Leverage cyber threat intelligence in four steps
While the concept of intelligence networks has existed for millennia, today’s cyber security efforts hinge on understanding potential threats and developing informed strategies to mitigate risks.
This blog explores the value of Cyber Threat Intelligence, how it strengthens your cyber security posture, and how to integrate it effectively into your strategy.
Understanding cyber threat intelligence
Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) involves collecting, analysing and acting upon evidence-based knowledge regarding potential cyber threats, providing actionable insights into adversaries’ motives, tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs), enabling organisations to proactively defend against attacks.
However, not all data constitutes CTI. Although raw data feeds help monitor malware and phishing schemes, they must be combined with other sources of intelligence and integrated with additional threat intelligence solutions to accurately detect threats.
Likewise, while threat intelligence platforms collect data from varied external sources, they still require engineers for optimal configuration and intuitive analysts to interpret aggregated information effectively.
Therefore, threat intelligence data feeds and platforms are not stand-alone defensive instruments but supplementary tools within a broader cyber security arsenal.
“Building an impenetrable perimeter is no longer a viable strategy. A mature governance and risk strategy informed by CTI is the only way forward.”
Why cyber threat intelligence matters
Millions of Australians have been impacted by an unrelenting wave of high-profile cyber attacks, emphasising the need for robust defenses. According to a 2023 OAIC survey, Australian businesses face the harsh reality that 47% of customers would stop buying from a company that suffers a data breach, and 12% said there was nothing an organisation could do to appease them.
Additionally, in the event of a breach, companies that have failed to make cybersecurity investments proportionate to their risks could be fined up to $50 million, and individual directors could face fines up to $2.5 million, revocation of directors’ rights, or even imprisonment for gross negligence.
Holistically, the value of CTI is extensive—reducing risk, enhancing organisational efficiency, minimising disruptions to operations, avoiding remediation costs, protecting reputation, and helping to create a strategic competitive advantage.
Drilling down, CTI delivers value across an entire organisation, such as:
1. Increased awareness: CTI offers up-to-date knowledge on emerging threats, enabling businesses to prepare for the latest attack vectors.
2. Risk prioritisation: CTI helps organizations assess potential threats and prioritize resources for the most critical areas.
3. Enhanced third-party risk management: CTI allows for better evaluation and monitoring of third-party vendors and suppliers, mitigating risks arising from external partnerships.
4. Proactive incident response: With CTI, organisations can anticipate attacks, identify weaknesses, and strengthen response efforts during a breach.
5. Improved security operations: CTI enhances situational awareness, enabling more informed decisions and quicker reactions during an attack.
6. Regulatory compliance: Many industries are required to follow risk-based cyber security protocols, and CTI aids in meeting these compliance requirements.
“If we had a threat level for espionage and foreign interference it would be at CERTAIN – the highest level on the scale.”
4 steps to enhancing cyber security posture with CTI
Step 1: Define objectives, establish scope, and assemble a team
Start by setting clear cyber security objectives. Whether it’s optimising budget allocation or improving incident response, having well-defined goals ensures that CTI investments align with your broader strategy. Assemble a team with an investigative mindset from diverse backgrounds in cyber security, intelligence, and data science and develop a structured framework for collecting and analysing threat intelligence.
Step 2: Know your enemy
Stay informed about the threat landscape in your industry and geographic region. Understand the behaviors, techniques, and tactics of adversaries targeting your sector. Perform threat profiling and gap analyses to identify areas where your organisation is vulnerable and prioritise detection controls accordingly.
Step 3: Know yourself
Achieving visibility across your entire network is essential for maximising the value of CTI. By continuously monitoring your attack surface and identifying at-risk assets, you can take proactive steps to reduce exposure to cyber threats.
Step 4: Integrate CTI with security operations
Integrate CTI into your Security Operations Centre (SOC) and incident response teams. Ensure relevant stakeholders have clear communication channels for sharing intelligence and use CTI to enhance threat detection and response efforts.
Conclusion
Cyber Threat Intelligence is more than a defense mechanism; it’s vital to an organisation’s long-term survival.
By leveraging CTI, businesses can stay one step ahead of adversaries, mitigate risks, and ensure compliance while preserving their reputation and bottom line.
With the Director-General of Security for ASIO describing the current threat level for espionage and foreign interference as ‘certain,’ can you really afford not to invest in such a fundamental solution?
Learn even more about the benefits of cyber threat intelligence.
Download the full whitepaper, Cyber Threat Intelligence: The Critical Solution Steering Your Business’s Future, now or contact us to discuss your unique challenges.