Flashpoint’s PSC promises dynamic data collection to suit operational needs

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Are we exposed? What’s the impact? How do we respond? Those are the questions that threat intelligence firm Flashpoint hopes to answer using its new Primary Source Collection (PSC) guide.  

The company says the guide, titled “Upgrade Your Threat Intelligence: Gain the Primary Source Advantage,” changes the equation in data collection by sourcing data from closed forums, private messaging channels, fringe platforms and ephemeral spaces. This bypasses the vulnerabilities of traditional “data-first” frameworks and shines a light on a company’s blind spots, it says.  

“Primary Source Collection transforms intelligence teams from consumers of generic feeds into drivers of mission-specific intelligence,” said Josh Lefkowitz, CEO at Flashpoint. “It’s the difference between knowing an attack is happening in your sector and knowing that your organization is the target. In today’s threat landscape, speed and specificity are non-negotiable. Static feeds and broad aggregations leave critical gaps. Flashpoint’s Primary Source Collection delivers real-time visibility into closed, fringe and fast-moving spaces—because the intelligence you act on should be timely, actionable and reflect your requirements, not be dictated by a vendor’s generic feed." 

With access to more than 3.6 petabytes of data from the internet's open and difficult-to-reach spaces, Flashpoint says it combines human-powered data collection and intelligence with intuitive technology to help the world’s leading organizations protect people, places and assets. 

The company says one of the many applications for PSC is in executive protection, where the company says it can enable close to real-time data collection from the kind of fringe platforms where threat actors can coordinate harassment or attacks against targets. That includes chat groups, identifying personal information in doxxing repositories, and more. 

“PSC brings the rigor of the best intelligence tradecraft into the commercial sector,” said Andrew Borene, executive director for global security at Flashpoint and previously a senior official at the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and at the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC).  “Just as elite government HUMINT and SIGINT teams begin with an information requirement, PSC ensures that organizations can direct collection against their most pressing risks in real time, rather than relying on someone else’s priorities.”  

Interested parties can examine the guidebook themselves online at flashpoint.io.