Collaboration and time are two advantages cybercriminals used to have over their victims. With a little digging and patience, you’ll find countless websites and forums dedicated to hackers sharing information with one another. And since they plan their attacks toward unsuspecting victims, they’ve time to perfect them.
Fortunately, threat intelligence sharing has leveled the playing field for organizations. Instead of being on the defense as usual, companies can beat malicious actors at their own game.
Threat intelligence sharing allows organizations to share information about perceived cyber threats. As a result, they have the time and resources to defend themselves against malicious attacks.
What is threat intelligence sharing?
As we’ve said earlier, threat intelligence sharing is a practice where organizations exchange credible information about cyber threats. It is also called cyber threat intelligence (CTI) sharing, and it goes beyond organizations in the same industry. Companies across different sectors, such as health and insurance, also share cyber threat intelligence with each other.
This is important for systemic risk reduction. In cybersecurity, systemic risk reduction is a strategy used to reduce the likelihood that a cyber event might trigger widespread failure and negative effects across multiple organizations, sectors, and nations.
With the hyper-digitalization of the business landscape, threat actors have more opportunities to attack. So more than ever, enterprises across sectors must come together to have a fighting chance.
Cyber threat intelligence can be divided into four categories. They include:
- Strategic threat intelligence: which provides a top-level overview of a business’s threat landscape concerning political, geographical, and organizational trends.
- Operational threat intelligence: which is collected by analyzing human behavior, threat actors, and real-world events.
- Tactical threat intelligence: that reveals how threats are being carried out and combated.
- Technical threat intelligence: which contains evidence of an attack or indicators of compromise (IOCs).
For threat intelligence sharing to be successful, intelligence must be disseminated to the right audience.
How threat intelligence sharing creates a secure digital landscape
As much as you’d want it, your internal cybersecurity team can’t offer maximum protection. Technology advances at such an incredible speed that your security team can’t know everything. Your best bet is to tap into external knowledge via threat intelligence sharing.
Here’s how this security tool can create a secure digital landscape for your business.
Threat intelligence sharing enables early detection and response to cyber attacks
The longer a cyber attack goes unnoticed, the more devastating this outcome will be. Take smishing attacks as an example, they cause a lot of damage because of their undetectable nature.
Threat intelligence sharing among organizations increases the speed of threat detection and response, enabling them to be proactive and establishing standards for compliance.
Organizations can take advantage of the collective knowledge through shared threat intelligence to identify patterns, trends, and IOCs across different networks. This collaborative approach means they can quickly identify potential attacks and develop strategies to repel them.
Let’s say there has been a spike in phishing calls coming from a number with area code 956. An organization that has witnessed this attack attempt can share their experience with participating companies, enabling them to be proactive.
Threat intelligence sharing allows for collaborative knowledge
You leave your business exposed if you depend solely on your internal cybersecurity team to protect your digital assets. They cannot keep up with every development, which is why CTI is important. It allows your organization to get different perspectives from various industries. As a result, they’re equipped to defend your organization.
Moreover, the hardware and software targeted by threat actors are typically similar across different industries. Computer remote access software, operating systems, and mobile devices are not industry-specific. So it makes sense to share vulnerabilities and migration methods across sectors. This way, members of the broader community learn from the experience of the rest.
It enhances the efficiency of your cybersecurity team
Threat intelligence sharing can help your cybersecurity team identify and mitigate cyber threats in many ways. These solutions usually employ automation like artificial intelligence (AI that can collect and verify raw data, eliminating the manual process.
Your team can avoid spending hours manually monitoring security alerts within your IT infrastructure, which often leads to burnout. With automation, they can focus on defense strategies and be ready when the system picks up an attack.
It decreases the risks of cyber threats
As more of your business operations become digitized, you will inevitably be a target for cybercriminals. But you can minimize the effects of these threats by adopting threat intelligence sharing. This security tool raises awareness about the potential threats your organization is vulnerable to. With this knowledge, your security team can develop effective strategies to counter these potential threats and minimize itheir impact.
Assuming your cybersecurity team gets credible threat intelligence about a new method hackers are employing to steal customer data. In that case, they can take proactive measures, like equipping your contact center systems with filtering mechanisms. As a result, they can nip any impending attack in the bud.
It strengthens the situational awareness of your organization
Threat intelligence sharing can also create a secure digital landscape by giving you a comprehensive view of the threat landscape.
It can be tempting to rely solely on the knowledge of your internal team. But as we’ve established, they won’t catch everything. Cyber threat intelligence sharing allows your security team to take advantage of the collective info gathered by trusted peers and participating organizations.
This amplified situational awareness enables your team to spot emerging threats, familiarize themselves with threat actors strategies, and assess the potential impacts on the company.
Staying up to date with the latest cyber threats and trends enables your organization to constantly evolve its security and defense strategies accordingly.
Threat intelligence sharing can be a cost-effective solution
According to IBM, the cost of a data breach in 2023 was $4.45 million, a 15% increase from 2020. This shows that the cost of being a victim of cyber attacks is rising all the time.
And that’s only half of the problem. A data breach can lead to reputational damage and jeopardize your data security. You may lose clients and partners if you can’t keep their data safe. It can also lead to legal problems that can take years to recover.
Luckily, cyber threat intelligence sharing into your security infrastructure can help you avoid these issues. Equipping your team with the resources to integrate this CTI can save you from legal fees and lost business.
Final Word
As technology advances and our world becomes more interconnected, cybercriminals are also evolving. They utilize the power of collaboration to launch more devastating attacks.
However, threat intelligence sharing enables organizations to fight fire with fire. It allows them to quickly detect and respond to impending attacks, decreases the risks of cyber threats, and more. If you’ve not adopted this security measure, you put your business at risk.
