The Plain English Version

Threat intelligence is information about current and emerging cyber threats - who the attackers are, what they are after, and how they operate. It helps you make informed security decisions rather than guessing.

Think of it as reconnaissance on the bad guys. Knowing what attacks are trending, which vulnerabilities are being exploited, and what your industry is facing helps you prepare.

Types of Threat Intelligence

Strategic: High-level trends for business decisions

Tactical: Attacker techniques for security teams

Operational: Specific campaign details

Technical: Indicators of compromise (IOCs) for detection

Where Threat Intel Comes From

  • Open source - NCSC advisories, security blogs, vulnerability databases
  • Commercial feeds - Paid threat intelligence services
  • Industry sharing - ISACs and sector-specific groups
  • Government sources - NCSC, CISA, law enforcement
  • Dark web monitoring - Tracking criminal forums
  • Internal data - Your own incident and log data

Making It Useful

Raw threat data is not intelligence. The value comes from analysis - understanding what threats are relevant to your business, your industry, and your technology stack. A threat to healthcare may not affect manufacturing.

Intelligence should drive action: updating defences, hunting for indicators, briefing staff on new attack methods, or adjusting priorities.

For SMEs

You do not need an in-house threat intelligence team. Start with free resources like NCSC alerts and industry group sharing. Your security vendors often include threat intelligence in their products. Focus on threats relevant to your size and sector.