Five Facts About Open Source Cyber Threat Intelligence

With the persistence with which cyber-crime is affecting individuals and large enterprises alike, you would think that escalating online threats would be in the news more. These threats aren’t “fun facts” but we wish to shine a light on them anyway.<ol><li>Hackers for hire will perpetuate a <a href="http://www.securityweek.com/ddos-hire-services-cheap-effective" target="_blank">DDoS attack for as little as $2/hour</a>, and DDoS attacks are on the rise. Many hands make light work, be it for good or bad. An army of compromised computers can send a deluge of traffic to a company’s domain, rendering it inaccessible to actual users. With open source cyber threat intelligence, you can detect signs of a pending denial of service attack.</li><li>Mobile and device hacking is taking off. Hackers have discovered that your <a href="https://www.anomali.com/blog/how-the-internet-of-things-will-affect-the-role-of-analysts">phone and other smart devices</a> are a weak link in many security plans. Cell phone theft is rising at a greater rate in comparison to losses reported. With all of the personally identifying data contained within, it’s no wonder. Over <a href="http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/04/smart-phone-thefts-rose-to-3-1-million-last-year/index.htm" target="_blank">1/3 of users polled</a> haven’t taken steps to protect mobile privacy. There are several ways you can secure your mobile phone against attacks: a. Set a 6 or 8-digit passcode at the lock screen b. Enable a data wipe after several unsuccessful open attempts c. Back your data up to the cloud and secure it d. Use password encryption tools e. Install a mobile-locator app, preferably one that lets you wipe the phone clean remotely f. Use a security application g. Avoid public wifi - download media at home before starting your commute or heading to the café.If you still experience a mobile hack, you have options for recourse. Using your open source cyber threat intelligence platform, you can track the hackers’ movement from your mobile to the network and investigate the source of the attack.</li><li>“Location, location, location” – Mobile GPS tracking has enhanced our apps and adds another dimension of opportunity for hackers, too. Many users install locative apps without fully understanding the data collected. The more games, shopping apps and the like that you have enabled on your mobile, the more vulnerable you are to a mobile hack.</li></ol>The power of geolocation can work for you, too. When you leverage information about known threats together with peers, you will likely discover you have common enemies. It is possible for your open source cyber threat intelligence platform to <a href="https://www.anomali.com/blog/putting-your-taxii-server-to-work">pool IOCs and analyze them by location</a>, producing a map of threats.<ol start="4"><li>Ransomware is not going anywhere, not just yet. Ransomware attacks exploded in 2015 with experts predicting even more prevalent attacks of malware holding entire enterprise networks hostage. Networks ranging in size from individual terminals up to multi-site networks have been frozen pending untraceable e-currency payments.</li></ol>Many hackers using ransomware attacks initially get a foothold via phishing emails. Ransomware attacks are difficult to stop once in progress, so prevention is a more reliable strategy. When your cyber-security system can study a honeypot email account or examine email traffic, the likelihood of phishing scams getting through is reduced.<ol start="5"><li>The hackers we see portrayed on the screen usually seek easy money or hack for personal gratification, but the real drama is international espionage. Government hackers are after information such as military secrets and medical or scientific developments. These governments are able to spend a lot of time and resources going after information undetected.</li></ol>A well configured open source cyber threat intelligence platform will notify you of problematic patterns such as traffic from suspicious sources or unusually timed logins. If you are sharing intelligence with peers, you may be able to benefit from their experience and take proactive measures before they attempt the same tactics on your organization.These facts help to illustrate the need for security programs based on evidence-based reasoning. Whatever threats the future brings, intelligence strategies are keeping up with detection and prevention.Let's dig deeper into what a successful threat intelligence program looks like. 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