Threat intelligence is information about current and potential threats to an organization or individuals that can be used to inform decision-making and take proactive measures to prevent or mitigate harm. This can include information about cyber threats such as malware or phishing campaigns, as well as physical threats such as terrorism or organized crime.
There are several types of threat intelligence, including:
Strategic threat intelligence: This type of threat intelligence is focused on long-term trends and patterns that can inform an organization's overall security posture. It might include information about the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by threat actors, as well as analysis of the potential impact of these threats on the organization.
Operational threat intelligence: This type of threat intelligence is focused on more immediate threats that are currently facing an organization. It might include information about ongoing phishing campaigns or zero-day vulnerabilities that need to be addressed.
Tactical threat intelligence: This type of threat intelligence is focused on very specific threats that require a quick response. It might include information about a specific malware variant that has been used to compromise an organization's systems, or a piece of intelligence that helps to identify the source of an attack.
There are many sources of threat intelligence, including:
Internal sources: This might include information from an organization's own security tools, such as firewall logs or antivirus software.
External sources: This might include information from government agencies, industry groups, or commercial vendors that specialize in gathering and analyzing threat intelligence.
Open source: This might include information from publicly available sources such as social media, news articles, and blogs.
Here is an example of how an organization might use threat intelligence:
A financial institution becomes aware of a new phishing campaign targeting its customers. The institution's security team analyzes the phishing emails and discovers that the attackers are using a new strain of malware to infect victims' computers.
The security team checks its own systems and finds that a small number of employees have been infected by the malware. It quickly isolates these systems to prevent the malware from spreading.
The security team then uses the information it has gathered about the phishing campaign and the malware to inform its customers about the threat and to advise them on how to protect themselves. It also uses this information to update its own security systems and processes to better defend against this type of attack in the future.
