Cyber Threat Intelligence: The No-Nonsense Guide for CISOs and Security Managers

This book provides practical guidance on setting up a successful cyber threat intelligence (CTI) practice within an established security team, emphasizing the importance of threat information in protecting organizations' resources. It adopts an intelligence-led approach and introduces best practices and methods for utilizing CTI effectively, covering key concepts such as the intelligence cycle, intelligence requirements, the diamond model, and applying intelligence to security information. It also discusses structured intelligence (STIX) and its alignment with ATT&CK, and how it can improve final intelligence reporting. The book is designed for senior security leaders, cybersecurity professionals considering a career change into CTI, and security professionals with technical proficiency in other areas who want to understand CTI and evaluate the services received from existing vendors.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 207 pages
Publication date: 10 August 2021
Publisher: APress

Understand the process of setting up a successful cyber threat intelligence (CTI) practice within an established security team. This book shows you how threat information that has been collected, evaluated, and analyzed is a critical component in protecting your organization's resources. Adopting an intelligence-led approach enables your organization to nimbly react to situations as they develop. Security controls and responses can then be applied as soon as they become available, enabling prevention rather than response. There are a lot of competing approaches and ways of working, but this book cuts through the confusion. Author Aaron Roberts introduces the best practices and methods for using CTI successfully. This book will help not only senior security professionals, but also those looking to break into the industry. You will learn the theories and mindset needed to be successful in CTI.

This book covers the cybersecurity wild west, the merits and limitations of structured intelligence data, and how using structured intelligence data can and should be the standard practice for any intelligence team. You will understand your organization's risks, based on the industry and the adversaries you are most likely to face, the importance of open-source intelligence (OSINT) to any CTI practice, and discover the gaps that exist with your existing commercial solutions and where to plug those gaps, and much more.

What You Will Learn

Know the wide range of cybersecurity products and the risks and pitfalls aligned with blindly working with a vendor.

Understand critical intelligence concepts such as the intelligence cycle, setting intelligence requirements, the diamond model, and how to apply intelligence to existing security information.

Understand structured intelligence, including how to collect, process, and analyze structured data to identify patterns and trends that can help you detect and respond to threats.

Learn how to use threat intelligence to inform security decisions and improve your organization's overall security posture.

Understand the importance of collaboration and information sharing within your organization and with external partners to enhance your CTI capabilities.

Understand the legal and ethical considerations that come with using CTI and how to ensure that your organization is compliant with relevant laws and regulations.

By following the steps and best practices outlined in this book, you will be well on your way

This book is a comprehensive guide to setting up a successful cyber threat intelligence (CTI) practice within an established security team. It covers the essential concepts and techniques for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating threat information to protect your organization from cyber threats.

The first chapter provides an overview of the CTI landscape, including the different types of threat intelligence, the importance of CTI, and the challenges that organizations face in implementing CTI. It also introduces the key players in the CTI ecosystem, including security analysts.

The second chapter covers the process of setting up a CTI practice, including the necessary steps and steps to establish a CTI team, develop a CTI strategy, and implement a CTI program. It also discusses the importance of collaboration and information sharing within the organization and with external partners to enhance CTI capabilities.

The third chapter covers the collection of threat intelligence, including the sources of threat intelligence, the methods of collection, and the analysis of threat intelligence. It also discusses the importance of using open-source intelligence (OSINT) to supplement traditional threat intelligence sources and the challenges of using OSINT.

The fourth chapter covers the analysis of threat intelligence, including the methods of analysis, the use of threat intelligence to inform security decisions, and the development of threat intelligence products. It also discusses the importance of using threat intelligence to identify and respond to emerging threats and the challenges of using threat intelligence in a distributed environment.

The fifth chapter covers the dissemination of threat intelligence, including the methods of dissemination, the use of threat intelligence to support incident response and forensics, and the development of a threat intelligence sharing framework. It also discusses the importance of measuring the effectiveness of CTI and the challenges of measuring the effectiveness of CTI.

The sixth chapter covers the legal and ethical considerations of CTI, including the privacy and confidentiality of threat intelligence, the use of threat intelligence to support law enforcement and national security, and the challenges of balancing the need for security with the need for privacy.

The seventh chapter covers the future of CTI, including the emerging trends in CTI, the challenges that organizations face in implementing CTI, and the opportunities that CTI presents for organizations.

The eighth chapter provides a conclusion of the book, including a summary of the key points discussed in the book and a call to action for organizations to implement CTI effectively.

This book is a valuable resource for security professionals, IT professionals, and anyone interested in protecting their organization from cyber threats. It provides a comprehensive guide to setting up a successful CTI practice and covers the essential concepts and techniques for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating threat information.

Weight: 361g
Dimension: 235 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781484272190
Edition number: 1st ed.