Cybersecurity needs to be able to prevent attacks, not just respond - opinion

In today’s digital age, cyber threats are escalating in both frequency and sophistication. The global cost of online criminal activities is expected to almost triple from $8.44 trillion in 2022 to a staggering $23.84 trillion by 2027, according to data from Statista, the FBI, and the IMF. 

The shift to hybrid work, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has also significantly impacted cybersecurity dynamics. This shift has expanded the attack surface, as many employees now use their own devices for work and rely on less secure home connections. This rising tide of cyber threats underscores the critical need for cyber threat intelligence.

CTI involves collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information about threats to an organization’s information systems. It provides actionable insights into the capabilities, intentions, and activities of cyber adversaries, helping organizations anticipate, prepare for, and mitigate threats.

Modern threat intelligence platforms centralize data from various sources, including open sources (OSINT), technical sources (sensors, logs) and human intelligence (HUMINT). Then, the platform aggregates it in one place and presents it in a usable format. This has become increasingly important due to the rising frequency and complexity of cyberattacks.

According to the Gartner technological research and consulting firm, organizations using threat intelligence for strategic decisions are 2.5 times more likely to detect breaches earlier than those not using CTI, while according to a 2023 SANS survey, 87% of respondents who evaluated their CTI programs reported improvements in security prevention, detection, and response.

Organizations that rely only on after-attack features often experience delayed responses to threats. This delay can lead to greater damage, prolonged downtime, and higher recovery costs. Responding to and recovering from a cyberattack is typically more costly than preventing one. Without proactive measures, organizations are more vulnerable to advanced persistent threats (APTs) and zero-day exploits. By leveraging CTI, they can significantly enhance their risk management strategies, ensuring they stay ahead of potential threats.

CTI creates unparalleled advantages and is crucial for the modern work world. Among the benefits effective CTI provides are: 

• Early threat detection – identify potential threats before they can exploit vulnerabilities, allowing organizations to take preventive measures: 

• Faster response times – real-time insights into active threats, enabling quicker detection and response; 

• Efficient resource allocation – enhances the accuracy of threat detection, reducing false positives and helping security teams focus on genuine threats, and therefore helps organizations optimize their security resources;

• Collaboration and sharing – encourages information sharing among organizations, industry groups, and government agencies;

• Strategic planning – provides insights into long-term trends and emerging threats, aiding in strategic planning and future-proofing security measures.

Looking outside for help

To maximize the benefits of CTI, organizations should filter out the CTI sources according to their unique needs, considering risk profile, industry, and other criteria. This ensures that the intelligence gathered is both accurate and actionable.

There are four primary types, each catering to specific needs and audiences within an organization: 

• Strategic intelligence – helps shape long-term security strategies and policies aimed at executives and senior management;

• Tactical intelligence – informs day-to-day security operations and enhances threat detection capabilities, benefiting security analysts and operations teams; 

• Operational intelligence – supports immediate response to active threats and ongoing incidents, essential for incident response teams and security operations centers (SOCs); 

• Technical intelligence – provides the granular details necessary for configuring and fine-tuning security tools to prevent or mitigate attacks, used mainly by security engineers and IT staff.

Most companies use a combination of these CTI types to cover different aspects of their security needs.

As the cybersecurity landscape evolves, it’s crucial to inject corresponding solutions into the organization’s infrastructure. Organizations should not rely only on after-attack tools but to invest in effective and strong CTI abilities.

The writer is CEO of Unipath, a cybersecurity company.