March 26, 2024 – As a pioneer of open-source intelligence (OSINT) investigation tools dating back to 2009, ShadowDragon is honored by a recent award recognizing us as a transparent and reliable vendor that supports security operations aligned with ethical standards. In other words, an independent evaluation of our company supports our stance that ShadowDragon is the leading voice of “OSINT for Good”.

Frost & Sullivan has presented ShadowDragon with the 2024 Best Practices Award for Entrepreneurial Company of the Year (global OSINT industry). “The company recognizes the level of trust OSINT cyber threat intelligence is built upon; therefore, trust in the OSINT industry is no different when working with clients.”

Award nominees for the Best Practices Awards program are rigorously analyzed, including a detailed evaluation of best practices criteria across two dimensions for each nominated company. According to Frost & Sullivan, ShadowDragon displays an overall strong performance in each category of entrepreneurial innovation and customer impact: market disruption and market gaps, competitive differentiation, leadership focus, passionate persistence, price and performance value, customer purchase and ownership experience, and customer service experience.

Within the official award write-up by Frost & Sullivan, there are a few notes we are especially proud to see that the analyst team took notice of when evaluating ShadowDragon:

• Our tools address critical challenges in the market, such as manual processing and data collection, lack of targeted data set groups, and the need for source identification. Frost & Sullivan notes that many other competitors in the industry mass collect data and often run artificial intelligence (AI) against a database to produce results, outsourcing where the data came from to conclude their research. ShadowDragon commits to designing its tool without leveraging AI engines so investigators can recreate an investigation independently. 

• We also develop our solutions with an overall vision to provide “OSINT for good.” We allow investigators to obtain data while adhering to the ethical use of public data. The ShadowDragon platform avoids using AI on behalf of an analyst. Instead, we leverage automation and OSINT to help security teams solve problems and find criminals. We focus on building out our investigative toolkit capabilities to provide the best coverage.

• Another key differentiator of ShadowDragon is that many competitors do not offer direct application programming interface (API) integration. Most companies offering this feature only integrate with 40 platforms, whereas ShadowDragon can incorporate with 200. For example, we offer a link analysis tool to access data and internal OSINT tools. Instead of developing new or niche-analysis-type platforms, we focus on delivering valuable, comprehensive link analysis. 

• Last but not least, we venture to great lengths to ensure seamless integration and simplify the buying process for its clients. Unlike other competitors, Frost & Sullivan notes that ShadowDragon builds its solutions, collaborating closely with various stakeholders and partners to evolve alongside market needs and trends. We maintain our role as an educator and adhere to customers of all skill types. For example, customers needing more experience in OSINT platforms can use ShadowDragon’s Internal Monitoring approach. This approach trains security teams while leveraging their knowledge capability when building the platform. Moreover, this training structure helps the company connect with clients familiar with OSINT platforms, determining their skill levels and how to approach each customer best.

In appreciation of this award, our founder, Daniel Clemens, shares:

“ShadowDragon has always been dedicated to making the world a safer place. For our company, this looks like continuously innovating and developing easy-to-use digital investigation tools that simplify the complexities of modern online investigations. Everything from our tools, data and training courses are designed to enable those providing protection to their communities – including public servants, corporate organizations, vetted law enforcement, governments and militaries – to focus on effective investigation and analysis of OSINT and publicly available information (PAI) to solve challenging criminal cases. We thank Frost & Sullivan for including us in their market analysis of OSINT companies, and for highlighting the ways we are leading this space in entrepreneurial innovation.”

“ShadowDragon’s approach exceeds its extensive expertise and best-in-class capabilities, with customer value as a strategic imperative. Through the years, the company has earned a sterling reputation supporting clients’ paths toward efficient investigations.” The ShadowDragon Intelligence Suite not only provides better insights into who the players are and who they may be related to – it fits into multiple different verticals with different use cases at scale, from building cases against organized crime to managing public health crises and physical threats against employees. For more information about the ShadowDragon suite of OSINT tools and capabilities, such as SocialNet, OIMonitor, MalNet and Horizon, visit https://shadowdragon.io/.

The ShadowDragon team will be at several forthcoming events and would look forward to meeting anyone interested in learning more about us – get in touch to find out where. Don’t forget to listen to our latest podcast episodes for research-based thought leadership perspectives on the OSINT space.

About ShadowDragon

ShadowDragon provides comprehensive, cyber investigative resources and training for use by private companies, intelligence gathering professionals, law enforcement, and government. The U.S.-based company delivers open source intelligence (OSINT) from over 200 networks including social media platforms, chat rooms, forums, historical datasets, and the dark web. The company monitors malware history, data breach dumps, and other areas for active cyber threats. These data collection and analytic tools help defend against malicious acts in the digital and physical world. For more information, visit www.shadowdragon.io.

About Frost & Sullivan Global Product Leadership Awards

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has developed a product with innovative features and functionality that is gaining rapid market acceptance. The award recognizes the quality of the solution and the customer value enhancements it enables.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in various regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.