What are the best practices for sharing threat intelligence with your peers and partners?

🔒 Choosing the right format and platform for sharing threat intelligence involves assessing your goals, audience, and available resources. Options range from strategic, tactical, operational, to technical intelligence, and formats like reports, indicators, feeds, or alerts. The chosen platform must ensure security, reliability, and compatibility with your data format and standards, be it email, web portal, social media, or a specialized threat intelligence platform.

One of the best practices for sharing threat intelligence with peers and partners is to choose the right format and platform. Tailor the format of the intelligence to the preferences and needs of the recipients, whether it's through formal reports, email alerts, threat feeds, or interactive dashboards. Selecting the appropriate platform, such as secure collaboration tools or threat intelligence sharing platforms, ensures efficient dissemination and access to timely and relevant threat information. By considering the format and platform that best suit the audience, you enhance the effectiveness of threat intelligence sharing, fostering collaboration and strengthening collective defense against cyber threats.

The right platform is one that all parties (collectors, disseminators, consumers) can share a common access to. With the convergence of geopolitical and cyber events there is a greater need for teams to be enabled for low-friction alignment, where typically these use cases may have warranted separate solutions in the past.

Select platforms that support secure, structured data exchange like the Structured Threat Information eXpression (STIX) and Trusted Automated Exchange of Indicator Information (TAXII) protocols. These platforms ensure consistent data formatting and facilitate automated sharing, reducing manual effort and enhancing efficiency. Additionally, consider utilizing trusted email lists or secure portals for sharing sensitive information, ensuring encryption and access controls are in place. Compatibility with partners' systems is paramount, promoting seamless integration and understanding across the network.

Create dedicated channels for sharing intelligence, such as secure messaging platforms or collaboration tools. Ensure these channels are accessible to authorized personnel and have appropriate security measures in place. Focus on sharing actionable intelligence that can be used to mitigate risks. Avoid overwhelming recipients with irrelevant data. Consider using a standardized threat intelligence framework to structure and categorize information. Encourage open communication and collaboration among team members and partners. Build trust by sharing information transparently and respecting confidentiality. Consider forming threat intelligence sharing groups to facilitate regular exchange of information.

🌐 Effective threat intelligence sharing requires adherence to standards and best practices. This includes using a common taxonomy for threat actors and TTPs, and structured data formats like STIX or TAXII. Implementing the intelligence cycle, the diamond model for analysis, and a data quality framework (TIM) ensures reliability and relevance. Lastly, employing classification schemes like the traffic light protocol (TLP) is crucial for indicating data sensitivity and distribution.

Following standards and best practices is crucial when sharing threat intelligence with peers and partners. Adhering to established frameworks such as STIX/TAXII or OpenIOC ensures interoperability and consistency in sharing threat information. Additionally, aligning with industry-recognized guidelines and protocols enhances the credibility and usability of shared intelligence. By following standards and best practices, organizations can streamline collaboration, improve information sharing, and effectively combat cyber threats collectively.

For cyber events, mapping TTPs to the MITRE ATT&CK framework is the current gold standard, as it provides a concise and comprehensive way to communicate. Regarding STIX/TAXII, this methodology is too constrained by the schema to communicate nuance and detail to downstream intelligence consumers.

Adhering to recognized industry standards such as the MITRE ATT&CK framework provides a common language for describing threats and tactics. Consistency in terminology and methodology fosters comprehension and enables collaborative analysis among stakeholders. By aligning with established best practices, organizations can streamline threat intelligence sharing processes, enhance interoperability, and bolster overall cybersecurity posture.

Defining your scope and objectives should be priority. Prioritising intelligence requirements allows you to allocate your recourses to those that are needed most. Share effective intelligence that meet stakeholder needs. No scope and intelligence requirements may lead to the delivery of ineffective intelligence and a waste of recourses. Overall stakeholder requirements not being met

Before sharing threat intelligence with peers and partners, it's essential to define the scope and objectives of the collaboration. Determine what specific threats or risks you aim to address through intelligence sharing and outline the desired outcomes of the collaboration. Clarifying the scope helps ensure that the shared intelligence is relevant and actionable for all parties involved, fostering more effective collaboration and enhancing collective defenses against cyber threats.

Defining your Priority Intelligence Requirements can be a daunting task if you have not identified what your overall objectives are. Try to work backwards from a problem statement, define a solution, and then break that solution idea into manageable pieces you can develop PIRs against.

Clearly defining the scope of shared threat intelligence is essential for effective collaboration. This includes specifying the types of threats, relevant sectors, and geographical areas of interest. Additionally, outlining clear objectives, such as enhancing incident response capabilities or proactively mitigating emerging threats, ensures that efforts are focused and resources are allocated efficiently. By establishing a shared understanding of goals and priorities, partners can work together more effectively to address common challenges and achieve collective security objectives.

It all depends on your goals. If you want to gain truly interesting insights from the community, you must be very selective. I have seen many sharing communities that died because of passive members. Find a few people whom you trust and believe will be active contributors. You will get more from a small but active community than from a large community with many passive members. Start sharing unique data with your trusted community, establish this practice, and strictly follow the rules of non-disclosure and the TLP protocol. You don't need a platform or agreed formats. Keep it simple, and with a combination of trust, you will gain great value.

Teams can foster trustful collaboration if they are working from the same shared platform for intelligence. Partnering with an independent intelligence provider that is unbiased enables trust at the genesis of the intelligence lifecycle.

Trust is the cornerstone of successful threat intelligence sharing. Establishing transparent communication channels and cultivating mutual respect are essential for building strong relationships with partners. Regular engagement, sharing of insights, and collaboration on joint initiatives help foster trust and demonstrate commitment to collective defense. By sharing successes and failures openly, organizations can build credibility and strengthen relationships, laying the foundation for effective collaboration in combating cyber threats.

Navigating the legal and ethical considerations of threat intelligence sharing is crucial to maintaining trust and compliance. Organizations must ensure compliance with relevant regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and industry-specific guidelines. Developing formal agreements, such as information sharing agreements (ISAs), that outline data handling, usage, and confidentiality obligations helps mitigate legal risks and ensures clear accountability. Respecting intellectual property rights and privacy concerns demonstrates a commitment to ethical practices and reinforces trust among partners.

📈 Learning and improving from feedback is essential for effective threat intelligence sharing. Monitor the quality, quantity, and timeliness of your data, evaluate peer satisfaction and engagement, and assess the impact and value of collaboration. Identify process strengths, weaknesses, and external opportunities or threats. Gather best practices and lessons learned from peers to continuously enhance your threat intelligence sharing capabilities and outcomes.

Priority Intelligence Requirements should be assessed semi-annually (at a minimum) to ensure they are still aligned to the overall objectives of the organization they were meant to support in the first place. Feedback loops however can offer suggestions for improvement to the tactical operation of the intelligence collected. Pay close attention (or survey!) to whether or not the intelligence you provide is actually being consumed and operationalized. This is the first marker for a PIR that is no longer aligned with greater objectives.

Continuous evaluation and improvement are essential aspects of effective threat intelligence sharing. Regularly assess the effectiveness of shared intelligence in detecting and responding to threats. Solicit feedback from partners to identify areas for improvement and refine processes accordingly. By learning from past experiences and adapting to emerging threats, organizations can enhance their collective defense capabilities and stay ahead of evolving cyber threats.

In addition to the core best practices, there are several other factors to consider when sharing threat intelligence with peers and partners. Ensure timely dissemination of actionable intelligence to facilitate prompt response and mitigation efforts. Encourage participation and collaboration through incentives such as access to exclusive threat intelligence feeds or recognition programs for contributing organizations. Foster a collaborative community by organizing forums, workshops, and information sharing events where stakeholders can exchange insights, share lessons learned, and build relationships. By creating a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing, organizations can enhance their collective resilience against cyber threats.