What is Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI)?

Imagine you're in a world full of castles, each protected by high walls, knights, and a drawbridge. But there are always threats outside these castles: dragons, enemy armies, or sneaky spies trying to find a weak spot. What if you had someone who could tell you who might attack, when they might attack, and how you can stop them? That’s exactly what Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) does, but instead of castles, it's protecting computers and networks from hackers and cybercriminals.

CTI is the process of gathering information about digital threats, analyzing them, and sharing that knowledge to help people or companies defend themselves. In other words, it's all about understanding the “bad guys” in cyberspace—their methods, goals, and tools—so that we can stop them before they cause damage.

Breaking Down Cyber Threat Intelligence

CTI isn’t just one thing—it comes in different forms:

1. Strategic Intelligence: Big-picture stuff that helps governments or big organizations make long-term plans to stay safe. It answers questions like, “What kind of attacks are likely in the future?”
2. Tactical Intelligence: This helps you figure out what specific tricks the attackers might use. For example, learning that a hacker uses a certain type of virus to infect computers.
3. Operational Intelligence: Real-time updates on threats. It's like knowing when an enemy is about to attack so you can prepare your defenses right away.
4. Technical Intelligence: Very specific details like an IP address or a virus’s code that helps experts track down the attacker or identify a threat.

Ten Sources of Cyber Threat Intelligence

So where does this intelligence come from? Just like detectives use different clues to solve crimes, CTI experts gather information from many places. Here are ten sources:

1. Open Source Intelligence (OSINT): This is public information, like news articles, blog posts, or social media. Hackers sometimes brag about their plans online, and experts can use that to gather clues.
2. Human Intelligence (HUMINT): Just like spies can gather secret information in real life, sometimes informants or insiders provide clues about hacker groups or threats.
3. Dark Web Intelligence: The dark web is a hidden part of the internet where illegal activities happen. Threat intelligence teams monitor it to learn about planned attacks or stolen data for sale.
4. Technical Data: This includes clues like malware (bad software) or phishing emails. Analyzing these can reveal patterns in cyberattacks.
5. Social Media: Hackers sometimes discuss their plans or tools in forums or on platforms like Twitter and Reddit.
6. Network Logs: When something strange happens in a computer network, like repeated failed login attempts, those activities are logged. These logs can help detect attacks.
7. Incident Reports: After a company is attacked, they often write reports about what happened. These reports help others learn from the event and avoid similar attacks.
8. Threat Feeds: These are real-time updates about current cyber threats, like a weather report for hackers. They list things like new vulnerabilities or ongoing attacks.
9. Vendor Reports: Many cybersecurity companies publish regular reports about new threats they’ve discovered, providing valuable insights.
10. Internal Systems: A company’s own network can provide clues, like noticing strange behavior that suggests a hacker might already be inside.

How to Get Started with Cyber Threat Intelligence

If you're interested in learning more about how to become a "cyber detective," here are the steps to get started:

1. Learn the Basics of Cybersecurity: You’ll need a solid understanding of how computers and networks work, and what common cyber threats are. Start by learning about things like firewalls, encryption, and types of malware.
2. Gather Intelligence: Start looking at the different sources of threat intelligence. You can follow threat feeds, read vendor reports, or even analyze data from the dark web.
3. Analyze the Data: Once you have the data, the next step is figuring out what it means. Look for patterns or signs that an attack might be coming. This could involve studying malware samples or tracking suspicious activity in logs.
4. Create Reports: After analyzing the data, you’ll need to summarize your findings in reports. These reports help others understand the risks and decide what action to take.
5. Share and Collaborate: Cybersecurity isn’t a solo game. You’ll need to share your findings with your organization, other companies, or government agencies to help everyone stay safe.
6. Respond to Threats: Once you’ve identified a threat, take action. This could involve blocking certain IP addresses, updating software, or setting up stronger defenses.

Ten Cyber Threat Intelligence Platforms

Now, let’s talk about the tools used by cyber experts to help gather, analyze, and share threat intelligence. Here are ten popular platforms and what they do:

1. Recorded Future
   • Website: https://www.recordedfuture.com/
   • What it does: It collects data from across the web—including the dark web—and uses machine learning to analyze threats in real time. It’s great for spotting emerging threats early.
2. ThreatConnect
   • Website: https://threatconnect.com/
   • What it does: ThreatConnect is a threat intelligence platform (TIP) that helps organizations automate the collection and sharing of threat data. It integrates with other security tools.
3. Anomali ThreatStream
   • Website: https://www.anomali.com/products/threatstream
   • What it does: ThreatStream automates the process of gathering and analyzing threat intelligence from multiple sources. It helps organizations stay on top of threats by continuously updating them.
4. MISP (Malware Information Sharing Platform)
   • Website: https://www.misp-project.org/
   • What it does: MISP is an open-source platform that helps organizations collect, store, and share indicators of compromise (IoCs). It’s popular in both government and private sectors.
5. Maltego
   • Website: https://www.maltego.com/
   • What it does: Maltego is a tool that helps visualize relationships between data points, such as connections between IP addresses, domains, and people. It’s used in both cybercrime investigations and threat intelligence.
6. Palo Alto Networks Unit 42
   • Website: https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/
   • What it does: Unit 42 is the threat intelligence arm of Palo Alto Networks. It provides reports and intelligence based on the company’s global security operations.
7. Cisco Talos
   • Website: https://talosintelligence.com/
   • What it does: Cisco Talos is a threat intelligence group that provides real-time information on cybersecurity threats. It tracks new vulnerabilities and malware.
8. FireEye (now Trellix)
   • Website: https://www.trellix.com/en-us/index.html
   • What it does: FireEye (now Trellix) is a cybersecurity company that provides in-depth threat intelligence, especially focused on nation-state attacks and sophisticated cyber espionage.
9. Open Threat Exchange (OTX)
   • Website: https://otx.alienvault.com/
   • What it does: OTX is an open-source platform where organizations can share threat intelligence. It’s free to use and allows users to upload and share indicators of compromise (IoCs).
10. IBM X-Force Exchange
    • Website: https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/
    • What it does: X-Force Exchange is IBM’s threat intelligence platform, offering both a free and paid version. It allows you to research emerging threats and share information with the community.

Conclusion

Cyber Threat Intelligence is like detective work in the digital world. By gathering information from various sources—whether the open web, dark web, or network logs—CTI experts help organizations stay one step ahead of cybercriminals. By using specialized platforms like Recorded Future, MISP, and ThreatConnect, these professionals can automate their research, analyze threats faster, and collaborate with others to keep the digital world safe.

If you’re interested in getting started with CTI, the best way to begin is by learning about basic cybersecurity, exploring threat feeds, and using free tools like Open Threat Exchange. Once you understand how the digital world works, you’ll be able to follow the clues and stop the “bad guys” online!