The Cyber Threat Intelligence Lifecycle - Predict, Detect, Respond

With the cost of security breaches growing each year, it’s imperative that every organization has a robust cyber threat intelligence lifecycle in place. With insights from the pros at Atera, learn more about how this process can help you predict, detect, and respond to threats more efficiently and effectively than ever. 

What is the cyber threat intelligence lifecycle? 

The cyber threat intelligence (CTI) lifecycle is a process that IT teams and professionals can use to structure their cybersecurity management from beginning to end. Typically, we see the threat intelligence lifecycle broken down into six steps. 

As the term “lifecycle” implies, this is an ongoing process that an organization will repeat over and over again in order to ensure continuous and effective threat monitoring, detection, and response. This structured process involves analyzing raw data to produce actionable intelligence about the nature of an organization’s cyber threats. 

The security intelligence cycle for a particular organization is typically designed, managed, and executed by an in-house IT security team or a third-party provider (for example, one implementing an MDR solution). 

The 6 phases of the threat intelligence life cycle

Let’s break down the cyber threat intelligence lifecycle into the six key steps that typically define this process… 

#1: Planning and direction

In order to implement an effective CTI cycle, planning and direction are crucial. During this phase, you will want to identify the direction for your efforts. Delineate key players and top threats to focus on. IT security teams typically engage in robust risk assessment here in order to prioritize vulnerabilities, identify stakeholders, define a clear scope and timeline, and ensure the plan aligns with overall company goals. 

• Identify key stakeholders: Who needs to know about your findings? What information will they need to know, and how will you present it to them? 
• Determine a clear scope: What are the key objectives of your cyber threat intelligence process? What are the intelligence requirements of your organization? 
• Prioritize vulnerabilities: What assets are most important to achieving your goals? You will probably want to prioritize things like sensitive information and key business operations. 

Ultimately, you will want to end this phase with a coherent plan that outlines how the key team members will collect, analyze, and share the information that meets your organization’s requirements for the intelligence that you need. 

#2: Collection

The collection phase of the CTI cycle essentially refers to data compilation. You’ll want to gather all information that is relevant to the goals and objectives you laid out in the previous phase. 

Combining data from internal and external sources is essential to get the most broad and relevant range. However, it can be challenging to toe the line between collecting all relevant data and collecting too much information, leading to a data backlog. Some teams use a threat intelligence platform to assist in data collection during this phase. 

#3: Processing

With all of your data compiled, you now need to clean, organize, and process your data so that it’s usable and can be analyzed. Remove irrelevant or misleading data, provide context where needed, and ensure that you verify the legitimacy of all data so your analysis is not only relevant but also effective. 

These days, processing is usually completed by a machine. If you use an EDR tool in your IT department, that solution can likely perform data processing assignments fluidly and efficiently. An SIEM or EDR solution will transform data into a format that is more accessible to human readers, reducing the time spent on manual translation. 

#4: Analysis and review

This step is the heart of the cyber threat intelligence lifecycle. As you analyze and review the data you’ve collected and contextualized, you should be looking for patterns and information that can help you turn that raw data into actionable suggestions for relevant stakeholders. 

This phase might include elements like adversary profiling, behavioral analysis, or threat correlation. At the end of the analysis phase, your work should yield a set of clear instructions and recommendations that you’ll soon communicate to stakeholders to guide cybersecurity decision-making. 

#5: Dissemination

It is now time to share your findings with the relevant stakeholders and individuals. It’s important to tailor your presentation to the specific group you’ are working with. For instance, when you are sharing your analysis with the IT security team, you will want to dive deep into the specific tactical recommendations. For C-level executives, a high-level overview might be appropriate. 

#6: Feedback

This might be the most neglected stage of the CTI lifecycle, but it is also one of the most important. As you reach the end of the security intelligence cycle, it’s important to request feedback from stakeholders and conduct an internal reflection about where you can improve the process the next time around. 

Feedback is also a critical stage to help determine the planning and direction needed to iterate the cycle again as you return to the top of these phases. 

Here are some key questions you might want to ask during the feedback stage: 

• Is the intelligence you’re sharing actionable, relevant, and timely? 
• Could the CTI process be improved upon to become more efficient? Are there any redundancies along the way or areas that could be improved upon with IT automations (for instance, adding an AI-powered IT tool into the mix)? 
• When you share your findings, are you providing too much information? Too little? How are your stakeholders responding to or using the findings provided? 
• Have any of the organization’s intelligence requirements changed, and how can these changes be incorporated into future CTI cycles? 
• Can any of the findings be shared with the wider IT community for the greater good? 

Why is the cyber threat intelligence cycle important? 

You’re probably wondering why the cyber threat intelligence cycle matters. In short, it empowers an organization’s in-house or external IT security team to monitor, detect, and respond to potential security threats and risks that undermine the organization’s security posture. With an effective threat intelligence process, your organization can maintain safety and security, keeping malevolent actors, malware concerns, and other security issues at bay. 

Stakeholders at all different levels benefit from a strong security posture and a thoughtful threat intelligence cycle. IT security teams benefit from enhanced threat detection capabilities, which enable them to deliver faster and more informed responses. An effective CTI life cycle also provides relevant suggestions at the right times to ensure the team can manage risks and prevent breaches consistently.  

Business leaders and executive teams also benefit from ensuring that the organization has a strong security intelligence cycle in place. Data breaches are happening more often, with a record-breaking 3,205 data breaches occurring in 2023. When the organization is kept safe from breaches and security threats, you’re avoiding a world of expensive headaches. Plus, it’s good for the company’s reputation and trust on the part of customers. 

Customers and clients also benefit from a strong cyber threat intelligence lifecycle, as their data is better protected from risk and they can continue to trust the providers they know and love. In short, a CTI lifecycle plan for your company truly benefits everyone involved, from top to bottom. 

Put security first with a bulletproof security intelligence cycle

When you invest time and resources into building an iterative, holistic, and effective cyber threat intelligence process for your organization, you’ are sure to reap the benefits tenfold. As you look into your organization’s security priorities, consider the IT management tools that could help make this process easier and more efficient. At Atera, we offer an all-in-one RMM solution that gives you unmatched visibility into your entire IT ecosystem, with a robust set of cybersecurity integrations that can help you take threat management to the next level. And even better, with our free 30 day trial, there’s no reason not to give us a try.