SpiderFoot is a powerful open source intelligence (OSINT) automation tool designed for reconnaissance and data analysis. It streamlines the process of gathering and analyzing information from a wide array of publicly available data sources. Security professionals, researchers, and anyone interested in understanding digital footprints can leverage SpiderFoot’s extensive capabilities through its user-friendly web interface or command-line operation. Written in Python 3 and distributed under the MIT license, SpiderFoot is both accessible and adaptable to diverse needs.
Key Features of SpiderFoot
SpiderFoot is packed with features that make OSINT collection and analysis efficient and insightful:
- User-Friendly Interface: Choose between an intuitive web-based UI and a robust command-line interface, catering to different user preferences and environments.
- Extensive Module Library: Over 200 modules are available, enabling integration with virtually every accessible data source. This vast array of modules ensures comprehensive data coverage.
- Correlation Engine: A YAML-configurable correlation engine, equipped with 37 pre-defined rules, automatically identifies relationships and patterns within the gathered data, enhancing analysis.
- Data Export: Export data in CSV, JSON, and GEXF formats for seamless integration with other tools and reporting platforms.
- API Key Management: Efficiently manage API keys with export/import functionality, simplifying setup and sharing.
- SQLite Backend: Utilizes an SQLite backend, allowing for custom querying and advanced data manipulation.
- Highly Configurable: SpiderFoot is designed to be highly configurable, allowing users to tailor scans and modules to specific requirements.
- Comprehensive Documentation: Fully documented, ensuring users have access to the resources needed to maximize their use of the tool.
- Visualizations: Offers data visualizations to help users understand complex relationships and patterns at a glance.
- TOR Integration: Built-in TOR integration enables secure dark web searching, expanding the scope of investigations.
- Docker Support: Includes a Dockerfile for easy Docker-based deployments, facilitating consistent and scalable setups.
- Integration with External Tools: Can seamlessly call upon other powerful tools such as DNSTwist, Whatweb, Nmap, and CMSeeK, extending its capabilities.
- Actively Developed: Continuously updated and improved since 2012, demonstrating its reliability and commitment to staying at the forefront of OSINT tools.
SpiderFoot open source web-based user interface screenshot
SpiderFoot HX: Expanding Your OSINT Capabilities
For users requiring more advanced features and scalability, SpiderFoot HX offers a cloud-based, managed solution with enhanced functionalities:
- Cloud-Based and Managed: Fully hosted and managed, eliminating the need for local infrastructure and maintenance.
- Attack Surface Monitoring: Proactive monitoring of your attack surface with real-time change notifications via email, REST, and Slack, ensuring you stay ahead of potential threats.
- Multi-Target Scanning: Ability to scan multiple targets simultaneously, improving efficiency for large-scale investigations.
- Collaboration Features: Supports multi-user collaboration, facilitating team-based investigations and knowledge sharing.
- Enhanced Security: Includes authenticated access and 2FA for secure operation.
- Dedicated Investigations Platform: Designed specifically for in-depth investigations, providing tools and workflows to manage complex cases.
- Customer Support: Access to dedicated customer support for assistance and troubleshooting.
- Pre-configured Third-Party Tools: Comes with third-party tools pre-installed and configured, saving setup time and effort.
- RESTful API: Drive SpiderFoot HX programmatically with a comprehensive RESTful API, enabling automation and integration with other systems.
- Built-in TOR and Screenshotting: Integrated TOR support and automated screenshotting capabilities for enhanced data collection.
- Custom Modules: Option to bring your own Python SpiderFoot modules, extending functionality to meet specific requirements.
- Data Integration: Feed scan data directly to Splunk, ElasticSearch, and REST endpoints for advanced analysis and correlation.
For a detailed comparison, see the full feature breakdown between SpiderFoot HX and the open source version.
Versatile Applications of SpiderFoot
SpiderFoot’s flexibility makes it suitable for a wide range of applications, both offensive and defensive:
- Offensive Reconnaissance: In red team exercises and penetration testing, SpiderFoot excels at gathering comprehensive information about targets, mapping attack surfaces, and identifying potential vulnerabilities.
- Defensive Security: Organizations can use SpiderFoot to understand their external digital footprint, identify exposed information, and proactively mitigate risks.
- Brand Monitoring: Track mentions of your brand across the internet, identify potential reputation threats, and monitor online conversations.
- Vulnerability Management: Discover potential vulnerabilities by identifying exposed technologies, misconfigurations, and sensitive data leaks.
- Supply Chain Risk Assessment: Evaluate the security posture of your supply chain by profiling partner organizations and identifying potential risks.
- Financial Investigations: While not explicitly a “Spider Credit Card Scanning Tool”, SpiderFoot can be configured to identify patterns and anomalies in financial data during broader OSINT investigations, and it does include modules capable of extracting credit card numbers from publicly exposed data as part of its comprehensive scanning capabilities. This can be crucial for understanding potential data breaches and exposures.
SpiderFoot can target a variety of entities, including:
- IP Addresses
- Domains and Sub-domains
- Hostnames
- Network Subnets (CIDR)
- Autonomous System Numbers (ASN)
- Email Addresses
- Phone Numbers
- Usernames
- Person Names
- Bitcoin Addresses
With over 200 modules working in concert, SpiderFoot maximizes data extraction for tasks such as:
- Host, Sub-domain, and TLD Enumeration
- Email Address, Phone Number, and Human Name Extraction
- Bitcoin and Ethereum Address Extraction
- Sub-domain Hijacking Susceptibility Checks
- DNS Zone Transfers
- Threat Intelligence and Blacklist Queries
- API Integration with SHODAN, HaveIBeenPwned, GreyNoise, and many more
- Social Media Account Enumeration
- S3, Azure, and DigitalOcean Bucket Enumeration and Scraping
- IP Geo-location
- Web Scraping and Content Analysis
- Image, Document, and Binary File Metadata Analysis
- Dark Web Searches
- Port Scanning and Banner Grabbing
- Data Breach Searches
Installation and Getting Started
To install and run SpiderFoot, ensure you have Python 3.7 or higher and the necessary Python libraries. Installing a packaged release is recommended for stability.
Stable Build Installation
wget https://github.com/smicallef/spiderfoot/archive/v4.0.tar.gz
tar zxvf v4.0.tar.gz
cd spiderfoot-4.0
pip3 install -r requirements.txt
python3 ./sf.py -l 127.0.0.1:5001Development Build Installation
git clone https://github.com/smicallef/spiderfoot.git
cd spiderfoot
pip3 install -r requirements.txt
python3 ./sf.py -l 127.0.0.1:5001Refer to the comprehensive documentation and asciinema tutorials for detailed guidance.
Join the SpiderFoot Community
Connect with other users and contributors in the SpiderFoot community! Join the Discord server to ask for help, suggest features, and engage in discussions about OSINT.
Correlation Rules and Modules
Explore the power of SpiderFoot’s correlation engine and learn how to write custom correlation rules here. Discover the extensive list of over 200 modules and integrations here, offering a vast landscape of OSINT capabilities.
Further Resources
Visit the project website for complete documentation, blog posts, tutorials, and information about SpiderFoot HX. Stay updated with the latest news and announcements by following SpiderFoot on Twitter.
