Cybersecurity Threat Intelligence

Cyber security threat intelligence, like any advanced warning about what adversaries intend to do, gives defenders a distinct advantage. Security teams want and need to know where and how attackers might try to compromise assets and exploit IT, and data protection and privacy increasingly depend on preventing rather than remediating attacks. For that reason, teams can never have too much cyber security threat intelligence—and many could improve their security posture.

An Overview of Cyber Security Threat Intelligence

What is cyber security threat intelligence?

Anything that reveals what cyber criminals might be doing or how a company may be hacked falls under the definition of cyber security threat intelligence. Examples include leaked credentials or cookies that could allow threat actors to takeover accounts, chatter about which tactics and techniques a threat may employ, or vulnerabilities found in a company’s software or security posture. Security teams rely on these examples and myriad others to make crucial security decisions, on a day-to-day level all the way up to setting strategy and building the security stack. 

What are the sources of cyber security threat intelligence?

Cybersecurity threat intelligence appears in countless places, both expected and unexpected:

• Clear Web: From company websites to employee social media profiles and mainstream news articles, the clear web contains ample information that seems benign yet benefits attackers in some way. 
• Dark Web: The shadows of the dark web is where hackers go to sell and share information, collaborate on and converse about attacks, and brag about their achievements. 
• Threat actor Channels: Forums and chat channels where hackers congregate reveal how they plan to attack and what advantage they intend to use. 
• Supply Chain: Looking at vendors, partners, and other third-parties from the same perspective as attackers can lead to valuable threat intelligence. 

Why is getting cyber security threat intelligence difficult?

The challenges can be condensed into two categories. First is scale. Threat intelligence takes many forms, exists in many places, and indicates many things, such that it takes prohibitive amounts of time and resources to find all of it, all the time. The vast majority of threat intelligence goes overlooked as a result. Second is secrecy. Hackers go to great lengths to avoid giving up their edge, which is why they go first to the dark web and then further into secretive hacker communities. Skilled at covering their tracks, digital deviants are always undermining the effort to find threat intelligence, leaving security teams without key pieces of the puzzle. 

What is the cyber security threat intelligence lifecycle?

Tapping this resource takes a cyclical approach:

• Requirement – Determining what threat intelligence needs to be collected to carry out strategic objectives for security teams and other stakeholders. 
• Collection – Finding as much information as possible, across as many sources as possible, as soon as possible after its first appearance. 
• Processing – Turing the data into something useful by translating text, organizing information, removing encryption, or confirming reliability. 
• Analysis – Extracting valuable insights from the data, with enough context to know who should act on the intelligence, how, and with what level of urgency.
• Distribution – Supplying the intelligence paired with actionable guidance to the right stakeholder within any time-sensitive deadlines. 
• Response – Using the intelligence to improve security, prevent attacks, guide incident response, preserve compliance, or serve another productive purpose. 

Why is Cyber Security Threat Intelligence Becoming More Important?

Why do teams need more cyber security threat intelligence?

While security teams have always utilized threat intelligence, it has never been more important for cybersecurity. As attacks get more frequent and sophisticated, and the damage they cause grows more expensive and painful, the focus of cybersecurity has shifted from detection and response to prevention and proactive measures. Companies must avoid attacks by whatever means necessary—and cyber security threat intelligence offers more means than any other option. Security teams that consistently keep environments safe do so not because of having superior tools or massive budgets but rather because they have enough intelligence about threats to outwit them, often easily and efficiently. 

What is the future of cyber security threat intelligence?

There’s no doubt that threat intelligence will increasingly determine whether defenders or attackers win, especially as AI helps both sides multiply the speed, scale, and sophistication of their efforts. AI will also play a bigger role in finding, analyzing, and distributing automated threat intelligence, as well as unleashing opportunities for automated remediation and response. That future has arrived already, in many ways, considering that Flare automates much of the threat intelligence lifecycle, shifting focus away from intelligence gathering and towards things like attack surface management and cyber risk reduction. 

Who should be collecting cyber security threat intelligence? 

Large and high risk companies are no longer the only ones collecting cyber security threat intelligence. All companies, no matter the size or industry, now have a need for this intelligence along with the means to collect it consistently. Likewise, security and IT teams are not the only ones with a stake in knowing what attackers are doing; legal, compliance, risk management, and leadership also have a keen interest in that intelligence. The need applies to every organization, and the more they can collect, the more they can secure their agenda and safeguard their growth. 

How Flare Supplies Cyber Security Threat Intelligence

How does Flare find cyber security threat intelligence?

Flare uses proprietary automation to scour the dark web and clear web, plus Telegram channels and similar outlets known to be hacker hangouts, for as much cyber security threat intelligence as possible. Monitoring takes place 24/7/365 to find the intelligence as early as possible, when it has the greatest value, and it focuses on specific corners of the digital world known for illicit activity to identify the threat intelligence hackers are actually using. 

How does Flare deliver cyber security threat intelligence?

Just as important as finding as much cyber security threat intelligence as possible is giving context and priority to each discovery. Security teams must understand which intelligence requires their immediate attention, and ascertain what the risk and response looks like. Flare combines all the cyber security threat intelligence it discovers onto one platform, summarizes each discovery in plain English, and ranks them by risk. The result is all the information security teams need to quickly or even automatically remediate exposures, all in one location rich with detail and direction. More than just cyber security threat intelligence, Flare delivers the insight that teams require to leverage the intelligence effectively. 

What are the applications for Flare’s cyber security threat intelligence?

• Proactive Protection – Advanced warning about potential attacks lets security teams take preemptive measures that stop attacks before they start. 
• Attack Surface Management – Threat intelligence reveals weak or vulnerable parts of the attack surface, helping to keep cyber risk under control as tech adoption increases. 
• Insider Threat Identification – Find evidence of insider threats to neutralize their activities, ideally before the damage starts, and hold them accountable for their actions. 
• Security Planning – Use threat intelligence to inform strategic security decisions like where to provision resources, emphasize training, or concentrate defenses. 

Cyber Security Threat Intelligence and Flare

The Flare Threat Exposure Management (TEM) solution empowers organizations to proactively detect, prioritize, and mitigate the types of exposures commonly exploited by threat actors. Our platform automatically scans the clear & dark web and prominent threat actor communities 24/7 to discover unknown events, prioritize risks, and deliver actionable intelligence you can use instantly to improve security. Equipped with deep, accurate, and current cyber security threat intelligence, security teams are always in the know instead of caught off guard. 

Flare integrates into your security program in 30 minutes and often replaces several SaaS and open source tools. Learn more by signing up for our free trial.