Threat intelligence

Cyber threat intelligence (CTI) is the practice of collecting, analyzing, and sharing information about potential and actual cyber threats. CTI is used to identify and understand threats, their tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), and the motivations and capabilities of threat actors.

CTI helps organizations to proactively identify and mitigate cyber threats, as well as to prepare for and respond to cyber incidents. CTI sources can include open-source intelligence (OSINT), commercial threat intelligence feeds, and information shared within industry-specific information sharing and analysis centers (ISACs) or government organizations.

Effective CTI provides organizations with actionable information that can be used to inform decision-making and improve their cybersecurity posture. By understanding the evolving threat landscape, organizations can better protect their networks, systems, and data from cyber attacks.

Cyber threat intelligence (CTI) is important for several reasons:

Proactive threat identification: CTI enables organizations to proactively identify potential threats before they occur, allowing them to take measures to prevent or mitigate them.

Improved incident response: CTI provides insights into the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by threat actors, enabling organizations to better prepare for and respond to cyber incidents.

Better-informed decision-making: CTI helps organizations make more informed decisions about their cybersecurity investments, including what tools, technologies, and processes to implement.

Enhanced collaboration: CTI facilitates collaboration and information sharing within and between organizations, enabling them to pool resources and knowledge to better defend against cyber threats.

Cost savings: CTI can help organizations identify and prioritize risks, enabling them to allocate their cybersecurity resources more efficiently and effectively.

Compliance: Many industries and governments require organizations to demonstrate that they are taking proactive measures to identify and mitigate cyber threats. CTI can help organizations meet these compliance requirements.

A cyber threat intelligence (CTI) plan is a document that outlines an organization's approach to collecting, analyzing, and sharing information about potential and actual cyber threats.

A typical CTI plan includes the following components:

CTI objectives: This section outlines the goals and objectives of the organization's CTI program, including what threats the organization is most concerned about, what information needs to be collected, and how it will be used to improve the organization's cybersecurity posture.

CTI stakeholders: This section identifies the internal and external stakeholders involved in the CTI program, including IT and cybersecurity personnel, management, legal, and external partners such as vendors, industry-specific Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs), and government agencies.

CTI sources: This section lists the sources of CTI, including open-source intelligence (OSINT), commercial threat intelligence feeds, and information shared within ISACs or government organizations.

CTI collection and analysis: This section outlines the processes and procedures for collecting and analyzing CTI, including the tools and technologies used, the roles and responsibilities of personnel involved in the CTI program, and the criteria for prioritizing and triaging CTI.

CTI dissemination: This section outlines the processes and procedures for disseminating CTI to relevant stakeholders, including the frequency and format of CTI reports.

CTI response: This section outlines the processes and procedures for responding to CTI, including incident response plans, remediation actions, and ongoing monitoring and review of CTI.

Cyber threat intelligence (CTI) can be used in a variety of ways to improve an organization's cybersecurity posture. Here are some ways that CTI can be used:

Threat detection: CTI can be used to identify and detect potential threats to an organization's systems, networks, and data. By monitoring for known indicators of compromise (IOCs) and emerging threats, organizations can proactively identify and mitigate cyber threats.

Incident response: CTI can provide valuable insights into the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by threat actors, enabling organizations to better prepare for and respond to cyber incidents. By incorporating CTI into their incident response plans, organizations can improve their response times and effectiveness.

Vulnerability management: CTI can help organizations prioritize their vulnerability management efforts by providing insights into the most significant and relevant threats. By focusing on vulnerabilities that are most likely to be exploited by threat actors, organizations can allocate their resources more effectively.

Risk management: CTI can be used to identify and assess cybersecurity risks to an organization, enabling better-informed decision-making about cybersecurity investments and priorities.

Third-party risk management: CTI can help organizations assess the cybersecurity risks associated with their third-party vendors and partners.

Threat hunting: CTI can be used to proactively search for threats within an organization's systems and networks. By combining CTI with advanced threat hunting techniques, organizations can identify and neutralize threats that may have otherwise gone undetected.

Cyber threat intelligence (CTI) can guide threat hunting by providing valuable insights into the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by threat actors, enabling organizations to proactively search for and neutralize potential threats within their systems and networks. Here are some ways that CTI can guide threat hunting:

Identifying potential threat actors: CTI can provide information on known threat actors and their TTPs. This can be used to identify which threat actors are most likely to target an organization, and what TTPs they are likely to use.

Prioritizing hunting efforts: CTI can help prioritize hunting efforts by providing insights into the most significant and relevant threats. This can enable organizations to focus on the threats that are most likely to result in a successful attack.

Developing hunting hypotheses: CTI can be used to develop hypotheses about potential threats and how they might manifest within an organization's systems and networks. This can guide the development of hunting scenarios and the identification of potential indicators of compromise (IOCs).

Identifying IOCs: CTI can provide information on known IOCs associated with specific threat actors or TTPs. This can be used to identify potential IOCs within an organization's systems and networks.

Monitoring for emerging threats: CTI can be used to monitor for emerging threats and new TTPs. This can enable organizations to proactively search for and neutralize threats before they are widely known or exploited by threat actors.

The key concepts of cyber threat intelligence (CTI) include:

Threat actors: This refers to individuals, groups, or organizations that pose a threat to an organization's systems, networks, or data. Threat actors can include nation-states, criminal organizations, hacktivists, and insiders.

Tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs): This refers to the methods used by threat actors to gain access to an organization's systems, networks, or data. TTPs can include malware, social engineering, phishing, and brute force attacks.

Indicators of compromise (IOCs): These are artifacts or patterns in network traffic, system logs, or other data sources that can indicate the presence of a cyber threat. IOCs can include IP addresses, domain names, file hashes, and command and control (C2) infrastructure.

Intelligence sources: These are the sources of information that CTI analysts use to gather intelligence about potential and actual cyber threats.

Intelligence analysis: This refers to the process of analyzing CTI to identify patterns and trends in cyber threats, and to develop actionable intelligence for use in threat detection, incident response, and other cybersecurity activities.

Intelligence sharing: This refers to the sharing of CTI between organizations, enabling them to collaborate on cybersecurity threats and improve their overall cybersecurity posture.

Threat modeling: This refers to the process of identifying and prioritizing the most significant and relevant cyber threats to an organization, based on the organization's industry, size, and other factors.