Cyber-Vigilance and Digital Trust

1What is Cyber Threat Intelligence and How is it Evolving?

1.1. Introduction

Today’s cyberattacks have changed in form, function and sophistication during the last few years. These cyberattacks no longer originate from digital hacktivists or online thugs. Held by well-funded and well-organized threat actors, cyberattacks have transformed from hacking for kicks to advanced attacks for profit which may range from financial aims to political gains. In that aim, attacks designed for mischief have been replaced with dynamic, stealthy and persistent attacks, known as advanced malware and advanced persistent threats (APTs). The reason is due to the complexity of new technologies. As a system gets more complex, it gets less secure, making it easier for the attacker to find weaknesses in the system and harder for the defender to secure it (Schneier 2000). As a result, attackers have a first-mover advantage, by trying new attacks first, while defenders have the disadvantage of being in a constant position of responding, for example better anti-virus software to combat new malwares and better intrusion detection system to detect malicious activities. Despite spending over 20 billion dollars annually on traditional security defenses (Piper 2013), organizations find themselves faced with this new generation of cyberattacks, which easily bypass traditional defenses such as traditional and next-generation firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, anti-virus and security gateways. Those defenses ...