CyberCode Academy

Course 12 - Maltego Advanced Course | Episode 3: The Maltego Transform Hub: Finding, Installing, and Utilizing Data Integrations

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In this lesson, you’ll learn about:
  • What Hub Items are and how they expand Maltego
  • How to navigate, search, filter, and evaluate items in the Transform Hub
  • Pricing models and key requirements used by Maltego data partners
  • How to install free, paid, and trial integrations
  • How to learn and understand newly installed transforms using documentation and the Transform Manager
Summary of the Episode: This episode provides a full walkthrough of Maltego’s Transform Hub, explaining how investigators can expand Maltego with external data integrations known as hub items. It covers the categories of integrations available, how to browse and install them, the pricing models used by different data sources, and the tools within Maltego that help users understand and effectively use newly added transforms. 1. Understanding Hub Items Maltego is powerful on its own, but it becomes dramatically more capable when combined with external data sources. These integrations are called hub items, and they can introduce:
  • New transforms
  • New entities
  • Machines
  • Transform sets
  • Custom views
  • Icons
Hub items come from both partners and the community. Detailed information about all integrations is available on Maltego’s website under the “Data Sources” section. 2. Navigating the Transform Hub The Transform Hub is the central interface for adding new capabilities to Maltego. Key UI Features
  • Can be toggled on/off from the Home tab
  • Supports viewing all, installed, or uninstalled items
  • Includes sorting and search functionality
  • Search accepts keywords (e.g., “dark web”, “email”, “financial data”)
  • Offers filters based on:
    • Data category
    • Pricing model
    • Relevant investigation types
Each hub item displays:
  • Icon
  • Name
  • Maintainer
  • Short summary
Clicking the item opens a detailed view. 3. Inspecting Hub Item Details & Pricing The details page helps users understand the integration, including:
  • Full description
  • Tags
  • Links to documentation
  • Pricing model
  • Contact details
Supported Pricing Models
  1. Bring Your Own Key (BYOK)
    • User buys an API key from the provider
  2. Data Bundle
    • Included in certain Maltego subscription plans
  3. Free
    • No payment or key required
  4. Trial
    • Limited free usage
    • Typically rate-limited per hour or per day
  5. Paid Connector
    • Requires provider key + Maltego connector fee
Multiple models can apply to the same hub item. 4. Installing Hub Items Installation steps depend on the pricing model. 1. Free Hub Items
  • Hover → Click Install
  • Confirm
  • Maltego downloads all resources
  • Installation summary lists added transforms, entities, etc.
2. Key Required Up Front
  • Clicking Install immediately prompts for a key
  • Details page shows contact information for obtaining a key
3. Free Trial Items
  • Installs without requiring a key
  • When trial limits are reached, Maltego displays a warning
  • A key can be added later via:
    • Transform Hub → Hub Item → Settings
5. Learning How to Use New Integrations After installing a hub item, users must determine how its transforms work and which entities they apply to. Three main learning resources: 1. Online Documentation Includes:
  • White papers
  • Showcases
  • Solution briefs
  • Blog posts
  • Examples
Many hub item detail pages link directly to these resources. 2. Details Page Inside the Transform Hub Provides:
  • Summary of capabilities
  • Tags
  • Description
  • Links to support or documentation
3. Transform Manager (Most Technical & Useful) Accessible via:
Transform Tab → Transform Manager Inside the Transform Manager, users can explore:
  • Transform Servers tab
    • Shows all transforms from each data provider
    • Includes transform names
    • Full description
    • Required input entity type
    • Helps determine how to start using the transform
  • All Transforms tab
    • Unified list of every installed transform
  • Transform Sets tab
    • Shows how transforms are grouped into sets
    • Helpful for understanding logical groupings created by the hub item
This is the primary tool for technically understanding a new integration.

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CyberCode AcademyBy CyberCode Academy