Relationship and Network Mapping

What This Is

Relationship and network mapping builds a structured picture of who a subject is connected to: associates, employers, family members, business partners, and online contacts. Individual data points collected during identity research become significantly more valuable when the connections between them are mapped. A subject's network often exposes additional investigative targets, reveals influence structures, and provides context that is not visible from the subject's own profile alone.

When to Use This

Use relationship and network mapping when you need to:

• Identify who a subject works with, reports to, or controls

• Find family members or close associates who may share infrastructure or accounts

• Understand a subject's position within an organisation or group

• Identify secondary targets for investigation through a primary subject

• Visualise connections between multiple subjects in a complex investigation

The Workflow

Start with employer and associate mapping using professional platforms and company records. Then expand to family and personal relationship discovery using social platforms and public records. Finally build the connections into a link graph that makes the full network visible and navigable.

Network mapping is iterative. Each new node in the graph produces its own connections, which may lead back to the original subject through unexpected paths or open entirely new lines of investigation.

Subpages

• Associate and Employer Mapping — identify colleagues, employers, business partners, and professional connections

• Family and Relationship Discovery — find family members and personal connections through social platforms and public records

• Building a Subject Link Graph — structure collected connections into a navigable link graph for analysis and reporting

OpSec Note

Network mapping that involves visiting multiple connected profiles in sequence creates a browsing pattern that may be visible to platforms with analytics on profile views. Use isolated browser sessions and rotate investigative accounts when mapping large networks on platforms that track profile visits.