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Business professionals reviewing digital intelligence dashboards with cybersecurity icons, symbolizing decision-grade OSINT, data protection, and investigative workflows

Professional OSINT Is Not About Data. It’s About Decisions.

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" | December 15, 2025

There is a moment in many investigations that feels uncomfortably familiar. The analyst has done the work. The sources have been checked. Profiles, domains, usernames, and connections are documented. There is a narrative. Sometimes even a clean visual showing how everything fits together. And then someone asks: “So… what do we do with this?” That […]

Hands typing on a laptop with digital compliance and legal icons overlaid, symbolizing KYC governance, audit trails, and regulatory alignment

7 KYC Best Practices to Reduce Risks

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / December 12, 2025

Know Your Customer (KYC) is critical for protecting businesses from fraud and other financial crimes, including risks tied to cryptocurrency activity. Strong KYC programs look past the paperwork to uncover […]

Hands typing on a laptop with digital targeting and analytics icons, representing difficulty identifying high-risk customers and detecting synthetic identities during KYC screening

8 Biggest KYC Challenges (and How to Overcome Them)

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / December 12, 2025

KYC (Know Your Customer) might sound simple, but compliance teams are dealing with a number of significant challenges. If you’re on the front lines and see KYC firsthand every day, […]

A person using digital icons representing business customers, identity verification, and beneficial ownership checks, symbolizing the corporate KYC and KYB onboarding process

Corporate KYC: Verify and Onboard Businesses Effectively

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / December 12, 2025

Corporate KYC (Know Your Customer) is the core of every reliable onboarding program. It helps compliance teams determine who owns a business and how it operates before taking on any […]

KYC vs. KYB: What’s the Difference?

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / December 12, 2025

KYC and KYB follow some similar processes, but they solve different problems. KYC focuses on people, while KYB focuses on companies. Both KYC and KYB are core parts of fraud […]

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8 Ways KYC Prevents Fraud

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / December 11, 2025

Fraud starts where the checks are the weakest, which is why bad actors often target the onboarding process. Strong KYC eliminates blind spots and gives analysts a clear view of […]

Fintech network diagram with interconnected icons illustrating risk-based KYC verification, customer risk profiling, and digital identity monitoring across financial platforms

KYC Fintech: Crafting a Risk-Based Verification Strategy

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / December 11, 2025

KYC (Know Your Customer) in fintech needs to move fast, but it also needs to be smart. Most customers complete the KYC onboarding process from a phone or laptop, and […]

A business professional interacting with a virtual risk scale labeled low to high, surrounded by digital icons representing customer data, monitoring signals, and due diligence steps in KYC risk assessment

KYC Risk Assessment: Why It Matters for Ongoing Monitoring

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / December 10, 2025

KYC risk assessment is the foundation of every comprehensive KYC (Know Your Customer) compliance program. It shapes how companies onboard new customers and how they’re monitored over time, starting with […]

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Perpetual KYC: Benefits, Risks, and Compliance Advantages

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / December 10, 2025

Traditional KYC (Know Your Customer) review cycles can’t keep up with customers’ constantly evolving risk profiles. By the time a compliance team runs a scheduled refresh, the customer’s profile may […]

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KYC Checklist: 10 Essential Steps for Compliance Success

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / November 26, 2025

KYC (Know Your Customer) compliance is a vital process for banks, fintechs, insurers, and other regulated organizations. By verifying the identities of your customers and assessing their risk profiles, you […]

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AML and KYC: Compliance Guide for Banks and Financial Institutions

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / November 17, 2025

AML (Anti-Money Laundering) and KYC (Know Your Customer) risk management have long been at the core of banking. In fact, financial institutions risk liability and missing business opportunities if they […]

Person using a laptop surrounded by virtual KYC icons, representing online identity verification and secure onboarding in banking

What is Know Your Customer (KYC), and Why is It Important in Banking?

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / November 17, 2025

Know Your Customer (KYC) is the process by which banks and other regulated institutions verify their customers’ identities and information, in order to prevent fraud and comply with AML/CTF regulations. […]

Person typing on a laptop with a digital cybersecurity interface overlay showing icons for banking and credit card authentication, representing KYC integration in financial systems

KYC Integration: Step by Step Guide for Financial Institutions

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / November 11, 2025

Financial institutions face growing pressure to authenticate customer identities, detect financial crime, and comply with shifting KYC and AML regulations, all without slowing down onboarding or harming customer experience. But […]

A rubber stamp marking the words “Do you know your customers?” onto paper, symbolizing the KYC onboarding process

The KYC Onboarding Process: Expert Guide

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / November 11, 2025

Know Your Customer (KYC) onboarding is the first line of defense between your organization and its customers, and it’s where most financial crimes are either detected and prevented or slip […]

Financial professionals discussing KYC remediation workflow with digital icons illustrating identity verification, risk assessment, and compliance

What is KYC Remediation? Step by Step Guide

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / November 11, 2025

Know Your Customer (KYC) remediation occurs after onboarding is complete. Remediation is the process of digging into existing client files to fix missing or expired information, update changes in ownership, […]

Person using a laptop with digital icons symbolizing customer risk assessment and compliance processes in KYC and CDD

KYC vs. CDD: What’s the Difference?

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / November 10, 2025

Financial institutions are required to “know their customer,” but the terms KYC and CDD are often confused or treated as separate processes. Customer Due Diligence (CDD) is a subset of […]

Businessperson using a laptop and smartphone with digital ID verification icons representing KYC and AML compliance

Required KYC Documents for Banks

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / November 10, 2025

Banks are required to gather Know Your Customer (KYC) documents to comply with regulations, but they must also validate the documents are authentic, accurate, and associated with the actual real […]

Digital interface showing KYC verification icons on a laptop screen, symbolizing automated KYC verification and data security

Automated KYC Verification: 8 Winning Strategies

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / November 10, 2025

Financial institutions and fintechs are facing increasing pressure to onboard customers quickly without missing hidden risks. Traditional manual Know Your Customer (KYC) solutions can’t keep pace with digital onboarding, global […]

A packed baseball stadium with players on the field, illustrating how large crowds require OSINT-enabled security to monitor online threats before and during events

How OSINT Is Transforming Stadium Security: Real-Time Insight for Game Day Threats

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / November 7, 2025

Major sporting events are high-profile, high-stakes operations. Thousands of fans, live broadcast coverage, and an open digital ecosystem make stadiums an attractive target for disruption. Traditional physical security is no […]

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KYC Verification Process: 8 Steps to Compliance

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / October 24, 2025

Know Your Customer (KYC) verification is a critical component of any financial compliance program. KYC verification is the process of verifying an individual’s or entity’s identity to confirm that they […]

A person typing on a laptop with digital Bitcoin and security warning symbols, illustrating crypto KYC challenges like fraud, ransomware, and regulatory risk

What is KYC in Crypto? Requirements, Process, and Verification Explained

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / October 15, 2025

Cryptocurrency has evolved from an experimental fad to a worldwide market. As it has grown in popularity, regulators around the world have made one thing clear: the platforms used to […]

Abstract visualization of global data connections and code overlay, symbolizing how OSINT tools integrate diverse digital sources to map relationships between identities, domains, and networks

OSINT Without Barriers: Spend Time on the Case, Not the Bureaucracy (with OSINT Tools)

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / October 8, 2025

Data grows by the second, more than 5 billion social data points are created a day. Yet too many investigations stall in the same places — getting access, crawling sources, […]

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21 Best Threat Intelligence Platforms (2025 Guide)

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / September 5, 2025

Threat intelligence has become a critical function for security operations. With the rapid shift in attack tactics and a proliferation of threat signals on the surface, deep, and dark web, […]

Cybersecurity concept showing a person using a laptop and tablet with a digital wireframe face, warning icons, and deepfake alerts symbolizing AI-driven fraud detection tools

21 Best Fraud Detection Software Tools (2025 Guide)

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / September 5, 2025

Fraud tactics are evolving faster than ever, and they’re becoming increasingly sophisticated. Driven by AI, automation, and novel attack vectors like synthetic identities and phishing-based account takeovers, organizations today face […]

Digital interface showing a man’s face with facial recognition mapping lines, highlighting AI-based identity verification and fraud detection

Top 5 Fraud Detection Techniques Every Organization Should Know

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / September 5, 2025

Fraud is an arms race. Account takeovers, synthetic identities, and organized fraud rings are just a few of the ways attackers are testing organizations’ defenses and looking for weak spots. […]

Person holding a smartphone with a digital lock and facial recognition overlay, representing identity verification and biometric authentication in identity intelligence.

What is Identity Intelligence? Techniques, Benefits, and Real-World Applications

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / August 28, 2025

Understanding who’s behind digital activity can shift the direction of an investigation. That’s the essence of identity intelligence: the process of collecting, enriching, and analyzing identifiers such as usernames, email […]

Business professional interacting with virtual security and compliance icons, including a lock, legal symbol, and cloud storage graphic

Corporate Security Compliance: How to Meet Regulations to Stay Compliant

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / August 14, 2025

Corporate security compliance is a critical part of operating in today’s regulatory environment. Whether you’re handling healthcare records, financial data, or cloud infrastructure for government clients, regulators expect proof that […]

Concept image of corporate security risk assessment with a lock shield at the center and multiple digital threat icons surrounding it

10 Steps to Conduct a Corporate Security Risk Assessment in 2025

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / August 13, 2025

Every organization faces corporate security risks, but not every organization knows where those risks are or how to prioritize them. A well-executed corporate security risk assessment gives you the visibility […]

Conceptual image of a person holding a smartphone with digital warning symbols, representing corporate security trends in mobile threat detection and real-time alerting

9 Biggest Corporate Security Trends Shaping Modern Risk Management

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / August 6, 2025

Remote work, cloud sprawl, and supply chain dependencies have permanently reshaped the risk landscape, shifting where threats emerge and how they remain concealed. Meanwhile, threats are faster, more distributed, and […]

Hand holding a smartphone with holographic icons of a bank, currency, and digital finance elements, symbolizing mobile banking security

Corporate Security in Banking: 12 Best Practices

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / July 24, 2025

Banks are high-value targets for cybercriminals, fraudsters, and nation-state actors seeking financial gain, sensitive data, or systemic disruption. Between the money, data, and public visibility, it’s no surprise they attract […]

Key requirements for effective corporate mobile security

14 Essential Corporate Mobile Security Requirements

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / July 24, 2025

Mobile security is no longer limited to traditional endpoints like desktops and laptops. Today’s workforce depends on smartphones, tablets, and laptops to access sensitive emails, corporate systems, and critical business […]

Corporate security monitoring

Corporate Security Monitoring: 9 Key Benefits

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / July 16, 2025

Most security incidents rarely happen without warning and emerge from known vulnerabilities or missed threats. There’s usually a signal, such as a leaked password, a spoofed domain, or malware hiding […]

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12 Ways to Improve Corporate Security Awareness

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / June 30, 2025

Employees are your first line of defense. No matter how sophisticated your security operations are, a single click, one misplaced device, or one overlooked warning sign can unravel your best-laid […]

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Information Security Policy: 14 Key Elements for Corporate Security

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / June 27, 2025

Information security policies (ISPs) are guardrails for your business. They define who can access what, how data is handled, and what happens when something goes wrong. Without an ISP, you’re […]

Analyst reviewing data for a corporate security investigation

22 Best Practices for Effective Corporate Security Investigations

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / June 27, 2025

The stakes are high in corporate security investigations. A single misstep can erase evidence, trigger legal exposure, or leave threats unresolved. Whether you’re investigating insider leaks, external breaches, or executive […]

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8 Best Social Media Monitoring Tools for Law Enforcement (2025)

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / June 18, 2025

Law enforcement agencies depend on sophisticated tools for detecting threats and tracking suspects, and social media monitoring has become an indispensable source of intelligence. Social media can support investigators’ efforts […]

Social media monitoring for government

Social Media Monitoring for Government: Expert Guide

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / June 13, 2025

In the current threat environment, ignoring social media is a liability governments can’t afford. Social platforms function as more than communication tools, serving as digital battlegrounds where narratives form, movements […]

Monitoring social media for threats

Social Media Threat Monitoring: 10 Effective Strategies in 2025

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / June 13, 2025

Social media threat monitoring is a key component of open-source intelligence (OSINT) that involves real-time tracking and analysis of social media platforms to detect security threats, harmful content, and criminal […]

Corporate data security best practices

Corporate Data Security: 10 Best Practices for Protecting Sensitive Business Information

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / June 10, 2025

Threat actors don’t need to break down your front door; they just wait for an unpatched server, a shared password, or a misconfigured S3 bucket to seize an opportunity for […]

Strengthening your corporate security plan

8 Strategies to Strengthen Your Corporate Security Plan

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / June 10, 2025

Modern threats operate continuously and ignore organizational boundaries between departments. Attackers target every possible vulnerability through phishing attacks, malware, insider threats, and even physical breaches. That’s why an effective corporate […]

Corporate security

What is Corporate Security? The Complete Guide

By Nico Dekens - aka "Dutch Osint Guy" / June 4, 2025

Corporate security isn’t just about surveillance cameras, firewalls, or background checks. It’s about protecting the entire operation, from people and data to operations and reputation. Today’s threats don’t come from […]

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