Threat intelligence is hot in the cybersecurity lexicon. Unlike most tech buzzwords, which enjoy their lifespan before joining the pile of forgotten concepts, threat intelligence has firmly ground its feet in cybersecurity.
What's so special about it? Well, threat intelligence is the closest thing that cybersecurity has to a Magic 8 Ball. If businesses can predict what threats are ahead of them, then they can plan and act accordingly. Threat intelligence enables exactly this, making it a powerful tool for the enterprise.
How does threat intelligence work?
The old adage goes that what you don't know won't hurt you. Well, whoever coined that phrase has clearly never worked in cybersecurity. The unknown is what plagues the cybersecurity industry, and threat intelligence is doing its bit to proactively combat this.
Threat intelligence starts with raw data (side note: every business in every industry owes data big time – it helps keep customers happy, offers employers greater insights into their business, and now, it's keeping enterprises safe. Give it time and it'll be making cups of tea for the entire workforce too).
In particular, threat intelligence refers to the collection of data from various sources about emerging or existing threat actors. Organisations can then enrich this data with context to produce more actionable information. For example, a business might take all historical attack data and combine this knowledge with data on current threats (perhaps those that are industry-specific), attack vectors, and other factors to create actionable insights for prevention. This processed and refined data is 'intelligence'.
It's with this intelligence that businesses can better predict and prevent cyber attacks. More specifically, companies can use the information to make more informed, better security decision-making, as well as take a more proactive approach to their cybersecurity.
Threat intelligence is a must-have in today's cybersecurity landscape. Malicious actors are more devious than ever and now have increasingly complex threats in their arsenal. So how can businesses incorporate threat intelligence as part of their cybersecurity strategy?
ThreatConnect
ThreatConnect provides a solution that harnesses the very best of intelligence. In particular, it combines intelligence with automation, orchestration, and response to bring businesses a powerful, all-encompassing platform they can trust.
Part of ThreatConnect's capabilities is that it enables easier sharing of information across organisations and industries. In turn, businesses can make use of a wealth of insights for more accurate decision-making. Community members can also take to the platform to share their threat intelligence and resources in an effort to help one another best protect their businesses.
Powered by ThreatConnect's TAXII server, users can collect and send STIX-formatted threat intelligence and connect compatible TAXII clients to indicator watchlists. What's more, ThreatConnect's Collective Analytics Layer (CAL™) brings more insights to the table by providing anonymised, crowdsourced intel about threats and indicators.
ThreatConnect will make a seamless, valuable addition to your cybersecurity solutions portfolio. Businesses don't just want to get head anymore – they need to – and ThreatConnect will help you do exactly that.
Enjoy this article? Why not check out the Top 10 Data Breaches of 2019 (and the lessons learnt)?
