What is Cyber Threat Intelligence and How Can I learn It?

A recent cybersecurity report by Gartner revealed that the expenditure on information security is expected to hit $93 billion during this year. This does not include all subsets of cybersecurity such as industrial control security and the internet of things. The global expenditure on cybersecurity products is being forecast to exceed $1 trillion during the next four years.

Now, these mind-boggling figures only suggest that cyber threat intelligence is something that most companies are taking seriously. Additionally, the 2017 cybercrime cost report by Accenture revealed that there was a 27.4% increase in the number of cyber-attacks which averaged to 130 attacks on a single company in the past year. This has resulted in organizations spending up to $11.7M annually in a bid to mitigate the effects of these crimes.

Cyber Threat Intelligence, therefore, is now a necessary tool for all businesses that want to stay afloat. Even though a virus scanner was once pivotal in keeping off malware, the use of perimeter security tools as a primary defense mechanism can no longer ensure the safety of your enterprise network.

Thus, learning about Cyber Threat Intelligence is critical to any entrepreneur of this generation. Additionally, cyber-security related jobs are expected to increase by up to 200% by 2021. Of course, this is proportionate to how cyber threats are forecast to increase. So whether your chief concern is to threat-proof your business or it is to get a job in cyber-security fields, learning about and understanding Cyber Threat Intelligence is necessary.

What is Cyber Threat Intelligence?

Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) is the collecting and grouping of data that is gathered from electronic, human, internal, and external sources of the organization. This data is processed through a specific evaluation procedure to prove its validity and is then manipulated to provide the context in which conditions that are necessary for a threat usually thrive in.

The main sources of CTI include:

Internal

This comprises of data and information that is gathered from the company itself, which allows the organization to create an environmental profile through processing the data into meaningful content.

External

External CTI is information that the business acquires from the outside environment. These sources include subscriptions, feeds, Crowd sourced platforms, or the industry.

Elements of a good CTI

• Usually targets a specific industry. For instance, the CTI report that a telecommunications provider receives usually details what cyber-attacks are focusing on the telecommunications industry, the nature of the attacks, how they were implemented, and so on.
• Determines the relative risk. A good CTI usually tells the organization of the threats they face and how worried they should be plus the steps that need to be taken to avert these threats.
• Uses highly qualified cybersecurity experts. CTI is a highly analytical process and therefore requires skilled minds to analyze the information and postulate where the threats could come from.

Learning Cyber Threat Intelligence will Help You In Many Ways

Prevent data loss.

A threat intelligence system that functions well is able to monitor any attempts at communication by malicious domains and IPs and collect intelligence data.

Detect breaches.

When a breach is detected sooner, the impact it has on the business is significantly reduced. For instance, performing network monitoring together with enabling deep data inspection will allow you to detect intrusions, viruses, and non-compliance of protocol.

Incident response.

CTI provides the enterprise with guidance on how to handle a breach while identifying the compromised systems.

Threat analysis.

Being able to detect attacks or threats is not enough if you are not able to comprehend the attack patterns, and the hacker’s techniques, tactics, and procedures. A threat analysis usually provides insights into the necessary defense mechanisms required.

Threat Intelligence sharing.

Sharing your knowledge on threat intelligence with other actors in your industry shall enable the different players to gain awareness and offer you their resources too.

Cyber Threat Intelligence is Important to any Business

Cybersecurity problems are no longer just technical issues; they have a huge impact on the viability of any business. Poor cybersecurity practices can and will lead to financial losses, fraud, loss of customers, costly audits, class action lawsuits, and brand damage. There are many instances in which top executives have lost their jobs as a result of a security breach. Taking the appropriate steps to alleviate these risks is vital, and therefore it is imperative to learn about Cyber Threat Intelligence.

Are you interested in a career in the fast-paced world of cybersecurity? If you want to earn a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer and Information Science with a Major in Cyber and Network Security, ECPI University offers this course at an accelerated rate. For more information, connect with a helpful admissions advisor today.

It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!

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