Question: Are threat intelligence feeds integrated into monitoring systems to enhance context and detection fidelity?
Why This Matters
Threat intelligence transforms raw alerts into decisions by providing context on indicators, campaigns, and adversary behaviors. Integration ensures timely blocking and informed investigations.
Maturity
0 — Unaware
No intelligence ingestion; rely solely on internal data.
No intelligence ingestion; rely solely on internal data.
1 — Ad Hoc
Manually consult public feeds when incidents occur.
Manually consult public feeds when incidents occur.
2 — Defined
Automated ingestion of community feeds; indicators enrich alerts.
Automated ingestion of community feeds; indicators enrich alerts.
3 — Managed
Curated feeds tuned for relevance; false-positive control.
Curated feeds tuned for relevance; false-positive control.
4 — Integrated
Threat intel mapped to ATT&CK; drives hunting and rule tuning.
Threat intel mapped to ATT&CK; drives hunting and rule tuning.
5 — Optimized
Bidirectional sharing and predictive scoring of threats.
Bidirectional sharing and predictive scoring of threats.
How to Level Up
| From → To | Actions |
|---|---|
| 0 → 1 | Subscribe to public advisories (CERT-In, CISA, etc.). |
| 1 → 2 | Automate IOC ingestion into SIEM or EDR. |
| 2 → 3 | Filter and tag high-confidence feeds only. |
| 3 → 4 | Correlate intel with detections and hunts. |
| 4 → 5 | Implement scoring + sharing via TAXII / STIX automation. |
Enablers
- People: Intel analyst, SOC lead.
- Process: Feed evaluation, curation, aging policy.
- Technology: MISP, OTX, ThreatQ, STIX/TAXII connectors.
Evidence
- Feed inventory with confidence ratings.
- Integration configuration or screenshots.
- Alert samples with enrichment data.
KPIs
-
of alerts enriched with intel.
- Feed false-positive rate.
- Time from intel publication to detection update.
Low-Cost / Open-Source Options (MSME)
| Purpose | Tool | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Intel platform | MISP | Community + automation support. |
| Feeds | AlienVault OTX / AbuseIPDB | Free sources. |
| Automation | n8n / Shuffle | STIX/TAXII ingestion. |
Common Pitfalls
- Too many feeds causing noise.
- No validation of feed relevance.
- No process to remove expired IOCs.
Compliance Mapping
| Standard | Clauses / Notes |
|---|---|
| ISO/IEC 27001:2022 | A.8.16 (Threat Information) |
| CERT-In 2022 | Threat Intelligence Sharing Guidelines |
| DPDP Act 2023 | Sec 10 (Accountability) |
| NIST CSF 2.0 | DE.AE-6 / RS.MI-1 |
| NIRMATA Mapping | MD-Q10 adds external context enrichment capability. |