Businesses have begun using cyber threat intelligence tools to find sources of breaches and reduce vulnerabilities before any damage is done. While firewalls and encryption technology provide some security against common types of malware, companies need intel on emerging actors’ motives, targets and behaviors to get a step ahead of new threats.
What Is Cyber Threat Intelligence?
Cyber threat intelligence is evidence-based information gained from collecting and analyzing data on existing and evolving fraudulent operations. Without this intel, more than half of all attacks go unnoticed until the intrusion is complete. Corporate threat intelligence refers to the process businesses use to identify vulnerabilities in their networks and increase security for targeted data based on predictions and trends.
Threat Intelligence Tools for Business Security
Not all businesses have the bandwidth to start a cyber-attack prevention team from scratch. The purpose of threat intelligence tools is to help companies of any size gather information about new malware, zero-day attacks and other scams so they can make their security proactive. Cyber threat intelligence platforms are tools that collect, organize and streamline intel from multiple sources to provide a hacker’s motives, methods and targets to security teams.
Business threat intelligence platforms use a variety of sources to gather raw data, including:
- Open-source intelligence feeds
- Online industry groups
- Government agencies
- Security testing tools
A cyber threat intelligence platform draws correlations between hacker data and the company’s weaknesses to help security analysts determine a solution quickly. When a company uses comprehensive cybersecurity threat intelligence tools, it can expect these benefits:
Faster Threat Detection and Response
Cyber threat intelligence platforms constantly monitor networks and systems to detect security issues and indications of attacks. When an incident is caught early, security updates can be made in real time to block malicious actors from carrying out their plans. Incident response personnel also get a head start on threat mitigation and containment for swift remediation.
Improved Threat Awareness
When the strategies of existing attackers are well known, companies can increase security around specific targets. This heightened awareness does not mean the IT team simply adjusts the firewall settings. Employee cyber security awareness training and onboarding can include the latest tactics and scams so everyone in the company is aware and vigilant.
Prioritized Security Efforts
Sifting through hundreds of information sources is time consuming and a waste of human resources. Cyber threat intelligence platforms can quickly review data and provide actionable information to a security team based on current trends. Leaving information gathering to technology allows IT personnel to focus on higher-priority tasks that require human analysis and decision-making.
Prevented Financial and Reputational Losses
A company that uses cyber threat intelligence to predict and prevent incidents saves money on remediation of attacks, including costly ransomware prevention and recovery. Rather than paying for investigation and asset restoration, a business can use its resources for profitable work. Implementing the latest cybersecurity technology also helps a company gain clients’ trust and confidence to avoid losing business to the competition.
Managed detection and threat intelligence are worthy investments to keep security measures a step ahead of cybercriminals’ methods. Increased threat protection should not overwhelm a business’ resources. Instead, a company should look for managed IT services from ftc.net/business to help implement prevention technology and a diligent threat assessment.
