Can Cyberthreat Intelligence Benefit Everyone?

Security organization, in no small extent, suffer from a shortage of skills and resources and with limited resources, they have been trying to reduce the time on detection and response. Can threat intelligence help? A survey performed on decision-makers has revealed that threat intelligence has saved $8.8 million in the previous year.

What Is Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI)?

Cyber threat intelligence (CTI) is that stream of cybersecurity that concentrates on the collection and analysis of information about potential threats to the security of the organization. It starts from collecting intelligence on the dark web and goes beyond identifying adversarial signatures of networks or tools. Threat intelligence is a type of information to cybersecurity analysts that warns about any malicious elements that need to be stopped immediately.

Equipped with data intelligence on potential threats, security teams can focus on defending their networks and infrastructure even when the threats turn out to be extremely sophisticated. CTI helps security systems by providing with warnings and indicators so that enterprises can mitigate the risk by improving threat response that can contribute towards better timely decisions.

Who Needs Threat Intelligence?

Security is not a vertical market issue, and it implies to all levels. Different industries like healthcare, media, energy, entertainment, etc. are affected with cyberattacks, and hence, they are in dire need of threat intelligence. The reason that the cyberthreats are commonly identifiable in industries like financial services or healthcare is mainly because of the mishandled personally identifiable information with them. Any sector dealing with sensitive data can benefit from having a threat intelligence program. Industries that are considered high-value targets shall find threat intelligence on priority.

While threat intelligence is more of a necessity than a strategy, it comes with its many challenges, which makes it not suitable to many organizations. If the organization is considering it as a digital solution that can be easily deployed and used, then it is not the case with CTI. Threat intelligence’s value cannot be derived without an organizational maturity and certain among of investment besides, getting access to the threat intelligence feed. The challenge to the enterprises is that the cyber threat intelligence is often isolated by the managers. The threat feed providers won’t be aware of the threats in the real business context, and the end-users will be left wondering on the business risk.

Threat Intelligence in Action

A U.S. based insurance provider, Aflac uses Flashpoint’s intelligence service to identify potential threats targeting its policyholders. Having been alert with threat intelligence-enabled Aflac to identify cyber instances of insurance fraud in advance so that they can curtail them before the real loss happen. Flashpoint can also inform any malicious activity from Aflac’s team that can put the policyholders’ personal information at risk.

LookingGlass is a cybersecurity solution provider which stopped a misinformation campaign. When the customer complained about finding online rhetoric unmatched to their organization and also when a phishing website pulled content for a legitimate website, LookingGlass recovered it. As a precautionary measure, LookingGlass removed the page and came up with 24/7 alerting to combat the spread of phishing attack over other websites.

Need for Additional Resources

CTI can be contextualized by the large organizations, whereas, its benefits cannot be leveraged by small or medium-sized enterprises as they may lack resources both, technology and investments. The security-oriented businesses often make CTI an integral part of their cybersecurity team. When you have a defined cybersecurity agenda in place with required systems and tools, trained personnel and partnerships, CTI can help with a holistic approach. It does the detailed study of the threat landscape that allows organizations to suggest robust defense strategies for their networks.

The industry leaders and observers pointed out that the over the marketing of the CTI solutions has made it irrelevant or at least blindly applied by many enterprises even if they are not capable of using it. The reality is CTI being a specialized stream need dedicated professionals who can implement and practice threat intelligence with efficacy.

Knowledge Sharing Is Pivotal

The awareness gap and the lack of talent on CTI can be mitigated by partnering with industry associations, forums, public enterprises, etc. Though the partnerships work at a low pace, they are a considerable solution for vendors to address new threats effectively. Hiring a team of CTI or an expert into the cybersecurity team is pivotal to leverage CTI. To be a threat intelligence pro, you should hold specialized certification on threat intelligence. EC-Council offers Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst (C|TIA) certification program that is designed and developed in collaboration with cybersecurity and intelligence experts. The program is aimed to benefit organizations by converting unknown internal and external threats into known threats. C|TIA is an essential program for those who deal with cyber threats on a daily basis.

Source: blog.eccouncil.org