What is Threat Intelligence Sharing?

Cyber threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated, posing significant risks to organizations worldwide. According to a forecast by Statista, between 2023 and 2028, the global estimated cost of cybercrime is expected to increase by a staggering 5.7 trillion U.S. dollars, representing a %69.94 increase. By 2028, the cost of cybercrime worldwide is projected to reach $13.82 trillion.

Against this backdrop, the traditional approach to cybersecurity, which often involves organizations working in isolation to protect their systems, must be revised. This has led to threat intelligence sharing - a collaborative approach to cybersecurity. Threat intelligence sharing involves organizations sharing information about potential or ongoing cyber threats. This includes details about the methods used by cybercriminals, their potential targets, and practical strategies for mitigating these threats.

These alarming statistics underscore the importance of threat intelligence sharing. It enables organizations to learn from each other's experiences, reducing the likelihood of falling victim to the same threats. Also, it facilitates a more proactive approach to cybersecurity, allowing organizations to prepare for potential threats before they are targeted.

In this blog post, we will explore the concept of threat intelligence sharing, its benefits, challenges, and its significant role in cybersecurity. We aim to understand why working together to protect ourselves is not just a choice but something we need to do in our world that's getting more connected.

What is Threat Sharing?

Threat intelligence sharing is the process where organizations exchange cyber threat intelligence to collectively strengthen their defenses against cyberattacks. This involves sharing critical data on potential or active threats, such as malware signatures, phishing attempts, vulnerabilities, and attack methods. By collaborating in this way, organizations can better detect, respond to, and prevent cyber incidents.

Threat intelligence sharing not only improves awareness but also fosters a proactive approach to security, allowing organizations to act on the latest threat information before it impacts their systems. Whether through industry groups, public-private partnerships, or specialized platforms, this sharing enables participants to benefit from each other’s insights and experiences.

How Does Threat Intelligence Sharing Work?

Sharing threat intelligence helps organizations stay ahead of cyber threats by collaborating on real-time information. Threat intelligence sharing happens in several key stages:

1. Data Collection

Gather information from various sources, such as suspicious IPs, malware signatures, or phishing attempts.

2. Analysis

Examine the collected data to identify patterns and detect potential threats or indicators of compromise (IoCs).

3. Verification

Validate the findings to ensure the information is accurate and reliable for sharing.

4. Sharing

Distribute the verified threat intelligence to trusted partners, networks, or security platforms.

5. Action

Organizations receiving the intelligence use it to strengthen their defenses, block threats, and respond to attacks more effectively.

By following these stages, organizations can collaborate to improve cybersecurity and reduce the impact of potential threats.

What Are the Different Types of Threat Intelligence Sharing?

There are several types of threat intelligence sharing, each serving a unique purpose:

1. Strategic Sharing – High-level information about emerging threats and trends, aimed at long-term planning and decision-making.
2. Tactical Sharing – Detailed, real-time data on current threats, such as indicators of compromise (IoCs) like IP addresses and malware signatures.
3. Operational Sharing – Information related to ongoing or imminent attacks, helping organizations prepare and respond quickly.
4. Technical Sharing – Sharing specific technical details about threats, such as system vulnerabilities or exploits, to aid in defense strategies.

These types of sharing allow organizations to enhance their cybersecurity posture by addressing threats at various levels.

Types of Primary Threat Intelligence Sharing

Primary threat intelligence sharing refers to the direct exchange of cybersecurity information between organizations to enhance collective defenses. This type of sharing can take two main forms: unidirectional, where information flows one way from a provider to a recipient, and bidirectional, where there is an ongoing, two-way exchange of insights. These methods allow organizations to stay informed about emerging threats and adapt their defenses accordingly.

Further details on each will be explored in the following sections.

Unidirectional Threat Intelligence Sharing

Unidirectional threat intelligence sharing involves a one-way flow of threat information from a source to a recipient. In this model, an organization or platform shares critical information about potential cyber threats, such as malware signatures, phishing domains, or attack patterns, without expecting feedback or contributions from the recipient.

This type of sharing is commonly used for distributing broad threat intelligence across industries or sectors, allowing organizations to enhance their defenses based on the provided data. It is an efficient method for quickly disseminating essential information to a wide audience, but lacks the collaborative feedback found in other models.

Bidirectional Threat Intelligence Sharing

Bidirectional threat intelligence sharing allows for a two-way exchange of information, where both parties actively contribute to the conversation. Organizations share their own insights about emerging threats while also receiving valuable data from others. This collaborative process fosters a deeper understanding of evolving cyber risks and enables faster, more coordinated responses.

By engaging in this continuous exchange, companies can enhance their threat detection and defense strategies, benefiting from shared experiences and real-time updates across their network.

Types of Secondary Threat Intelligence Sharing

Secondary threat intelligence sharing involves the exchange of processed and analyzed threat data, offering deeper insights into cybersecurity risks. This form of intelligence sharing provides actionable information that helps organizations understand and respond to threats more effectively.

It includes several types, such as Technical, Strategic, and Tactical Threat Intelligence, each serving different aspects of cybersecurity decision-making.

Further details on these types will be explored in the next sections.

Technical Threat Intelligence

Technical Threat Intelligence focuses on gathering detailed information about specific cyber threats, including indicators of compromise (IoCs), attack methods, and vulnerabilities. Its unique feature lies in its deep, data-driven analysis of malicious activity, which is tailored to identify potential threats targeting an organization’s unique environment.

It works by continuously monitoring threat sources, such as dark web forums, malware samples, and hacker communications, to detect emerging risks. This intelligence is then processed to provide actionable insights, allowing organizations to proactively defend against targeted attacks and swiftly mitigate vulnerabilities.

Strategic Threat Intelligence

Strategic Threat Intelligence focuses on the broader context of cybersecurity threats, analyzing long-term trends, motivations, and potential impacts. Its unique feature is its high-level perspective, which helps organizations understand the bigger picture of cyber threats and how they align with business goals. By examining geopolitical events, industry-specific risks, and adversary tactics, it provides insight into potential future attacks. This intelligence works by evaluating patterns in threat actor behavior and emerging technologies, enabling organizations to make informed, strategic decisions that strengthen their overall security posture in the long run.

Tactical Threat Intelligence

Threat Intelligence focuses on collecting and interpreting data about existing and emerging cyber threats to strengthen organizational defenses. Its distinct advantage lies in delivering real-time insights into potential vulnerabilities, attack vectors, and threat actors. By monitoring diverse sources such as cybercriminal forums, malware activity, and global incidents, it helps organizations anticipate risks and adapt their security measures. This intelligence equips organizations to proactively address security issues, enhancing their ability to detect, prevent, and respond to cyberattacks more effectively, minimizing potential damage and improving overall resilience.

Why is Threat Intelligence Sharing Crucial for Cybersecurity?

Threat intelligence sharing is essential for strengthening cybersecurity because it allows organizations to exchange valuable insights about emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and attack methods. By collaborating, businesses can access a broader pool of cyber threat intelligence, improving their ability to identify and respond to risks more quickly. Sharing various types of threat intelligence, such as indicators of compromise (IoCs) and attack techniques, enables organizations to stay ahead of evolving threats.

Best practices of threat intelligence sharing include ensuring timely, accurate, and actionable data exchange while adhering to privacy regulations. However, challenges such as data trust, integration, and ensuring confidentiality can slow down effective collaboration. Overcoming these obstacles is significant to leveraging the full benefits of threat intelligence sharing, which ultimately strengthens collective cybersecurity defenses.

Top 3 Advantages of Threat Intelligence Sharing

As cyber threats become more sophisticated, threat intelligence sharing provides organizations with the ability to stay informed and prepared. By pooling collective knowledge, companies can enhance their security measures and respond more quickly to threats. Here are the top 3 advantages:

1. Faster Threat Detection and Response

Threat intelligence sharing enables organizations to quickly access a wider range of cyber threat intelligence. By collaborating and exchanging real-time data, businesses can identify threats earlier and respond more effectively, reducing the risk of a successful attack.

2. Enhanced Defense Against Emerging Threats

Sharing various types of threat intelligence, such as indicators of compromise (IoCs) and attack vectors, helps organizations stay ahead of new and evolving cyber threats. This collective knowledge allows for more proactive defense measures and strengthens overall cybersecurity.

3. Improved Resource Efficiency

By leveraging the combined insights from threat intelligence work, organizations can focus their resources more efficiently. Sharing intelligence reduces duplication of efforts and enhances overall preparedness, while also promoting the best practices of threat intelligence sharing to maximize security outcomes.

These advantages highlight the critical role of threat intelligence sharing in building a more resilient cybersecurity framework.

Challenges in Threat Intelligence Sharing

While threat intelligence sharing offers numerous benefits, several challenges can hinder its effectiveness. One major issue is the lack of trust between organizations, making it difficult to exchange sensitive cyber threat intelligence without concerns over data privacy and misuse. Another challenge is ensuring the integration of shared intelligence into existing security systems, which can be complicated by different formats and standards across organizations. Additionally, sharing the right types of threat intelligence in a timely and actionable manner is essential, but achieving this can be difficult without following the best practices of threat intelligence sharing.

Overcoming these challenges of threat intelligence sharing requires building trust, standardizing data formats, and ensuring clear communication to maximize the value of shared intelligence.

Best Practices for Effective Threat Intelligence Sharing

To maximize the benefits of threat intelligence sharing, organizations should follow these key best practices:

• Ensure cyber threat intelligence is accurate, relevant, and timely to make it actionable for others.
• Standardize the types of threat intelligence shared, such as indicators of compromise (IoCs), attack methods, and tactics, to improve consistency and integration.
• Build trust between organizations to overcome the challenges of threat intelligence sharing and encourage open communication.
• Use automated tools to share and process intelligence, speeding up response times and reducing human error.
• Regularly update and refine threat intelligence work to adapt to evolving cyber threats and maintain effective collaboration.

By following these best practices of threat intelligence sharing, organizations can enhance their ability to collaborate effectively, stay ahead of emerging threats, and build a stronger, more resilient cybersecurity framework.

Keepnet Threat Sharing: A Revolutionary Approach in Cybersecurity Collaboration

Keepnet’s Threat Sharing Platform provides businesses with a powerful way to enhance their cybersecurity efforts. By joining trusted communities, organizations can exchange vital threat intelligence on email attacks, vulnerabilities, and threat actors. This collaboration has the potential to significantly reduce detection and response times to cyber threats. Given that known attacks cause 90% of security breaches, sharing this information could help prevent further damage and improve security response efficiency.

Key features include:

• Improved threat prevention, potentially saving businesses up to $2.3 million by joining trusted communities.
• Faster incident response by leveraging data from over 1 million users, minimizing email risks and shortening response times.
• Enhanced supply chain protection through intelligence sharing, helping businesses take action on threats that could affect their partners.
• Privacy-focused features like anonymized sharing and the Traffic Light Protocol (TLP) to ensure sensitive information is handled securely.
• Automated threat detection and seamless SOAR integration for streamlined threat management.

Keepnet enables businesses to take a more proactive approach to cybersecurity, helping them share intelligence and respond swiftly to emerging threats, ultimately building stronger defenses and improving resilience across industries.

Watch the video below for more details about the Keepnet Threat Intelligence Platform and how it can enhance your business’s ability to collaborate, share, and act on critical threat data for stronger cybersecurity.