Cyber Threat Intelligenc

Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) is data that is collected, processed, and analyzed to understand a threat actor’s motives, targets, and attack behaviors. CTI enables you to make faster, more informed, data-backed security decisions and change their behavior from reactive to proactive in the fight against threat actors.

Why is Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) Important?

In the world of cybersecurity, advanced persistent threats (APTs) and defenders are constantly trying to outmaneuver each other. Data on a threat actor’s next move is crucial to proactively tailoring your defenses and preempt future attacks.

Organizations are increasingly recognizing the value of threat intelligence. However, there is a difference between recognizing value and receiving value. Most organizations today are focusing their efforts on only the most basic use cases, such as integrating threat data feeds with existing networks, IPS, firewalls, and SIEMs.

3 Types of Threat Intelligence

1. Tactical intelligence is focused on the immediate future, is technical in nature, and identifies simple indicators of compromise (IOCs). IOCs are things such as bad IP addresses, URLs, file hashes and known malicious domain names. It can be machine-readable, which means that security products can ingest it through feeds or API integration. Tactical intelligence is the easiest type of intelligence to generate and is almost always automated. As a result, it can be found via open source and free data feeds, but it usually has a very short lifespan because IOCs such as malicious IPs or domain names can become obsolete in days or even hours.

2. Operational intelligence is most useful for those cybersecurity professionals who work in a SOC (security operations center) and are responsible for performing day-to-day operations. Cybersecurity disciplines such as vulnerability management, incident response and threat monitoring are the biggest consumers of operational intelligence as it helps make them more proficient and more effective at their assigned functions.

3. Strategic intelligence helps decision-makers understand the risks posed to their organizations by cyber threats. With this understanding, they can make cybersecurity investments that effectively protect their organizations and are aligned with its strategic priorities. Strategic intelligence tends to be the hardest form to generate. Strategic intelligence requires human data collection and analysis that demands an intimate understanding of both cybersecurity and the nuances of the world’s geopolitical situation. Strategic intelligence usually comes in the form of reports.