{"id":"external-data-polling","slug":"external-data-polling","title":"External Data Polling","description":"An investigator tracking a sanctions evasion network cannot manually check flight databases, vessel tracking services, and blockchain explorers every hour for every subject under investigation. Missing a single departure","category":"data-integration","tags":["data-integration","ai","real-time","compliance","blockchain","geospatial"],"lastModified":"2026-02-05","source_ref":"content/modules/external-data-polling.md","url":"/developers/external-data-polling","htmlPath":"/developers/external-data-polling","jsonPath":"/api/docs/modules/external-data-polling","markdownPath":"/api/docs/modules/external-data-polling?format=markdown","checksum":"871bd325b56bcbc1783240cc44efe88de252e6970f845158a7eb118a4485bb71","headings":[{"id":"overview","text":"Overview","level":2},{"id":"key-features","text":"Key Features","level":2},{"id":"data-collection","text":"Data Collection","level":3},{"id":"caching-and-deduplication","text":"Caching and Deduplication","level":3},{"id":"correlation-and-analysis","text":"Correlation and Analysis","level":3},{"id":"administration-and-governance","text":"Administration and Governance","level":3},{"id":"use-cases","text":"Use Cases","level":2},{"id":"integration","text":"Integration","level":2}],"markdown":"# External Data Polling\n\n## Overview\n\nAn investigator tracking a sanctions evasion network cannot manually check flight databases, vessel tracking services, and blockchain explorers every hour for every subject under investigation. Missing a single departure or a key transaction link can set an operation back by weeks. The Argus External Data Polling system automates that monitoring, scheduling checks against aviation databases, maritime AIS feeds, blockchain explorers, and sanctions lists at configured intervals, then correlating what it finds directly against active investigation records.\n\nRather than requiring analysts to visit multiple external platforms, the system continuously monitors configured sources and delivers relevant updates into investigation workflows the moment they appear.\n\n```mermaid\nflowchart LR\n    A[Aviation Trackers] --> B[Polling Scheduler]\n    C[Maritime AIS] --> B\n    D[Blockchain Explorers] --> B\n    E[Sanctions Lists] --> B\n    F[Custom Sources] --> B\n    B --> G[Rate-Limited Fetch Engine]\n    G --> H[Cache & Dedup Layer]\n    H --> I[Correlation Engine]\n    I --> J{Match Detected?}\n    J -- Yes --> K[Alert Generation]\n    J -- No --> L[Store for Trend Analysis]\n    K --> M[Investigation Workflow]\n    L --> M\n```\n\n## Key Features\n\n### Data Collection\n\n- Automated data collection from aviation tracking, maritime AIS, blockchain explorers, sanctions lists, and custom integrations\n- Configurable polling intervals from real-time 60-second checks through daily synchronisation\n- Support for multiple data formats and protocols across diverse external source types\n- Automatic error recovery with retry logic, backoff strategies, and status tracking\n- Source health monitoring with alerts when external services become unavailable or degrade\n- Priority-based polling queues ensuring critical intelligence sources are checked most frequently\n- Bandwidth-aware scheduling that adjusts polling frequency based on network capacity and load\n\n### Caching and Deduplication\n\n- Intelligent result caching with TTL management, deduplication, and version tracking\n- Historical data retention enabling trend analysis and change detection over time\n- Delta processing that identifies and highlights changes between polling cycles\n- Storage optimisation through configurable retention policies and data lifecycle management\n- Source reliability scoring based on historical uptime, data quality, and freshness metrics\n\n### Correlation and Analysis\n\n- Cross-source data correlation with confidence scoring, temporal alignment, entity linking, and anomaly detection\n- Correlation types including temporal, spatial, entity matching, financial, and behavioural pattern matching\n- Automated alerting when polled data matches investigation subjects or watchlist entries\n- Trend analysis across polling history identifying patterns and behavioural changes in monitored subjects\n- Polling performance dashboards showing success rates, latency, and data volume by source\n\n### Administration and Governance\n\n- Source configuration management with connection testing and validation tools\n- Polling schedule optimisation recommending efficient intervals based on data change frequency\n- Cost tracking for paid external data sources with usage monitoring and budget alerts\n- Audit trail of all polling activities, data retrievals, and correlation results\n- Access controls governing which investigators can configure and view specific polling sources\n- Compliance documentation for data sharing agreements and terms of service with external providers\n- Multi-tenant source isolation ensuring polling configurations remain segregated between organisations\n\n## Use Cases\n\n**Flight Tracking.** Monitor specific aircraft, track route changes, receive arrival and departure alerts, conduct historical flight analysis, and cross-reference passenger information for active investigations. Detect unusual flight patterns or deviations that may indicate smuggling or other illicit activity.\n\n**Blockchain Monitoring.** Track cryptocurrency wallet addresses, receive transaction alerts, trace fund flows through multiple hops, screen against sanctions lists, and detect suspicious patterns across blockchain networks. Maintain continuous monitoring of addresses linked to subjects of interest.\n\n**Vessel Tracking.** Monitor vessel positions via AIS data, track port calls and anchorage activity, detect route anomalies and dark periods, and correlate cargo information for maritime investigations and sanctions enforcement.\n\n**Sanctions and Watchlist Screening.** Continuously poll updated sanctions lists and watchlist databases to screen existing records and new entries against the latest designations. Receive immediate alerts when matches are detected, enabling rapid compliance response.\n\n## Integration\n\n- Connects with aviation data providers for flight and aircraft tracking\n- Integrates with maritime AIS networks for vessel monitoring and port activity\n- Links to blockchain analysis platforms for cryptocurrency investigations\n- Works with sanctions and watchlist databases for automated screening and compliance\n- Feeds correlated data into investigation and alert management workflows\n- Compatible with entity resolution systems for matching external data to internal records\n- Supports export of collected data for reporting and evidentiary purposes\n- Connects with geospatial analysis platforms for location-based data enrichment\n\n**Last Reviewed:** 2026-02-05\n**Last Updated:** 2026-04-14\n"}