The more rapid the detection of this issue, the faster the organization can evaluate the damage, inform those who are at risk, and undertake legal procedures to remove the content before widespread distribution. 

OSINT changes GSOC from reactive monitoring centers to proactive intelligence operations. By using publicly available information from social media and news feeds to government databases and weather services, GSOC teams gain better situational awareness at a lower cost than traditional intelligence methods. This ability allows for early threat detection, better physical security monitoring, quicker incident response, and strong brand protection across global operations.

As organizations deal with more complex security challenges in physical, cyber, and reputational areas, OSINT delivers the real-time, contextual intelligence needed to anticipate threats, safeguard personnel and assets, and ensure business continuity worldwide.

Powering global security operations centers with OSINT capabilities FAQs

What is the role of a Global Security Operations Center (GSOC)?

A Global Security Operations Center (GSOC) serves as a centralized command hub responsible for monitoring threats, protecting personnel and facilities, managing travel risk, and coordinating incident response across an organization’s global operations.

How does a GSOC differ from a traditional SOC?

While a SOC focuses on cybersecurity and IT infrastructure, a GSOC manages physical security, geopolitical risk, personnel safety, crisis response, and brand protection — often collaborating with SOCs through a fusion center model.

What is OSINT in a GSOC context?

OSINT in a GSOC context refers to the collection and analysis of publicly available information, such as social media, news, government data, and forums, to identify threats, assess risk, and support global security operations in real time.

How do GSOCs use intelligence to improve situational awareness?

GSOCs use intelligence from physical security systems, cyber alerts, and open-source information to gain real-time visibility into global risks. This intelligence helps teams anticipate disruptions, validate threats, and make faster, more informed security decisions. 

Why is direct engagement important for GSOC investigations?

Direct engagement allows GSOC analysts to safely access and analyze real-world threat data as events unfold. This approach reduces reliance on delayed third-party reporting and enables proactive threat detection across physical, cyber, and reputational domains.

How do GSOCs protect analysts during online investigations?

GSOCs protect analysts by using isolated investigation environments that mask identity, location, and infrastructure. This prevents adversaries from detecting monitoring activity or targeting analysts during sensitive investigations.

How does a GSOC support executive and employee travel security?

GSOCs monitor geopolitical conditions, civil unrest, weather events, and transportation disruptions to assess travel risk in real time. This intelligence enables route adjustments, itinerary changes, and proactive safety guidance for travelers. 

How do GSOCs manage global incidents more effectively?

GSOCs centralize intelligence, communications, and response coordination, allowing teams to assess scope, prioritize actions, and align stakeholders during crises — whether incidents involve physical security, cyber threats, or reputational risk.

What capabilities should a modern GSOC platform provide?

A modern GSOC platform should securely enable intelligence collection, protect analyst identity, accelerate investigations, and support policy and access management — allowing teams to operate globally without exposing people, operations, or investigations.