External Data

External Data Sources

1. External Data Sources:

   • These are sources outside your organization that provide threat intelligence. They can be categorized into three main types:

     • Public Data Sources: Freely available information like security reports, cybersecurity blogs, social media feeds, and advisories about new vulnerabilities.

     • Community Data Sources: Information shared within cybersecurity communities or forums, often more reliable due to peer verification.

     • Private or Commercial Data Sources: Paid services from security vendors that offer refined and context-specific threat intelligence.

2. Choosing the Right Data Sources:

   • Relevance: Focus on sources that provide intelligence relevant to your organization’s threat landscape. For example, if you work in healthcare, prioritize intelligence on threats like ransomware delivered through phishing emails.

   • Trustworthiness: Assess the reliability of the sources. Some sources may provide structured data (e.g., STIX, CSV, JSON) or unstructured reports (e.g., PDFs, emails). Ensure you have someone knowledgeable to evaluate the relevance of this data.

3. Budget Considerations:

   • Threat intelligence services are often subscription-based. The cost will depend on the size of your organization and the specific needs. It's important to balance the budget with the value of the intelligence provided.

4. Integration with Existing Practices:

   • Ensure your basic security practices are in place before adding external threat intelligence. Without proper patch management and IT environment control, adding more data can overwhelm your team.