WHAT IS CYBER THREAT INTELLIGENCE

WHAT IS CYBER THREAT INTELLIGENCE

Cyber threat intelligence is a broad word that refers to particular, actionable information concerning cyber dangers, or “intelligence.” Depending on the extent of the intelligence, this information may include every detail about a specific threat, such as where it originated, who coded it, who has modified it since, how it’s delivered, the type of damage it causes, what relationships it has with other internet objects and locations, and a plethora of other characteristics and signifiers.

Cyber threat intelligence is what cyber threat information becomes when it has been acquired, appraised regarding source and reliability, and analyzed using rigorous and organized tradecraft processes by persons with substantive experience and access to all-source data. Cyber threat intelligence, like any intelligence, adds value to cyber threat information by reducing ambiguity for the customer while assisting the consumer in recognizing dangers and opportunities. To provide reliable, timely, and relevant intelligence, analysts must spot similarities and contrasts in massive amounts of data and detect deceptions.

Threat intelligence, in addition to signs of specific malware, encompasses the tools and techniques used by cyber-attackers, as well as specifics on specific types of assaults and dynamic information regarding prospective hazards and new risk sources.

Why Is Threat Intelligence Important?

Threat intelligence is an important component of any cybersecurity ecosystem. A cyber threat intelligence program, often known as CTI, can:

Avoid data loss.

With a well-structured CTI program in place, your firm can detect cyberthreats and prevent critical data from being exposed.

Guide on safety precautions.

CTI detects and analyzes threats, detecting and analyzing patterns used by hackers and assisting firms in implementing security measures to protect against future assaults.

Cyber Threat Intelligence types

CTI is now classified into four types: strategic, tactical, technical, and operational. All four are necessary for developing a full threat assessment.

Intelligence for strategic purposes

This relates to prospective cyber-attacks and their ramifications for non-technical consumers and their parties, as well as decision-makers. Strategic threat information is supplied in the form of technical documents and studies, and it consists of a thorough examination of emerging threats and trends throughout the world. Essentially, it entails a high-level review of a sort of industry and organization’s danger scenario.

Tactical intelligence

Tactical intelligence is in charge of supplying information on cyber criminals’ tactics, methods, and procedures (TTP). This intelligence is intended for those in the department responsible for the security of IT resources and data, and it provides information on how a firm may be attacked based on the most recent advancements in the kind of assaults, as well as the best approach to fight against and counter the attacks.

Technical Intelligence

Technical threat intelligence provides information based on signs that suggest an attack is being launched, such as phishing or social engineering. This form of intelligence is frequently related to operational threat intelligence, albeit it changes as hackers use methods to exploit new occurrences. This information is critical in preventing social engineering assaults.

Intelligence operational

In this situation, data is obtained from a range of sources, including social networks, antivirus records, chat rooms, and historical occurrences. The kind and timing of future assaults can be predicted using this intelligence. Machine learning and data mining, for example, are used to automate the processing of many data points in many languages. This form of operational intelligence is used in this situation by security and attack response teams to adjust the configuration of controls such as event detection rules or firewall rules, as well as access controls.

What is the threat intelligence lifecycle?

As previously stated, the threat intelligence creation process is circular, and the threat collecting process involves several essential points:

Objectives and goals

This stage determines the threat intelligence sources and methods an organization should employ to incorporate threat intelligence into its solutions and security strategy. This will assist security teams in thwarting possible threats discovered during the threat modelling process by providing data and intelligence tools that create up-to-date information on threats deemed to be of high risk and impact.

Data collecting

Internal systems, cloud services, and security controls are critical data collection factors in this cycle. However, to gain information on the most recent TTP, information must be gathered from several third-party threat data sources. Social networks, antivirus records and threat research reports, hacker forums, and malicious IP addresses are examples of third-party sources.

Processing of data

Data processing and data collection are required to develop the CTI, automated intelligence processing is required. If you wish to manually filter the information, you may do so by adding metadata and by correlating and aggregating the various types and sources of data. CTI systems, as a result, use machine learning to automate data gathering and processing, to give information continuously.

Data analysis

The location of answers from processed data to queries like when, why, and how a suspicious event happened is known as data analysis. This gives information on the origin of an event, what information the cybercriminal was seeking, and the preferred attack tactic.

Tools for threat intelligence

Another consideration is that threat intelligence services provide firms with information about potential sources of attacks relevant to their company as well as consultancy services. Some of the technologies that make it simpler for various organizations and businesses to obtain data and threat information are as follows:

Anomali ThreatStream collects threat intelligence from several sources and gives investigative tools.

Argos by Cyberint is a SaaS platform that analyzes an organization’s attack surface as well as cyber threats against its industry from open, deep, and dark networks.

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