From a data breach to some really sophisticated ransomware attack, no day passes without an imminent threat looming over organizations of every scale. And that is why many organizations nowadays are resorting to cyber security threat intelligence services. But is investing in such services worth it? Let’s dive deep into an analysis that will help you make an informed decision.
Understanding Threat Intelligence Services
Before getting into the costs and benefits, we need to understand what cybersecurity threat intelligence services are in the first and what does it entail when pro teams like ImmuniWebs offer them.
Essentially, threat intelligence services involve the collection of information on current and emerging cyber threats through analysis and dissemination. The intelligence can be either strategic, tactical, operational, or technical.
Strategic intelligence looks at high-level trends and what could be well ahead of future threats. It helps the security teams to understand the specific tactics and techniques that are being used by the attackers. Operational intelligence refers to real-time data about ongoing threats.
Technical intelligence refers to the technical details of the threats, such as IOCs. This will help them to be better prepared in case of an attack and also respond accordingly, reducing the potential impact on their operations.
The Costs of Implementing Threat Intelligence Services
The initial investment is usually the first hurdle. Much of this depends on who provides the service and at what level—like the ImmuniWeb team, for example, that offers different services. Some provide basic threat feeds at a much lower price and go as high as complete services, which include threat hunting and incident response at higher prices.
You may also want to consider onboarding costs, which cover set-up fees and the length of time it takes to integrate this into your current security infrastructure. This could involve additional IT resources or even third-party consultants, which increase the initial investment of your onboarding costs.
Operations Costs
Once you’ve made the initial investment, you’ll find recurring operational expenses. Many threat intelligence services for your cybersecurity efforts are subscription-based, meaning you will have to budget regarding these periodic charges. You will need to pay those fees to get services of maintenance, updates, and customer support.
Besides, personnel costs might include many other aspects. For example, while most of these threat intelligence services are user-friendly, training your security staff to put these tools to good use is highly important. This investment may go into training sessions or certification courses, adding another component to the cost list.
Finally, consider the opportunity costs of implementing those types of services. To invest in such efforts, you may have to divert funding or manpower from other cybersecurity initiatives. You might have to put on hold an important upgrade or reduce the budget for employee training, for example. Of course, consider such moves carefully.
Benefits of Using Threat Intelligence Services
One of the major advantages of threat intelligence services is high-level security. These give your organization the much-needed advantage by proactively locating a potential risk or vulnerability. Once you understand the tactic and strategy an attacker might use, your security team can design more robust defenses.
Key benefits here might include the following:
- Proactive management to mitigate vulnerabilities. Threat intelligence keeps your team updated on newly found vulnerabilities. As an example, in case there is a vulnerability found in popular software, threat intelligence provides your team with alerts so they can apply a patch before it any attacker gets to it.
- Faster incident response. In case an organization faces a certain security incident, threat intelligence makes it much quicker to find out what happens and respond. By knowing the nature of the threat, your team can act effectively to reduce any form of damage. In other terms, if there is a phishing attack, you might reach some understanding of attack methods and possible targets.
- Compliance support. When organizations deal in sensitive information, compliance with laws and regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS becomes critically important. Threat intelligence services help by recognizing potential gaps in controls and guiding your team to implement the necessary ones. This in turn helps to prevent costly compliance violations.
- Cost savings. Data breaches are very expensive—not just in the form of hard costs such as legal fees and fines but also with regard to reputational damage and loss of customer trust. Proactive threat intelligence reduces the likelihood of a breach and, by extension, can save an organization many other costly expenses.
There are plenty of advantages to use such services, as you can see. When it comes to safety, it’s generally much easier and affordable to implement preventative measure, rather than try to fix already applied damage.
Key Performance Indicators
It’s best to determine the key performance indicators at the beginning of the process to measure the effectiveness of your cybersecurity efforts.
For example:
- incidents detected;
- time that it took to detect and respond to threats;
- what impact followed;
- etc.
Of course, there are other standard aspects you can evaluate—for example, calculating ROI. The formula for calculating the return on investment is basically the comparison of the implementation costs with the benefits you get from it. Or rather, the money you saved with this.
Challenges and Considerations
While the benefits are really appealing, it is crucial to consider several challenges when you will attempt to apply threat intelligence services. Organizations may encounter issues related to data overload, integration challenges, or interpretation barriers when handling intelligence data.
Choose a service provider that will help you get maximum value from your investment. That means you must carefully consider all the option to find one that matches the requirements of your business particularly. Also, it’s good to consider how it will integrate with your existing security tools.
Conclusion
So, is investing in threat intelligence services worth the money? It really depends on the unique needs of your company. Among other aspects, such as risk tolerance, and of course, your available budget.
Generally, it’s a good idea to invest in threat intelligence services. This effort can provide you insight and offer you proactive measures that can help your team protect your business from malicious attacks.