Threat intelligence is the presentation of a detailed analysis based on the identification, enrichment, and collection of appropriate information and data. Simply described, threat intelligence is a way of getting ahead of cyber attackers.
Traditionally, cyber-security has always operated as a reactive discipline. Threat actors try to breach networks while cyber-security specialists do their best to stop them by putting in place suitable technical controls and incident response mechanisms. Over time, however, threat perpetrators have come up with newer means of breaching networks, and the industry, in general, has not been able to react quickly enough. Once a new threat is developed, there is little time for vendors to come up with a solution before enterprises fall prey to it.
This is where threat intelligence comes in handy. Real-time analysis of both the dark and open areas of the internet offers enterprises with the intelligence they require to successfully defend themselves against cyber threats.
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How can Threat Intelligence be of Help to me?
Threat intelligence does not directly improve your security status or decrease the risk of cyber-attacks. Instead, the intelligence services are useful as they enable organizations to budget their cyber-security resources in a more effective way based on evidence. Below are some of the benefits associated with intelligence services.
Increasing Reliability and Speed of Threat Prevention and Detection
Comprehensive threat intelligence solutions offer reliable ways of identifying attacks and threats before they happen. Particularly, threat intelligence services enable organizations to narrow their threat scope and focus on those most likely to affect the institution. Effectively preparing to counter all threats is not possible, and threat intelligence is the only way to ensure that the organization’s security resources are well allocated.
Tightening Security Controls
Breaches caused by zero-day exploits are perhaps the worst. Such attacks mean that the exploit takes advantage of a loophole for which there was no patch. Zero-day exploits, regardless of your security profile, could allow threat actors all over the world to access your network. In this light, as soon as there is evidence of a zero-day exploit, organizations ought to invest in fixing it. The institution may suspend the use of the breached application or identify a short-term solution. A good threat intelligence service will identify zero-day threats hence reducing the risk period.
Facilitating Decision Making
Once you have enough evidence-based intelligence, the process of decision making is made easier and more efficient. Whether you seek to decide how to allocate security resources, or how human resources should be structured, threat intelligence has proven to be indispensable for executive board members and security officers.
The rise of threat intelligence can be attributed to numerous reasons. According to a study on the value of threat intelligence by Ponemon Institute Study, 78% of all respondents in the U.K and U.S consider threat intelligence to be a very important piece of a good cyber-security system. The rise of threat intelligence in popularity, in the past few years, has been quite evident to most senior security executives, and the trend will continue in the years to come.