Five worthy reads is a regular column on five noteworthy items we’ve discovered while researching trending and timeless topics. This week, we explore how cyber threat intelligence can aid organizations.  

Enterprises often end up spending a great deal of money on monitoring and wiring their perimeter with defensive security solutions. But is merely incorporating security solutions like firewalls, antivirus software, intrusion detection systems, web filtering, and encryption enough?

 The average cost of a cyberattack now exceeds $1 million, and data has become more accessible with a growing range of devices, increasing the possibility of a potential data breach. Organizations have reached a point wherein they need to shift their strategies and have a new, proactive approach to security in place. Cyber threat intelligence has emerged as one of the most prominent proactive cybersecurity measures because it helps organizations predict where and when threats will strike.

 Threat intelligence is a collection of enriched or correlated data points about existing or potential threats; it captures data from both external and internal sources to get an accurate picture of the real issues posing threats to businesses, helping enterprises improve their security. 

To dive a bit deeper into this topic, here are five interesting reads on cyber threat intelligence.

  1. An introduction to threat intelligence platforms in the enterprise

Threat intelligence platforms can dramatically improve the efficiency of security staff in proactively blocking security incidents. This article elaborates on what threat intelligence is, its purposes, and its benefits.

  1. Six reasons why cyber threat intelligence matters

The fundamental purpose of cyber threat intelligence is to keep companies informed of advanced threats. It can also do much more, like help organizations lower risk, avoid data loss, cut costs, and more.

  1. What you need to know about cyber threat intelligence

When implemented properly, cyber threat intelligence can address a large portion of an organization’s security issues. But the security team needs to keep a few things in mind before adopting it.

  1. The Murky Value Proposition Of Cyber Threat Intelligence And How To Make It Shine

To get real value from cyber threat intelligence, it needs to be implemented as a process. The process should support strategic decision-making, and has to be integrated with the functions already present in the organization, including security operations, incident response, vulnerability management, and risk management.

  1. Addressing Today’s Risks Requires Reliable Threat Intelligence

For effective threat intelligence, organizations need to refresh their knowledge base with timely security intelligence, and identify and implement appropriate security measures as their network infrastructure evolves.

Cyber threat intelligence can help organizations stay informed about the risk of persistent cyberthreats, as well as determine their own acceptable risk level. Instead of sitting around and waiting for a nasty threat to reach their network, organizations can use cyber threat intelligence to foresee potential attacks and prevent them. However, should an intrusion occur, every organization needs a mature, workable, and detailed plan to react to that incident. Organizations should therefore adopt a balanced approach between reactive and proactive cybersecurity.