Background: The value and necessity of attack information

Attackers are developing new techniques and malware every day, and a variety of threats are targeting companies, including targeted attacks, ransomware, and supply chain attacks. These attacks are often overlooked by traditional defense systems alone, and it's important to stay informed before the damage escalates.

CTI is a method that systematically collects and analyzes the signs and trends of these attacks and uses them to defend against them. This enables organizations to proactively detect attacks and respond to high-priority risks, simultaneously improving defense efficiency and reducing risk. In particular, the number of attacks on mid-sized companies is increasing, and the use of CTI is important from the perspective of business risk management.

What is CTI?

Cyber threat intelligence is the process of analyzing an attacker's modus operandi, attack infrastructure, and motivations and using them for defense. The main elements are:

1. Information Collection
   • Open Source Information (OSINT)
   • Commercial threat feed
   • Dark web information
   • Security community and CERT information
2. Analytics
   • Identify attack trends and techniques
   • Risk assessment by industry and region
   • Identify attack infrastructure (C2 servers, domains, IP addresses)
3. Defense Utilization
   • Integration with SOC (Security Operations Center) and SIEM
   • Automatic update of attack signatures and rules
   • Reflect on the incident response process

By incorporating CTI, you can quickly and accurately defend against unknown and targeted attacks.

Implementation Instructions

CTI implementation is effective if you follow these steps.

1. Establish a threat intelligence collection route
   We will establish a system that can obtain attack information in real time by developing multiple sources of information.
2. Integration into SOC and Monitoring Systems
   Integrate the collected information with your SOC and SIEM to inform defense rules and alerts.
3. Analyze and report on attack trends
   Analyze attacker modus operandi and infrastructure to assess industry and organization-specific risks.
4. Create defense rules
   Set up automatable defense rules and signatures to respond to unknown attacks.
5. Regular Review and Improvement
   We will continue to update information and improve rules in response to new attack methods and vulnerability information.

CTI Usage Examples

• Prioritize vulnerability response: Prioritize remediation based on vulnerabilities that attackers actually exploit.
• Attack Path Visibility: Understand attack infrastructure and communication paths inside and outside the organization
• SOC Operational Efficiency: Reduce the load on SOC personnel with automated signature updates
• Faster incident response: Detect signs of an attack early and respond before the damage spreads

What it should be

The ideal CTI utilization environment is as follows.

• Real-time visualization of attack information and linkage with SOC and surveillance systems
• Attack trends and vulnerability information are regularly analyzed and reflected in remediation measures
• Automatic update of defense rules to flexibly respond to unknown attacks
• How to use CTI is standardized within the organization and is understood by the person in charge of operation.

In this state, you can anticipate attacks and respond to risks efficiently.

Conclusion

CTI allows you to anticipate attacks and deploy defenses efficiently. Continuous information gathering, analysis, and defense utilization are key to reducing attack risk. In particular, CTI enables proactive response to targeted attacks and unknown threats. Consider implementing CTI to enhance your organization's cybersecurity.