Uncovering and Countering Digital Hackers through Data Exchange
Collaborative Threat Intelligence Sharing Boosts Cybersecurity Across Industries and Regions
In the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats, collaboration has emerged as a powerful weapon against attackers. The cybersecurity community, long operating as a collection of isolated fortresses, is now recognising the need for a collective defense on a scale never seen before.
One of the key drivers of this change is the sharing of threat intelligence. When one security vendor tracks a threat group, another may refer to it differently, leading to strategic intelligence failure. By working together, organisations can bridge these gaps and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the threats they face.
The dark web, predominantly used by criminal groups for refining attack techniques and profiting from data breaches, poses a significant challenge. However, Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) platforms can quickly identify stolen credentials, leaked source code, and emerging attack vectors in real-time by scouring publicly available sources.
Collaborative intelligence frameworks can collect insights from the dark web while shielding companies from direct risks. For instance, the recent CrowdStrike-Microsoft alliance has resolved the identities of over 80 adversaries through direct collaboration among analysts.
The benefits of such collaboration are manifold. Efficient Response to Novel Threats is one such advantage. When organisations share real-time data on indicators of compromise (IOCs), attacker behaviours, and tools used in attacks, all participants gain deeper insight into how adversaries operate, allowing them to anticipate and block similar attacks before impact.
Reduced Damage and Cybersecurity Events is another significant benefit. Shared intelligence helps organisations detect breaches quicker, apply patches or mitigations faster, and minimise cascading effects across systems, sectors, or geographic regions.
Cost Efficiency and Resource Optimization is another key advantage. Collaboration eliminates duplication of effort and allows organisations, including those with limited resources, to defend against complex threats more effectively by leveraging collective expertise and solutions.
Enhanced Predictive and Proactive Defense is also a significant benefit. Integration of global threat data, supported by AI and machine learning, enables prediction of future attack trends and prioritization of high-risk areas, strengthening security postures in advance.
Cross-Industry and Cross-Regional Harmonization is another advantage. Sharing facilitates a common understanding of threat tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) across different industries and geographies, promoting synchronized defence strategies and minimising vulnerabilities exploited by attackers crossing sector boundaries.
Improved Attack Surface Visibility is another advantage. Continuous testing and validation of defenses using shared intelligence expose security gaps exploited by advanced persistent threat (APT) groups or sophisticated adversaries, enabling rapid remediation.
Mutual Defense Augmentation is another advantage. Real-time collaboration between security vendors and organisations, such as mutual anti-tamper protections and cross-monitoring, preserves the integrity of defenses even during active cyber incidents.
By transforming isolated defense silos into interconnected networks of shared intelligence, industries and regions collectively increase their cyber resilience manyfold, making it exponentially harder for attackers to succeed. This network effect relies on sufficiently large and diverse participation to maximise the breadth and depth of threat data.
The success of this approach is evident in the expansion of Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs). The success of ISACs has led to expansion efforts, with 26 U.S. states adopting the NAIC Model Law to encourage information sharing in the insurance sector. The European Union has also systematized this approach through ENISA, its cybersecurity agency, which coordinates the sharing of threat intelligence among member states.
However, this approach is not without its challenges. Continuous surveillance of the dark web can leave organisations prey to malware infections and legal trouble. Therefore, it is crucial to approach this collaboration with caution and a well-thought-out governance system, as demonstrated by the above-mentioned partnership between CrowdStrike and Microsoft.
Despite decades of tracking cyber threat actors, high-profile attacks continue to take place. Marks & Spencer suffered a £300 million loss from a single, sophisticated attack. Hackers have breached Cartier’s systems and made off with customer data. The North Face and Harrods are dealing with credential stuffing attacks and system intrusions, respectively.
In the United States, multiple overlapping disclosure mandates were implemented in 2024, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules, Federal Trade Commission's regulations, Federal Communications Commission's requirements, and Department of Housing and Urban Development's aggressive reporting window for mortgage-related breaches. The European Union's NIS2 Directive, Cyber Resilience Act, and Cyber Solidarity Act affect hundreds of thousands of entities across essential and important service sectors.
The cybercrime economy is estimated to be $10.5 trillion. As of 2024, the dark web is estimated to be 400-550 times larger than the surface internet. This underscores the need for a collective and collaborative approach to cybersecurity.
In conclusion, the future of cybersecurity lies in collaboration. By working together, organisations can create a network of shared intelligence that makes it exponentially harder for attackers to succeed. This approach is already showing results, with the success of ISACs and partnerships like the one between CrowdStrike and Microsoft. As the threats continue to evolve, it is crucial that the cybersecurity community continues to adapt and collaborate to protect against these threats.
A collaborative approach to cybersecurity, as demonstrated by the partnership between CrowdStrike and Microsoft, is instrumental in boosting data-and-cloud-computing security by enabling Efficient Response to Novel Threats and Reduced Damage from Cybersecurity Events. This collaboration not only enhances Attack Surface Visibility but also fosters Cross-Industry and Cross-Regional Harmonization in threat defense strategies.
By establishing collaborative intelligence frameworks, the cybersecurity community can detect breaches quicker,leverage AI and machine learning for enhanced Predictive and Proactive Defense, and optimize Cost Efficiency and Resource Optimization by eliminating duplication of effort among organizations. However, it's essential to ensure these collaborative efforts are governed with caution, considering the potential risks and legal issues associated with continuous dark web surveillance.
