CTI Networking Report

"Is Sharing Caring? A report on current cyber threat intelligence networking practices, results, and attitudes" is now available online.

Direct URL: https://pulsedive.com/downloads/ctinetworkingreport2022.pdf

For context, an excerpt of the introduction is below.

Introduction

Cyber threat intelligence (CTI) is a growing space, with an industry-wide consensus that teams cannot effectively operate in an intelligence silo. In support of improved CTI sharing, stakeholders have invested in research and development efforts around cross-boundary collaboration, technical standardization, managing trust, and reporting best practices.

Yet, there’s a lack of clarity around how professionals can most effectively network today. The conventional wisdom amongst practitioners is that CTI networking is achieved through trial & error and on an individual basis. So, we reached out directly to practitioners to capture their CTI networking experiences.

Objective

Benchmark CTI networking practices, results, and attitudes to provide
data-driven insights around:
- How different methods stack up
- How and why individuals participate
- The role organizations play

"[CTI Networking] is an untapped area for a lot of organizations... they are still very siloed when it comes to intelligence sharing."

This research serves as a starting point for more informed discussions around CTI networking. Our goal in openly sharing this knowledge is to encourage intentional, inclusive, and strategic approaches in the community. The questions we answer address lively debates currently only supported by anecdotal evidence, like:

• How do old-fashioned 1-to-1 DMs compare to invite-only Discords, paid memberships, and Twitter?
• What methods helped detect an attack or contributed to remediation?
• What’s more valuable - raw data or finished intelligence? To whom?

"During the [redacted] breach... We didn’t realize it was [redacted APT] until [reaching out to Trust Groups] helped connect the dots for us. That made a MAJOR change in the investigation and helped kick our IR into gear... the event was over 3,000 human work hours. Much of what we did for remediation was based on what we learned in speaking to others."

Audience

Who is this report intended for?

• Management responsible for security program strategy to gain awareness on best practices, areas of friction, and organizational challenges
• Current CTI practitioners looking to optimize their networking efforts and understand peer experiences
• Security and intelligence professionals in related fields seeking to expand their involvement in CTI
• Professionals entering or pivoting into CTI careers, to demystify what it means and how to participate

"Do not be afraid to bring new ideas to the table. I think we are afraid of being wrong or looking incompetent... Discussing new ideas, brainstorming, and sharing only makes us stronger."

A big thank you to the community for contributing responses and helping to refine this research! Have feedback or want to contribute to future research? Contact grace@pulsedive.com.

Bonus: Presentations

SANS CTI Summit - January 28, 2022

CactusCon10 - February 4, 2022