What Are Cyber Threat Intelligence Tools?

FACT: One in three cyber attacks use valid account credentials to break in (IBM).

To make matters worse, over the last year, the number of infostealers delivered via phishing emails has increased by 84%.

Hackers don’t need to break in, when they can log in.

Without visibility into your company’s leaked data, it’s virtually impossible to prevent the next attack.

This is where cyber threat intelligence (CTI) tools come in.

These tools help organizations manage threats before they turn into full-blown data breaches.

In this post, we’ll cover the different types of threat intelligence, best practices for integrating threat intelligence tools, as well as the top 10 tools your security team needs.

But first, let’s define what threat intelligence tools are.

What Are Threat Intelligence Tools?

Threat intelligence tools provide security teams with information about potential or existing cybersecurity threats targeting their organization.

These tools transform raw data into actionable intelligence that security teams can use to prevent attacks or respond effectively during one.

At their core, threat intelligence tools are similar to a radar.

Just as radar systems detect aircraft or weather patterns from a distance, threat intelligence tools provide early warning of incoming threats before they’re exploited.

They continuously monitor various sources for indicators of compromise (IoCs), threat actor tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), and emerging vulnerabilities that could impact an organization’s security.

Ideally, threat intelligence tools provide context beyond simple alerts. They help security teams understand:

• Who might be targeting them (threat actors and their motivations)
• What methods attackers are likely to use (attack vectors and techniques)
• Which systems or data are at risk (potential targets and vulnerabilities)
• When attacks might occur (timing patterns and campaign information)
• Why the organization is being targeted (strategic context)

Types of Threat Intelligence

There are three main types of threat intelligence:

1. Strategic Threat Intelligence: High-level information designed for non-technical audiences, particularly executives and decision-makers. It focuses on broader trends, risks, and motivations of threat actors that inform business decisions and security strategies. This intelligence typically includes geopolitical factors, industry-specific threat landscapes, and long-term security implications.
2. Tactical Threat Intelligence: Technical information about specific threat actor tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). This intelligence helps security teams understand how attacks are carried out and implement specific defenses against them. It includes information about malware types, exploitation methods, and attack patterns that security professionals can use to strengthen defenses.
3. Operational Threat Intelligence: Information about specific, incoming, or ongoing attacks that require immediate attention. For example, leaked employee credentials. This intelligence is typically timely and highly actionable. Operational intel provides details about specific campaigns, indicators of compromise (IoCs), and attack infrastructure that enable security teams to respond to the threats. It bridges the gap between high-level strategic insights and technical tactical details.

Understanding the different types of threat intelligence helps organizations recognize what data they need, but effectively managing all this information requires a centralized solution. This is where a Threat Intelligence Platform comes in.

What Is a Threat Intelligence Platform?

A Threat Intelligence Platform (TIP) serves as the command center for an organization’s threat intelligence program.

It brings together disparate information into a cohesive framework that security teams can use as their central point of truth.

Unlike individual threat intelligence tools that may focus on specific functions, a TIP provides a comprehensive system for managing the entire threat intelligence lifecycle.

It collects raw data from various sources.

These often include commercial feeds, open-source intelligence, internal security tools, and information sharing communities.

It then processes the data to identify patterns, establish context, and deliver actionable insights based on the organization’s specific needs.

The main capabilities a Threat Intelligence Platform should include are:

• Data aggregation and normalization: Ingesting threat data from various sources and converting it into standardized formats that can be analyzed automatically.
• Correlation and analysis: Connecting related threat indicators to identify attack patterns, campaigns, and threat actor behaviors relevant to the organization.
• Integration with security infrastructure: Seamlessly plugging into existing security tools like SIEMs, firewalls, endpoint protection, and vulnerability scanners to automatically implement protective measures.
• Customizable intelligence: Filtering and prioritizing threats based on an organization’s unique risk profile, assets, and industry.
• Collaboration tools: Enabling security teams to share insights, annotate intelligence, and coordinate response efforts.
• Automated workflows: Creating playbooks that trigger specific actions when certain threat conditions are detected.
• Intelligence production: Generating reports and dashboards that communicate findings to various stakeholders across the organization.

Best Practices for Integrating Threat Intelligence Tools

In a world where we are drowning in information, making sense of all the threat intelligence available is a challenge. Here are some best practices for managing your threat intel tools effectively:

• Define Clear Objectives: Decide on specific goals for integrating threat intelligence. Some common examples include improving incident response, enhancing threat detection, or prioritizing vulnerabilities. Align the tools with your organization’s risk profile and security needs.
• Select the Right Tools: Choose tools that match your organization’s size, industry, and threat landscape. Evaluate based on data quality, coverage (e.g., IOCs, TTPs), integration capabilities (APIs, SIEM compatibility), and vendor reputation. Combine open-source, commercial, government, and industry-specific feeds for comprehensive coverage.
• Ensure Interoperability: Integrate threat intelligence tools with your existing security infrastructure (e.g., SIEM, SOAR, firewalls, EDR). Where supported, use standardized formats like STIX/TAXII for easy data sharing. Leverage APIs to automate real-time data flow between systems.
• Automate Where Possible: Leverage automation to process and act on threat intelligence. For example, force password resets, update firewall rules or block malicious IPs based on your threat intelligence.
• Contextualize Intelligence: Enrich raw data with context (e.g., TTPs, or affected systems) to make it actionable. Correlate external intelligence with internal telemetry (logs, network traffic) to identify relevant threats.

Measuring ROI and Effectiveness of Threat Intelligence Tools

Despite the obvious benefits, measuring the ROI of threat intelligence isn’t straightforward. Some of the most important outcomes, like protecting your reputation and customer trust, are intangible and difficult to quantify.

Having said that, there are several quantitative metrics that you can use to measure success. The most obvious metric is the number of control changes made based on threat intelligence.

Those changes also drive your incident response time. This is based on the Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) and Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) to an incident.

Obviously, faster response times limit damage and often reduce recovery costs. Another metric is the number of times you identified an event before it was officially reported.

This includes things like resetting leaked credentials before attackers had a chance to exploit them. This also includes changes made in the vendor supply chain space due to 3rd party risks.

Finally, how much time has your team saved by automating threat intelligence tasks that were previously done manually? Data collection, contextual analysis, and manual remediation are very resource intensive.

Additionally, tracking the reduction in false positives provide another measurable efficiency gain. Leveraging threat intelligence tools saves analyst time and lets them focus on real threats.

To maximize your threat intelligence investment, it’s important to choose the right combination of tools. Here’s a list of the ten tool categories that should be part of every organization’s security toolkit.

Top 10 Essential Threat Intelligence Tools

Modern security teams need a combination of threat intelligence tools to effectively monitor, detect, and respond to threats. Here’s a list of the top 10 essential tools:

1. Data Breach Monitoring Services: Tools like Breachsense, SpyCloud, or Have I Been Pwned that continuously monitor for exposed credentials and sensitive data across the dark web and breach databases.
2. Security Information and Event Management (SIEM): Platforms such as Splunk, IBM QRadar, or Microsoft Sentinel that aggregate and correlate security events from across the organization.
3. Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIPs): Solutions like ThreatQuotient, Anomali, or MISP (open-source) that aggregate, normalize, and analyze threat data from multiple sources.
4. Vulnerability Management Tools: Scanners like Qualys, Rapid7 InsightVM, or OpenVAS that identify vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them.
5. Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Tools: Platforms like Recorded Future, Maltego, or Shodan that gather publicly available data about potential threats.
6. Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR): Solutions like CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne, or Microsoft Defender for Endpoint that provide real-time monitoring and response capabilities.
7. Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) Tools: Products like Darktrace, ExtraHop, or Cisco Stealthwatch that detect anomalous traffic patterns indicating potential threats.
8. Phishing Intelligence and Simulation: Tools like Cofense or KnowBe4 that provide intelligence on phishing campaigns and test employee awareness.
9. Threat Hunting Platforms: Solutions like Cybereason or Hunters.AI that enable proactive searching for threats that have evaded existing security controls.
10. Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR): Platforms like Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR or Swimlane that automate response workflows based on threat intelligence.