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Technical Architecture & Overview

Maltego is a visual investigation and link-analysis platform that uses transforms to query public and commercial data sources and map entity relationships. It is developed and maintained by Maltego Technologies. The desktop client, Maltego Graph, is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS, and a browser-based version of Maltego Graph is also offered.

Targeted Technical Use Cases

Map an organization's public-facing infrastructure, digital identities, and relationships in a visual graph to prioritize exposures during an investigation.

Evaluation & Trade-offs

Core Strengths

  • +Entities appear as nodes on a graph, and transforms add related information to it, so connections between them are visible.
  • +The Maltego Data Hub gives access to public OSINT sources and over 100 third-party data sources, and internal or proprietary data sources can also be integrated.
  • +Shared graph sessions let multiple analysts work on the same graph in real time.

Trade-Offs & Limitations

  • -The free Basic plan includes 200 Maltego Credits per month.
  • -Unlimited out-of-the-box access to commercial data requires a paid plan.

Defensive Security Application

Map attack surface, correlate exposed infrastructure with threat indicators, and document findings for remediation and risk review.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Maltego?→

Maltego is a visual investigation and link-analysis platform that uses transforms to query public and commercial data sources and map entity relationships. It is developed and maintained by Maltego Technologies. The desktop client, Maltego Graph, is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS, and a browser-based version of Maltego Graph is also offered.

What is Maltego used for?→

Map an organization's public-facing infrastructure, digital identities, and relationships in a visual graph to prioritize exposures during an investigation.

What are the strengths of Maltego?→
  • +Entities appear as nodes on a graph, and transforms add related information to it, so connections between them are visible.
  • +The Maltego Data Hub gives access to public OSINT sources and over 100 third-party data sources, and internal or proprietary data sources can also be integrated.
  • +Shared graph sessions let multiple analysts work on the same graph in real time.
What are the limitations of Maltego?→
  • +The free Basic plan includes 200 Maltego Credits per month.
  • +Unlimited out-of-the-box access to commercial data requires a paid plan.
How is Maltego used defensively?→

Map attack surface, correlate exposed infrastructure with threat indicators, and document findings for remediation and risk review.