| Pen-Link, Ltd. (PenLink) | |
| Location: | Lincoln, Nebraska, USA |
| Owner: | Spire Capital |
| Products: | PLX, Pen-Link 8, LINCOLN2, PenProxy, Xnet |
| Homepage: | http://www.penlink.com/ |
Pen-Link, Ltd., (PenLink) is a software company that develops enterprise-grade communications surveillance data collection and analysis products for domestic law enforcement.[1]
In July 2023, PenLink merged with Israeli surveillance contractor Cobwebs Technologies, when the latter was acquired for $200 million by private equity firm Spire Capital, which also owns PenLink.[2] [3]
PenLink's flagship products include PLX, PenPoint, and Tangles.
One of the more publicized uses of PenLink's products was during the Laci Peterson murder case, where wiretaps taken with Pen-Link 8 and LINCOLN2 were used as evidence against Scott Peterson.
Tangles is a web platform, originally developed and sold by Cobwebs Technologies, that scrapes data from the open web, deep web, and dark web, as well as allowing for the tracking of mobile devices within a user-designated area, in a process known as "geofencing," through an optional add-on feature called WebLoc.[4]
The company's clients include US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which signed a $2.7 million two-year contract with PenLink, and in 2024 the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) signed a $5.3 million five-year contract with the company to supply it with a surveillance tool known as Tangles through 2029, which Texas DPS has used since 2021.