AI-driven OSINT that scrapes the open, deep, and dark web to profile targets.
Tangles is PenLink's AI-driven open-source and web intelligence (WEBINT) platform, originally built by Israeli firm Cobwebs Technologies, that automates search and analysis of data from the surface, deep, and dark web. It enables analysts to profile individuals, monitor events and threats in real time, map social connections, and pull in location data, and it has been used to identify participants in the January 6 Capitol attack.
What it does
▸Surface, deep, and dark web scraping
▸Target profiling and social network mapping
▸Real-time threat and event monitoring
▸Identity resolution from IP and digital footprints
▸Geofencing via WebLoc add-on
Where it's deployed
◍Texas Department of Public Safety
◍U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Agencies using it
ICE
Abuses & incidents
Lawsuit
Reverse public-records suit to keep police tools secret
2025
According to the EFF, Pen-Link filed a 'reverse' public-records lawsuit in late 2024 against the San Joaquin County (CA) Sheriff's Office to block release of its contracts, claiming its product names and prices were trade secrets and citing terms that purport to bar customers from disclosing use of its technology without the company's consent. EFF intervened, and a 2025 settlement forced disclosure — records showed the Sheriff paid $180,000 for a two-year subscription to the Tangles Web Intelligence Platform.