How can you use threat intelligence to manage third-party risk?

In my experience, this can be achieved by the following: Define Risk Criteria: Establish clear criteria for evaluating third-party risks. Identify what constitutes a high-risk relationship based on factors such as the sensitivity of data shared, the criticality of services provided, and the potential impact on your organization. Create a Third-Party Inventory: Develop a comprehensive inventory of all third-party relationships. Maintain accurate and up-to-date information on the services provided, and the type of data exchanged. Perform Risk Assessments: Conduct thorough risk assessments for each third-party relationship. Evaluate the security practices, data handling procedures, and overall cybersecurity posture of the third party.

- Risk Assessment: Utilize threat intelligence to assess the security posture of third parties and identify potential risks. - Incident History Analysis: Review past incidents involving third parties to understand and mitigate similar risks in the future. - Shared Threat Intelligence: Encourage sharing of threat information with third parties for mutual awareness and preparedness. - Integration in Vendor Evaluation: Incorporate threat intelligence into the vendor selection process to choose partners with robust security practices. - Contractual Agreements: Ensure contracts with third parties include clauses on compliance with certain security standards and threat intelligence sharing.

Having good knowledge about this third party is really important in managing threats. Especially at an era where data centers and cloud adoption is going viral. Getting your organization equipped with the threat that the third party or cloud organisations might face is a crucial step in knowing how to deal with this threats if they arise.

Threat intelligence is a good source in identifying and managing 3rd party risk. It should start from identiying suppliers, service providers and partners who are directly involved in the processing of confidential data in your organization, those who are supporting critical systems in the enterprise. Once identified, it is crucial to monitor their online presence and dealing and be alerted on any compromise in data and systems or impending attacks. You can also use threat intelligence to get information on their affiliations and potential issues arising from the conduct of its business. These then gives the enterprise different perspectives in risk profiling 3rd parties and perform necessary actions to mitigate the risks.

Start by taking stock of all the data that your organization is responsible for: find where the data lives, who has access to it, and how it is used. Then go ahead and use available threat intelligence tools and frameworks to mitigate risks from threats. Remember, at the end of the day, you're responsible for your customer first and foremost.

A pivotal aspect of managing third-party risk lies in the collection and analysis of comprehensive threat intelligence. Platforms like Recorded Future or Anomali serve as powerful aggregators, enriching and correlating threat data to yield actionable insights. Engaging specialized threat intelligence teams adds an additional layer of customization, providing nuanced, context-rich intelligence. This process is essential in understanding the evolving threat landscape and how it specifically pertains to your third-party associations, enabling informed decision-making.

é importante utilizar e consumir informa??es sobre amea?as, IOCs, TTPs e OSINTs para melhorar sempre a visibilidade de suas equipes de seguran?a, podendo anteceder à incidentes e entender comportamento que possam indicar o comprometimento.

Define Risk Criteria, Establish criteria for evaluating the risk associated with each third party. Consider factors such as the nature of the services they provide, the sensitivity of the data they handle, and their access to your systems.

Risk criteria are set by evaluating risks linked to each third party, considering factors like their services, data sensitivity, and system access. Threat intelligence is gathered and analyzed from different sources, including open-source platforms, commercial feeds, industry reports, and government sources. Platforms like Recorded Future or Anomali can simplify this process by consolidating, enhancing, and correlating threat data. Hiring a threat intelligence team like Flashpoint or CrowdStrike can offer personalized reports and alerts. However, prioritizing actionability is vital before obtaining any intelligence. Determining required resources is crucial for efficient performance.

Integrating threat intelligence into third-party risk management involves continuous monitoring of external entities. Obtain threat intelligence feeds to identify potential risks associated with your vendors. Establish a risk scoring system based on the intelligence data, focusing on factors like their security posture, historical incidents, and industry-specific threats. Regularly update risk assessments and collaborate with third parties to address vulnerabilities. Additionally, leverage threat intelligence to stay proactive and adapt your risk management strategy based on emerging threats in the cybersecurity landscape.

Access Threat Intelligence Sources, Subscribe to threat intelligence feeds from reputable sources. These feeds provide real-time information about emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and attack patterns.

Apply threat intelligence to third-party risk management by integrating it into due diligence, contract negotiation, ongoing monitoring, incident response, and termination. Utilize security ratings and threat profiles to choose secure third parties and negotiate security requirements. Continuously monitor third parties for any suspicious changes or anomalies that may indicate a potential compromise. Coordinate remediation and recovery efforts in case of an incident and terminate relationships with high-risk or non-compliant third parties. Improve threat intelligence capabilities by exploring the STIX/TAXII ecosystem and subscribing to trusted threat intelligence feeds for up-to-date information on emerging threats.

Applying collected intelligence effectively in the realm of third-party risk management involves integrating it into various stages – from due diligence in selection processes to continuous monitoring and incident response. This integration allows for informed decisions when engaging with third parties, mandating specific security requirements, and establishing clear responsibilities. Continuous monitoring of third parties’ security postures ensures timely detection of potential threats or breaches, facilitating swift and coordinated response actions.

Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of your threat intelligence-driven third-party risk management program. Assess metrics like reduced incidents, improved vendor risk scores, and faster response times. Refine your intelligence sources and analysis protocols based on feedback and learnings. Adjust your focus areas and prioritize threats based on evolving risks and emerging vulnerabilities.

Use of Threat Intelligence - also called cyber threat Intelligence, enables security teams to be more proactive in managing third party attacks before they occur. The first step should be a risk assessment to establish the likely impact of the possible attacks. Assessing the threat Intelligence under three layers i.e. strategic, tactical and operational will enable focus. The next step is collection and analysis of the third party emerging threats. This leads to informed actions and early prevention of harmful attacks. The major challenge related to 3rd party risks is the translating, formatting and/or corroborating the collected data. Input from detective controls like firewalls, intrusion detection and malware solution helps.

Using Threat Intelligence allows security teams to proactively handle potential attacks. Risk assessment determines attack impact. Evaluating threat intelligence across layers focuses on relevant areas. Analyzing emerging threats enables informed decision-making. Translating, formatting, and verifying data can be challenging. Input from detective controls is valuable. Regularly reviewing and enhancing practices is important. Leveraging threat intelligence minimizes third-party breaches.

Continual improvement is key in threat intelligence and third-party risk management. Regularly reviewing and measuring the effectiveness of your current practices helps identify gaps or areas needing enhancement. Updating strategies with industry best practices and incorporating lessons learned from past experiences is crucial for maintaining robust and responsive risk management processes. This iterative approach ensures that your methodologies stay aligned with the dynamic nature of cybersecurity threats and third-party landscapes.

Identify and prioritise critical third parties, considering their access to sensitive information and the significant roles they play in daily operations. Once these parties are identified, the organisation should leverage threat intelligence to identify current and emerging cyber threats, focusing on those relevant to the industry, region, or technologies used by third parties. This enables the organisation to determine how specific threats could exploit vulnerabilities in the systems or processes of their third-party partners. Such a proactive approach ensures a more targeted and informed strategy in mitigating third-party risks based on the dynamic threat landscape.

A key element here is establishing a mutual trust relationship with your third-parties to enable intelligence sharing between them and your organisation. This is what makes CTI different to other fields of intelligence. There is very little cloak and dagger in our line of work. It is often more effective and valuable to share intel than to hold onto it. For instance, if you have intel that your third-party is at risk of being targeted by a certain ransomware group (or has been targeted), it would be in your best interest to share that intelligence with said third-party (whilst maintaining confidentiality to protect your sources).

Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) is a very useful framework for evaluating the impact of 3rd party dependencies concerning privacy and security.

Threat intelligence tools?enable data leak detection at the earliest stages to mitigate leaks and security incidents and improve incident response time. This in turn minimizes the reputational damage, financial cost, legal fees and operational cost that could impact your organization. Fewer third-party risks

66% of organizations are not confident their vendors would notify them of a data breach. Recorded Future's Third-Party Intelligence provides your security and governance, risk and compliance (GRC) teams relevant information on your vendors and partners, allowing your teams to quickly identify threats to your business continuity, assess security controls, and report on aggregate risk.