Threat Intelligence for Managed Detection and Response

Cyber risk never stands still — in the face of a threat, businesses need to make fast, accurate decisions about their cybersecurity controls and posture. Managed Detection and Response (MDR) providers know this. To serve their clients the right information with the proper context, MDR providers need to keep up with the breakneck pace of threat actors. Strong, nuanced threat intelligence is a key tool that helps MDR teams stay on top of risk trends and potential threats. 

How Flare’s Solution Helps Managed Detection and Response Solution (MDR) providers

Why use Flare to monitor threat intelligence? 

Threat intelligence is important, but it can become overwhelming. Too many tools generate constant noise from notifications, many of which aren’t relevant to your customers’ security at all. Flare automates the process of scanning for threat intelligence data for information that specifically targets your clients, only notifying your team when relevant information is discovered. Flare also provides context for every threat so that you are able to provide the nuance your customers need to make decisions — without alert fatigue.

How does Flare monitor threat intelligence? 

Flare’s threat intelligence platform automatically scans the web for threats, constantly monitoring the clear & dark web — as well as prominent threat actor communities — for stolen and leaked information. As soon as your customers’ data is  posted where it should not be, Flare sends your team a notification. This allows you to proactively discover leaked or stolen data or attacks that are still in the planning stages. 

What are the key benefits of Flare threat’s intelligence platform? 

• Unmatched data collection: Flare uses billions of data points to provide your team with information about your customers’ security stance, relevant threats, and the movement of threat actors between platforms. 
• Transparency: Flare lists every source so you can tell customers exactly where your threat intelligence data is coming from. 
• Automated continuous monitoring: Using an automated solution gives your clients 24/7 coverage, so you will know as soon as their information is compromised.
• A proactive security stance: By actively seeking out potential threats, you can catch breaches early, giving customers an opportunity to take steps to protect their data, systems, and networks.

An Overview of Threat Intelligence and MDR and Response

What is threat intelligence and why do MDR providers need it? 

Threat intelligence is any data about potential cyberthreats to an organization’s digital assets. This is critical for MDR providers who are tasked with responding to sophisticated and ever-evolving threats. The increasing complexity of attacks and the growing demands of clients mean that MDR providers need to respond quickly when a risk appears. Threat intelligence provides a view of current threats that helps you do just that.

What is a threat intelligence platform? 

A threat intelligence platform is a system designed to collect, aggregate, and analyze threat data from multiple sources. The platform uses automation and advanced analytics to spot patterns in data and notify your team. This provides MDR providers organizations with actionable insights that allow them to prioritize potential threats, notify clients, and address vulnerabilities — potentially  before an attack occurs. 

What are the four types of threat intelligence?

• Strategic: Strategic threat intelligence provides a high-level overview of threats allowing senior leadership to make decisions based on the current threat landscape. Because it’s  aimed at business leaders, strategic threat intelligence focuses on non-technical information.
• Tactical: Tactical threat intelligence focuses on malicious actors’ tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), providing insight into potential attacks and an attack’s possible impact. 
• Technical: Technical threat intelligence is the information that security teams usually get from their open-source intelligence feeds. Security teams use technical threat intelligence to monitor new threats or investigate security incidents.
• Operational: Operational threat intelligence gives security teams actionable information relating to threat actors’ natures, motives, timing, and methods.

Where does threat intelligence come from? 

Threat intelligence is everywhere, but that doesn’t mean it’s all relevant.Threat intelligence platforms like Flare, collect information from a wide variety of sources including networks, applications, software, open source intelligence (OSINT), and scans of the web focused on particular keywords or information. Information also is gathered from proprietary or restricted information sources, such as commercial threat intelligence feeds, private forums, underground marketplaces and dark web sources. A business’s own data can also provide valuable security insights. This information might come from network logs, security event logs, endpoint telemetry, firewall logs, intrusion detection system (IDS) alerts and any other internal security data sources a company may have.

Why is it So Important for MDR Providers to Use Threat Intelligence Now?

Why is threat intelligence so important in today’s cyber landscape? 

MDR providers operate in a complex and rapidly changing environment, where they must balance the demands of detecting and responding to evolving threats while managing operational, regulatory, and resource challenges. To succeed, MDR providers need to continuously evolve their technologies, refine their processes, and ensure that their teams are well-equipped to handle the growing cybersecurity demands of their clients. When an MDR provider is aware of new trends and threats, they can evolve their response accordingly.

How can threat intelligence help speed up response times? 

Your clients rely on you for a rapid response to incidents, no matter when they occur. Continuous monitoring for threats is key to delivering the service your customers need, and being able to provide both translation and context for notification helps them make important decisions more quickly.

How does threat intelligence help you serve your clients?

Your clients have unique needs, and you need to meet those needs, no matter the client’s industry, risk profile, or security maturity. Threat intelligence helps you offer customized service and information to each client. Preventing threats before they can cause harm also demonstrates value. Every notification that prevents or mitigates a threat is proof that you’re helping to protect your clients.

Managed Detection and Response 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.

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.