In cybersecurity, threat intelligence is more than just collecting and analyzing information; it’s about leveraging that data to improve an organization’s security posture. This section focuses on how you can leverage the results of your cyber threat intelligence to maximize its value.
Leverage the Results of Your Threat Intelligence
How do you leverage the results of cyber threat intelligence effectively?
The first step is to correlate the results of your threat intelligence with the purpose you defined at the outset. In other words, you need to make sure that the information you’ve collected and analyzed meets your security goals.
For example, if your goal is to strengthen compliance with security regulations, focus on your threat intelligence analysis related to regulatory frameworks and new guidelines.
Deliver Added Value
The added value of your threat intelligence often lies in the way you interpret and build on the raw information. When presenting the results of your cyber threat intelligence, you should emphasize this added value. For example, if you’ve identified a critical vulnerability in a widely used application, explain how this discovery can help strengthen vulnerability management within your organization. Give clear recommendations on how to remediate the vulnerability.
Reduce the Impact of Regulatory Compliance
Imagine you’ve done some in-depth research into the new security regulations affecting your industry. By leveraging this information, you can help your organization stay compliant with the latest legal requirements and avoid paying unnecessary fines. You directly support your organization’s compliance by:
identifying necessary changes to security policies.
informing stakeholders of new requirements.
implementing appropriate security controls.
Improve Incident Management
If your threat intelligence has identified potential indicators of compromise, you have an opportunity to significantly improve incident management. By alerting the responsible teams to these indicators at an early stage, you’re helping your organization respond more quickly to security incidents, contain them, and minimize potential damage.
Listen to Feedback
Cyber threat intelligence should not be a siloed process. It’s essential to collect feedback on a regular basis to improve your practices. I describe below how you could approach this important phase.
Step 1: Define the Type of Feedback You Expect
Start by clearly defining the type of feedback you expect. It could be:
opinions on the relevance of the information collected.
suggestions for improving the threat intelligence methodology.
feedback on how the threat intelligence results have been used.
Step 2: Collect Feedback Systematically
Put mechanisms in place to collect feedback systematically. These could include:
surveys completed by users of your threat intelligence reports.
regular meetings with stakeholders to discuss their information needs.
online surveys to assess the quality of your deliverables.
Step 3: Analyze and Incorporate Feedback
Once you’ve collected the feedback, it’s essential to analyze it and incorporate it into your threat intelligence process.
Feedback can also help you adjust your priorities as your organization’s needs change.
Prepare Your Next Threat Intelligence Cycle
Cyber threat intelligence is an ongoing, constantly evolving process. Even if the stages of the threat intelligence cycle follow each other chronologically, it’s important to adopt an iterative, continuous improvement approach.
First Cycle: Planning
During your first threat intelligence cycle, draw up a detailed plan that includes your goals, data sources, analysis methods, resource requirements, and deadlines. This first cycle helps you define a solid baseline for your threat intelligence.
Subsequent Cycles: Continuous Improvement
Identify opportunities for improvement as you go through each successive threat intelligence cycle.
Have you identified useful new sources of information?
Have you refined your analysis techniques?
Incorporate these improvements into your threat intelligence process to improve its effectiveness.
Let’s Recap!
Leverage the results of your threat intelligence by correlating them with the purpose you defined at the outset.
Ensure your deliverables add value to your threat intelligence, in line with your goals: compliance, vulnerability management, incident management, security strategy, etc.
Collect feedback regularly to improve your threat intelligence practices, define the type of feedback you expect, and incorporate feedback into your process.
You’ve reached the end of this course! Well, almost! Before you go, I encourage you to take one last quiz!
Good luck with implementing cyber threat intelligence in your organization! 😉
