Threat intelligence data is a fundamental part of cybersecurity. It provides security teams with crucial insights needed to detect and defend against cyber attacks. That said, the sheer volume of information this data provides can lead to alert fatigue among IT teams. This makes it difficult for organisations to identify and stop legitimate threats targeting their operations.
To overcome these challenges, organisations must look to different techniques and tools to successfully utilise threat data. Automating patch management, implementing continuous network monitoring and using third parties for managed detection and response (MDR) and endpoint detection and response (EDR) can put IT teams in a better position to translate threat intelligence data into actionable insights.
Attack techniques are changing
The tactics, techniques and procedures used by cybercriminals are evolving rapidly due to the emergence of technologies like AI. Real-time intelligence is of even greater importance to successfully defend against more sophisticated attacks. Resources like threat reports, which are compiled based on threat, malware, digital forensics and incident response data, are indispensable in keeping up with the shifting cyber landscape.
For instance, Arctic Wolf’s 2025 Threat Report found that 96% of ransomware attacks now also include data theft. This enables attackers to double-extort victims who pay to achieve data suppression and recover their data so it is not disclosed publicly. The report also found that business email compromise is becoming more sophisticated due to advanced social engineering techniques and known vulnerabilities going unpatched, providing easy gateways for cybercriminals to exploit. These critical insights into how attacks are carried out, and the groups responsible, enable organisations to implement appropriate measures that meet evolving threats.
Threat intelligence is the foundation of security
Darknet analysis, indicators of compromise (IOCs), security operations centre (SOC) findings and information on attack patterns are all part of threat intelligence. The data allows cyber defence teams to detect and respond to attacks targeting their own environments, as well as prioritise and implement proactive security measures. Although the amount of data alone is unmanageable for most teams, without it, it would be virtually impossible to understand how tactics, groups and attack types are changing and what security measures are required.
While this poses a challenge for IT teams, real-time monitoring, proactive defence solutions and curated reporting can bridge the gap between vast amounts of threat data and actionable insights.
Effectively managing threat intelligence
Even if organisations have good intelligence on what may affect them, many lack insight into their own environments. Combining visibility and monitoring is therefore critical. To do so, organisations need to establish an accurate inventory of all assets and implement 24×7 monitoring for logs, endpoints and user behaviour to detect deviations from normal activity. AI is a key tool in this fight as it can help security teams process large amounts of data and detect anomalies quickly and suggest a course of action to remedy the situation.
Every unpatched system is an open door for attackers, yet many organisations are reluctant to apply patches promptly – whether due to a lack of clear processes or staff shortages. Even organisations which do patch vulnerabilities often don’t track it properly. To address this, security teams should automate patch management and integrate it with vulnerability scanning tools and intelligence databases to continuously monitor known vulnerabilities.
Another challenge for smaller security teams is simply analysing and managing the amount of information efficiently. External security partners can help relieve the burden on already overly-stretched teams. Third parties can support in identifying and prioritising security gaps according to urgency, supply relevant information instead of an overwhelming volume of data and give real-time updates on critical threats. Another advantage of working with external partners is their broad access to data. They analyse trends across numerous organisations and can therefore derive more precise, practical recommendations.
Looking to the future
Threat intelligence is essential, but without structured analysis, clear processes, internal visibility and guidance, valuable information can go unused and wasted. Putting better processes in place for effective vulnerability management after receiving threat intelligence, such as continuous network monitoring, automated patch processes and working with independent experts is essential to minimising the risk of successful attacks. By implementing the right structure organisations can move from being overwhelmed with unnecessary data to proactively protecting themselves from threats.
Kerri Shafer-Page
Kerri Shafer-Page is VP Digital Forensics at Arctic Wolf. A proven leader in threat identification, IT security and data privacy incident response and mitigation, Kerri has served in leadership roles at IBM and AIG, overseeing incident response and cybersecurity claims. At Arctic Wolf, Kerri is responsible for the execution of a leading incident response team showcasing threat actor communication and negotiation, digital forensics and remediation & recovery.
