Table of Contents

Threat Intelligence: Why It Matters
The Benefits of Cyberthreat Intelligence
The Challenges of Cyberthreat Intelligence
Types of Cyberthreat Intelligence
Sources of Threat Intelligence
Tools and Services in Threat Intelligence
Practical Implementation of Threat Intelligence
The Threat Intelligence Lifecycle: An Overview
Building an Effective Threat Intelligence Program
Threat Intelligence FAQs

Threats

What is Cyberthreat Intelligence (CTI)? | Palo Alto Networks

5 min. read

Table of Contents

Threat Intelligence: Why It Matters
The Benefits of Cyberthreat Intelligence
The Challenges of Cyberthreat Intelligence
Types of Cyberthreat Intelligence
Sources of Threat Intelligence
Tools and Services in Threat Intelligence
Practical Implementation of Threat Intelligence
The Threat Intelligence Lifecycle: An Overview
Building an Effective Threat Intelligence Program
Threat Intelligence FAQs

In a world where virtually every industry, organization, and individual increasingly relies on digital systems, identifying and mitigating the risk of cyberattacks is a crucial proactive security measure.

Cyberthreat intelligence (CTI) represents the information an organization gathers and analyzes about potential and ongoing threats to cybersecurity and infrastructure.

Threat intelligence gives chief information security officers (CISOs) and security teams valuable insights about potential cyberthreat actors’ motivations and methods to help security teams anticipate threats, enhance cyber defense programs, improve incident response, decrease cyber vulnerability, and reduce potential damages caused by cyberattacks.

Threat Intelligence: Why It Matters

Cyberthreat intelligence is an essential component of an organization's cyber resiliency, which includes “the ability to anticipate, withstand, recover from, and adapt” to threats, attacks, or compromises on systems, according to NIST.

Threat Intelligence fuels cybersecurity programs by providing powerful tactical information that organizations can use to better identify and respond to cyberattacks. The process of gathering this information also supports risk management by uncovering vulnerabilities in cybersecurity systems. Security teams are then able to allocate resources better to meet the most relevant cyberthreats to their industry and protect valuable data, assets, and intellectual property.

The Benefits of Cyberthreat Intelligence

A robust CTI program with an experienced threat intelligence analyst can enhance cybersecurity and resiliency on several levels, including:

Establishing proactive cyber defense: Contrary to traditional reactive cyber defense (responding to known threats), CTI empowers organizations to understand potential threat actors and anticipate potential attacks.
Improving risk management plan: CTI provides actionable information about the motivations, means, and methods potential threat actors use. CISOs and SOCs can utilize these insights when evaluating risk profiles and allocating cybersecurity resources to maximize threat detection and protection.
Improving incident response: In addition to supporting attack prevention, CTI provides insights that make an organization better prepared to respond to and recover from a cyberattack. A thorough understanding of the circumstances of a breach can dramatically reduce the impact of a breach.
Increasing employee awareness: Organizations can utilize CTI to educate employees about cyberthreats and establish security-focused operating procedures and training.

The Challenges of Cyberthreat Intelligence

Gathering CTI has become increasingly important in the modern digital landscape, but it is not without its share of challenges. Here are just a few of the common challenges:

Information overload: In addition to collecting, processing, and analyzing immense volumes of data, CTI teams must differentiate between “normal” and “malicious” activity. Threats must also be evaluated to determine which information is most relevant to the organization’s industry, size, and risk profile, among other factors.
Information updates: The effectiveness of a CTI program relies on the timeliness of the information being analyzed. Decisions made based on outdated CTI can impede an organization’s threat detection and increase vulnerability to cyberattacks.
Compliance: CTI often involves personally identifiable information (PII). Organizations must ensure that all CTI systems are in compliance with any applicable data protection regulations.

Types of Cyberthreat Intelligence

CTI covers a broad range of information and analysis related to cybersecurity. It can, however, be separated into three general categories based on information type and application. A well-rounded CTI program will contain varying levels of each type to meet the organization's unique cybersecurity needs.

Strategic Intelligence

Strategic threat intelligence (STI) comes from high-level analysis of broad cybersecurity trends and how they might affect an organization. It offers insights about threat actors' motives, capabilities, and targets, and helps executives and decision-makers outside of IT understand potential cyberthreats. Typically less technical and incident-specific than other types of CTI, strategic threat intelligence is often used to formulate risk management strategies and programs to mitigate the impact of future cyberattacks.

Tactical Intelligence

As the name implies, tactical threat intelligence (TTI) focuses on threat actors’ tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and seeks to understand how a threat actor might attack an organization. Tactical threat intelligence also explores threat vulnerabilities using threat hunting, which proactively searches for initially undetected threats within an organization’s network. TTI is more technical than STI and is typically used by IT or SOC teams to enhance cybersecurity measures or improve incident response plans.

Operational Intelligence

More detailed, incident-specific, and immediate than STI and TTI, operational threat intelligence (OTI) is real-time data used to facilitate timely threat detection and incident response. CISOs, CIOs, and SOC members often utilize OTI to identify and thwart likely attacks.

Sources of Threat Intelligence

Sources for threat intelligence are almost as varied as the cybersecurity landscape itself. There are, however, several common sources for CTI.

Internal data: information an organization gathers from its own data, network logs, incident responses, etc.
Open-source intelligence (OSINT): information from resources that are considered public domain.
Closed-source services: information not available to the general public.
Information sharing and analysis centers (ISACs): business sector-specific organizations that collect, analyze, and share actionable threat information with member organizations.
Government advisories: information released by agencies like the FBI (USA), the National Cyber Security Centre (UK), or the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA).
Deep and dark web intelligence: encrypted and anonymous information that provides information regarding cybercrime and activity, early warnings of impending attacks, and insights about cybercriminals’ motives and methods.

Leveraging External and Internal Threat Intelligence

CTI from internal and external sources offers different, yet equally important, insights regarding an organization’s threat landscape.

Analysis of internal data creates “contextual CTI” that helps an organization identify and confirm the most relevant threats based on individual circumstances, business systems, products and services. Reviewing information from past incidents can reveal indicators of compromise (IOCs), detail the cause and effect of a breach, and provide opportunities to improve incident response plans. Internal CTI also creates a greater understanding of an organization’s vulnerabilities, allowing CISOs and SOCs to develop more tailored and targeted cybersecurity measures.

External CTI provides the insights needed to stay ahead of current and upcoming threat actors. From global TTPs to sector-specific intelligence from sources like ISACs and industry peer groups, external CTI increases threat awareness and improves an organization’s ability to create a more powerful cybersecurity program.

The Value of Intelligence-Driven Data in Threat Detection

A crucial element in any cyberthreat detection and response program, intelligence-driven data fuels a proactive defense posture that helps organizations better understand their vulnerabilities, anticipate cyberthreats, focus resources on the most significant threats, and develop an incident response plan that will minimize the impact of cyber attacks.

Intelligence-driven data can also provide a deeper understanding of risk management and compliance issues reducing potential financial and reputational damage resulting from a data breach.

Tools and Services in Threat Intelligence

There is a growing range of tools for generating cyberthreat intelligence, each with unique forms and functions to fit an organization’s cybersecurity needs.

Combining the functions of several tools and threat intelligence platforms creates the most complete and thorough threat detection and prevention program.

An Overview of Threat Intelligence Tools and Their Functions

Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIPs): automatically collect, aggregate, and analyze external threat data.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Systems: collect and analyze internal threat data composed of system logs, event data, and other contextual sources.
Threat Intelligence Feeds: provide real-time streams of information related to current or ongoing cyberthreats, often focused on a particular area of interest (IP addresses, domains, malware signatures, etc.).
Sandboxing Tools: provide controlled environments in which organizations can analyze or open potentially dangerous files or programs without risk to the organization’s internal systems.
Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) Tools: gather data from public sources (social media, blogs, open discussion forums, etc.).

Threat Intelligence Services: How They Enhance Cybersecurity

Threat intelligence services support organizations’ cybersecurity efforts by providing CISOs and SOCs the tools to develop and optimize cyberthreat analysis, prevention, and recovery programs. Effective CTI support increases overall threat awareness, enables proactive defense measures, enhances incident response plans, and improves decision-making and risk management.

The Role of Incident Response in a Threat Intelligence Program

An incident response plan (IRP) serves several purposes in a threat intelligence program. An IRP outlines how an organization will react to and recover from a cyber security incident. In addition to ensuring an organization’s preparedness for a cyber attack, a well-planned IRP will provide various types of threat intelligence that can be used to improve future cybersecurity measures.

unit-42-approach-to-digital-forensics-incident-response

Figure 1: A graphic detailing the Unit 42^® Incident Response Methodology

Practical Implementation of Threat Intelligence

The practical implementation of cyberthreat intelligence begins with defining clear objectives and gathering relevant data from a variety of internal and external sources. Once analyzed, the data can be used to generate actionable intelligence designed to integrate into the existing cybersecurity program.

Integrating Threat Intelligence into Your Cybersecurity Strategy

Applying the insights from your CTI program to your overall cybersecurity strategy will enhance threat awareness, attack prevention, and incident response. It is important to note that this integration may require adapting existing processes, adjusting control measures, updating plans, or modifying user training programs.

Threat Hunting: A Proactive Approach to Cybersecurity

Sophisticated hackers can infiltrate a network and remain undetected while searching for or collecting data, login credentials, or other sensitive materials. Threat hunting is the practice of proactively searching for previously undetected cyberthreats on an internal network. Threat hunting is crucial for eliminating advanced persistent threats (APTs).

The Threat Intelligence Lifecycle: An Overview

The threat intelligence lifecycle is an outline of the process by which CISOs develop and implement cyberthreat intelligence programs. It is a framework for continuously transforming raw threat data into actionable threat intelligence that can then be utilized to identify and avoid threats to an organization’s cybersecurity.

Figure 2. Unit 42 Threat Intel Lifecycle

Understanding the Stages of the Threat Intelligence Lifecycle

Discovery: discover threat intelligence data (indicators, adversary tactics, tools, etc.) from various sources, which can include internal investigations and sources, threat intel feeds, partnerships, other open-source threat intelligence (OSINT).
Collection: Once threat intelligence data is discovered, collect and store that data for additional processing and analysis.
Processing: clean up data to remove duplicates, inconsistencies, and irrelevant information. Then transform raw data into a format suitable for analysis, and enhance with additional context and metadata.
Analysis: conduct in-depth analysis of the processed data to identify patterns, trends, and potential threats, and employ various techniques to uncover hidden insights. Then evaluate the credibility and impact of identified threats.
Action: prepare and distribute actionable intelligence to relevant stakeholders, including incident response teams, the SOCs, and executives. Ensure to tailor the information to the specific needs of different audiences so it’s concise and clear.
Feedback Loop: capture feedback from key stakeholders on the effectiveness and relevance of the provided threat intelligence. Then continuously refine and improve the collection, processing, analysis and processes based on feedback and lessons learned.

Building an Effective Threat Intelligence Program

More than finding the right tools and searching for data, building an effective CTI program requires a strategy-driven plan, a team of specialists, well-organized processes, and an organization-wide commitment to continuous learning and improvement.

Key Steps in Setting Up a Threat Intelligence Program

Defining goals and objectives.
Allocating resources and appropriately skilled staff.
Implementing processes for relevant data collection.
Developing methodologies for data analysis and intelligence generation.
Integrating and utilizing intelligence in cybersecurity programs.
Defining formats for disseminating intelligence.
Gathering and reviewing feedback.
Ensuring compliance and adherence to industry standards, regulations, and internal governance policies.

Figure 3. Unit 42 CTI Program Phases

The Importance of Continuous Learning and Adaptation in Threat Intelligence

The cyberthreat landscape continuously changes as threat actors become more knowledgeable and sophisticated. An effective CTI program can only remain effective if it is as dynamic as the threats it is designed to thwart. Learning from previous incidents and threat intelligence feedback allows organizations to continuously adapt and enhance the elements of a CTI program, keeping it as relevant and effective as possible.

Threat Intelligence FAQs

Cyberthreat intelligence is the process of collecting and analyzing information about potential and existing cyberthreats to an organization.

The aim of cyberthreat intelligence is to provide organizations with actionable insights that can help them understand the tactics, techniques, and procedures used by threat actors. The information gathered enables organizations to develop and implement effective security measures that can prevent or mitigate the impact of cyberattacks.

Cyberthreat intelligence trends will vary by industry, geography, and threat types. There are, however, several general trends that affect businesses and organizations of all kinds.

Cyberattacks are increasing and becoming more expensive.
Cybercriminals are working together and becoming specialized.
Botnets and automated malware deployment tools are becoming more sophisticated.
Collaboration between state-sponsored actors and cybercriminals is on the rise.
Organizations of all sizes are in danger, especially small-to-medium businesses (SMBs).

The emergence of the internet created an unprecedented level of information sharing and connection. As the digital landscape expanded, so did the need to protect individuals and organizations from the growing threat of cyberattacks.

Rapidly growing threats gave rise to early cyber protection protocols like IP and URL blacklists and cyberthreat blocking systems like antivirus programs and firewalls.

Cybercrime increased into the 2000s with notable cyberattacks like the “ILOVEYOU” worm that caused upwards of $15 billion in damages. Spam, botnets, and trojans became more prevalent, and the need for more powerful and proactive cybersecurity measures became more clear. It was the advent of advanced persistent threats (APTs), however, that ignited the cyberthreat intelligence movement. Businesses and governments alike created cyberthreat intelligence teams, while cybersecurity firms began helping organizations better anticipate and prevent cyberthreats.

Since 2010, cyberattackers have become more sophisticated and damaging. Complex hacks, malware, and ransomware attacks led to a shift in CTI that focused on threat actors’ tactics, techniques, and procedures, now referred to as TTPs. These comprehensive analyses give organizations the insights and understanding needed to anticipate threats rather than simply reacting to them.

Modern cyberthreat intelligence is integral to any cybersecurity program, affecting resource allocation, threat analysis policies, and incident response plans.