Threat Intelligence

One of the best ways to keep your workplace up to date with the latest cyber threats is through the collection and sharing of Threat Intelligence. Threat Intelligence is information collected about cyber threat actors and their associated tactics, techniques, and procedures. This information can then be used to help enrich the workplace cybersecurity program and raise awareness of new threats amongst employees. Threat Intelligence can be found in many different forms, some simple and some advanced. Distributing some combination of any of the following is a great way to harden your work environment against new threats.

News Sites

The simplest and sometimes the most effective, regularly checking in on cybersecurity news websites can be a great way to get the low down on new developments. These websites often provide the intelligence in an easy-to-digest manner, with descriptive headlines and to-the-point write-ups. Casually reading and sharing some of these websites across the workplace can be a great way to passively keep an eye on new threats. Some examples include:

• Bleeping Computer
• Dark Reading
• The Hacker News
• CSO Online

Community Sandbox Feeds

There is a great little niche of websites that provide interactive online sandboxes for investigating malicious software. These sandboxes are community-based, allowing for new malware to be uncovered and its information to be shared with others. Most of these platforms require subscriptions for full features, but it can be worth it if you are looking to get a better grasp on modern malware.

• App Any Run
• Joe's Sandbox

ISACs

Information Sharing and Analysis Centers are organizations that collect and share cyber threat intelligence on a sector-specific level. Different industries have their own ISAC, such as the Automotive ISAC, Financial Services ISAC, and Healthcare ISAC. Each ISAC has its own community with Threat Intelligence specifically tailored toward that industry's niches. Regardless of your business size, joining your sector's ISAC can be a great way to help focus on cyber threats that may directly target you.

OpenCTI

Open Cyber Threat Intelligence is an open-source platform that displays clean, well-organized Threat Intelligence on a visually appealing dashboard. OpenCTI not only provides the ability to view current threat information, but it also has features for analyzing the data and correlating it with your specific needs. OpenCTI is highly recommended if you want your own customized on-site platform to break down Threat Intelligence to meet your needs.

Virus Total

While not a Threat Intelligence platform like the others, Virus Total is a fantastic tool that should be bookmarked on every employee's web browser, regardless of industry. Virus Total provides a simple interface for you to upload a file, hash, IP, or URL that you would like security clarification on. Virus Total then searches the entry against a collection of reputable anti-malware platforms and provides you with the consensus.