Four Key Questions About Strategic Threat Intelligence to Improve Your Cybersecurity Program

Hey, how’s your day? I’ve been immersed in the fascinating world of threat intelligence today. In our uber-connected San Francisco Bay Area world, threat intelligence is becoming more crucial to the safety and security of our online existence. But did you know that not all threat intelligence is created equal? Let’s chat about it.

Imagine this scenario—on one hand, you have tactical threat intelligence. This involves activities like sifting through Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) to create detection or blocking rules within your protective tools. And on the other hand, there’s strategic threat intelligence, a less immediate but arguably more impactful form of threat intelligence. See, it’s like a two-sided coin, and today, I’m keen on exploring the strategic side of it.

Strategic threat intelligence isn’t about just the here and now; it’s about the bigger picture. It takes a deep dive into cyber threats, considering the broader, long-term perspectives, and how they correlate with the broader strategies and objectives you’re working on within your organization. Can you imagine the wealth of data you’ll develop from this?

Thing is, heaps of information alone doesn’t instantly translate to an insightful perspective—especially on how potential threats could impact your organization and its future plans. That’s where critical thinking comes in. So how do we make the most of all this intel? As a team, we need an analytical framework built to support such critical thinking in this strategic threat intelligence scenario.

Has your team ever tried the Analysis of Competing Hypotheses (ACH)? It’s a practical tool that helps you explore multiple possibilities at once, gather evidence, and assess the importance of each hypothesis before settling on a conclusion. By leveraging such frameworks, we can mitigate the effect of cognitive biases and make well-informed decisions that contribute to creating a more resistant strategy.

Now, we can take this thinking into the planning stage. There are specific questions that you and your team can integrate into your planning process, by keeping in mind the output from your threat intelligence data, reports, and the potential themes collected:

1. How can we best prepare for looming cyber threats?
2. Does our workforce have what it takes to face emergent threats head-on?
3. Should we form strategic partnerships to fortify our cyber defenses?
4. Are our teams and resources appropriately aligned to tackle these unexpected threats?

Wrestling with these questions can foster awareness, allowing organizations to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to security.

So, there you have it. Threat intelligence isn’t just about tackling today’s problems. It’s about preparing for the challenges of tomorrow. And with thoughtfulness, a focus on folks, and an appreciation of a broader strategic perspective, we can make our corner of the cyberspace a safer place.

And hey, even as I’ll continue to dig deeper into cybersecurity topics, I’ll share more insights with you. I hope you found this as interesting as I did. Stay safe out there!

by Morgan Phisher | HEAL Security