When most people think about transnational criminal organizations, they picture secretive networks operating entirely in the shadows.

The reality is often not that. 

TCO’s actually rely on the same digital tools that legitimate businesses use every day. 

For example, fentanyl distributors have been observed advertising products online, while human smuggling networks use social media to promote services and connect with potential customers. Investigators have also uncovered online communities where participants share violent ideologies, discuss transportation routes, and in some cases coordinate attacks.

That means investigators can often learn a great deal about how these organizations operate by paying attention to the digital footprint they leave behind.

Looking For Patterns

A major challenge in TCO investigations is that investigators are often trying to understand the broader criminal network behind a series of activities rather than solving a single crime.

A seizure, an arrest, or a suspicious transaction is just one piece of a much larger operation. What they really need to understand are the patterns of people, relationships, and infrastructure that make that operation possible.

That can be difficult when information is spread across a massive amount of disparate data.

A phone number found during a search warrant may not seem important until it appears somewhere else. An online account that looks unrelated today may become relevant months later when new information comes to light. Investigators are constantly working to determine whether separate pieces of information are actually connected.

Understanding Relationships

One of the most useful aspects of OSINT is its ability to provide visibility into relationships.

In cartel investigations, for example, social media activity has helped expose connections between associates, facilitators, and individuals who might not otherwise appear connected. Sometimes those relationships are obvious. Other times they emerge only after investigators begin comparing information from multiple sources.

The value isn't necessarily found in a single post, photograph, or account.

It's found in the pattern.

Over time, those patterns can help investigators better understand how a network is organized, who appears to play a central role, and where additional investigative effort should be focused.

How to Quickly Find Threats on the Open-Source Internet

While this case involved embezzlement, the reality is that nearly every investigative agency faces a version of the same problem.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates that fraud costs the federal government between $233 billion and $521 billion annually.

Recently, President Trump and Vice President JD Vance established an anti-fraud task force focused on addressing fraud across key federal programs.

These agencies investigate matters such as:

• Public corruption

• Benefits fraud

• Medicaid fraud

• Financial crimes

• Procurement fraud

• Identity theft

At the federal level, investigators are often tasked with uncovering fraud schemes that span multiple states, agencies, and years.

Learn More: Fivecast + TimePilot Upcoming Webinar 

To explore these challenges in greater detail, Tranquility AI, Fivecast, and Carahsoft are hosting a webinar focused on today's national security landscape and how investigators can use AI-powered OSINT to disrupt evolving threats.

Join Tranquility AI Founder and CEO Jim Penrose (former NSA Technical Director for Counterterrorism), alongside Joshua Skule, former FBI Executive Assistant Director for Intelligence and Fivecast's Brittany Mason for a complimentary webinar exploring today's threat environment. 

The session will conclude with a live demonstration showcasing how Fivecast and TimePilot work together to help investigators collect, analyze, and understand large volumes of OSINT data faster.

Register on Carahsoft's website here.