What are the best ways to use threat intelligence for IT security?

1 Know your sources

Threat intelligence can come from various sources, such as open-source, commercial, government, or industry-specific feeds. Each source has its own strengths, weaknesses, and reliability. You need to evaluate the quality, relevance, and timeliness of the data you receive, and prioritize the ones that match your IT security goals and needs. You also need to verify the sources and avoid false or misleading information that could compromise your IT security.

2 Integrate and automate

Threat intelligence is not useful if it is not integrated and automated into your IT security tools and processes. You need to have a platform or system that can ingest, normalize, and correlate the data from different sources, and provide you with actionable insights and alerts. You also need to automate the response and mitigation actions based on the threat intelligence, such as blocking malicious IPs, updating firewall rules, or patching vulnerabilities. This way, you can reduce the manual workload and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your IT security.

3 Customize and contextualize

Threat intelligence is not one-size-fits-all. You need to customize and contextualize the data according to your IT environment, industry, and risk profile. You need to filter out the noise and focus on the signals that matter to you. You also need to enrich and analyze the data with your own internal information, such as logs, assets, configurations, or incidents. This way, you can gain a deeper understanding of the threat landscape and how it affects your IT security.

4 Share and collaborate

Threat intelligence is not a siloed activity. You need to share and collaborate with other IT security teams, stakeholders, and partners. You need to communicate the findings, recommendations, and actions based on the threat intelligence, and solicit feedback and input from others. You also need to participate in threat intelligence communities or networks, where you can exchange information, best practices, and lessons learned with other IT security professionals. This way, you can leverage the collective knowledge and experience of the IT security community and enhance your IT security.

5 Learn and improve

Threat intelligence is not a static process. You need to learn and improve from the data, insights, and outcomes of the threat intelligence. You need to measure and evaluate the impact and value of the threat intelligence on your IT security, and identify the gaps and areas for improvement. You also need to update and refine your threat intelligence sources, tools, and processes, and adapt to the changing threat landscape and IT security challenges. This way, you can continuously improve your IT security posture and resilience.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?