Threat Intelligence
Information about current and potential cyber threats that is collected, analysed, and used to make informed security decisions and proactively defend against attacks.
In-Depth Explanation
Threat intelligence (TI) is evidence-based knowledge about existing or emerging cyber threats that helps organisations understand, prevent, and respond to security risks. It transforms raw data about threats into actionable intelligence that informs security decisions.
Threat intelligence types:
- Strategic: High-level trends and motivations for leadership (who is attacking and why)
- Tactical: Techniques, tactics, and procedures (TTPs) used by attackers (how they attack)
- Operational: Details about specific attacks or campaigns (what to expect)
- Technical: Indicators of compromise (IOCs) like IP addresses, hashes, domains (what to block)
Threat intelligence sources:
- Open source (OSINT): Publicly available threat data
- Commercial feeds: Paid intelligence from security vendors
- Government: ACSC, ASD, CERT Australia advisories
- Industry sharing: ISACs (Information Sharing and Analysis Centers)
- Internal: Intelligence from your own security tools and incidents
- Dark web monitoring: Monitoring underground forums for threats
Threat intelligence lifecycle:
- Planning: Define intelligence requirements based on business risk
- Collection: Gather data from relevant sources
- Processing: Normalise and structure raw data
- Analysis: Transform data into actionable intelligence
- Dissemination: Share intelligence with relevant stakeholders
- Feedback: Evaluate usefulness and refine requirements
Using threat intelligence:
- Feed IOCs into SIEM, firewall, and endpoint protection
- Brief leadership on emerging threats relevant to your industry
- Prioritise patching based on actively exploited vulnerabilities
- Validate security controls against current attack techniques
- Inform incident response procedures
- Guide security awareness training content
Australian threat intelligence sources:
- ACSC (Australian Cyber Security Centre) alerts and advisories
- ASD (Australian Signals Directorate) threat assessments
- CERT Australia incident reports
- Stay Smart Online alerts
- Industry-specific sharing groups
Business Context
Organisations using threat intelligence identify and respond to threats 10x faster than those without it. For Australian businesses, ACSC advisories alone provide free, actionable intelligence about threats targeting local organisations.
How Clever Ops Uses This
Clever Ops integrates threat intelligence into Australian businesses security operations, connecting ACSC advisories and commercial intelligence feeds with SIEM, firewall, and endpoint protection systems. We ensure security controls are tuned to defend against threats specifically targeting Australian organisations.
Example Use Case
"An Australian company subscribes to ACSC advisories and integrates threat intelligence into their SIEM. When the ACSC warns of a campaign targeting Australian businesses through a specific vulnerability, their team patches within hours and adds detection rules, preventing a breach that affected unprepared competitors."