Management in CTI

Client Management & Communication

Effective communication is the backbone of successful Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) operations. This module tackles the best practices for managing client relationships and communications within CTI programs. We explore how to foster knowledge sharing among intelligence teams and stakeholders, implement daily coordination checkpoints, define clear escalation paths for critical findings, use secure out-of-band channels for sensitive discussions, and maintain robust progress reporting.

Knowledge Sharing

Knowledge sharing ensures that valuable threat information and lessons learned are disseminated to all who need them. Intelligence teams often work with diverse internal stakeholders (SOC analysts, incident responders, IT teams, management) and sometimes external partners (peers in ISACs, clients, etc.). Establishing a culture and processes for open knowledge exchange is critical during the egagement and beyond. Although this typically would form part of the Direction & Review it makes sense to tackle some of the challenges in this module in more depth.

Daily Check points

Daily checkpoints are short, routine touchpoints that keep CTI teams synchronized on rapidly evolving threat landscapes. In practice, these are often daily stand-up meetings or briefings tailored to CTI workflows. The goal is to ensure analysts share updates, align on priorities for the day, and surface any blockers or urgent issues.

Daily checkpoints greatly improve situational awareness. Regular meetings, whether they are daily stand-ups, threat intel briefings, or ad-hoc problem-solving sessions ensure team members can promptly discuss issues and share updates with relevant stakeholders​. This immediate exchange helps the team quickly align on objectives and respond in a coordinated way.

Defining Escalation Paths for Intelligence Findings and Engagement Issues

Not all threat intelligence has equal impact, CTI teams must escalate findings through predefined paths to ensure the right people are alerted and appropriate action can be taken. However, escalation paths are not solely for intelligence alerts but also for issues arising from the intelligence engagement itself, such as access delays, miscommunication between teams, or discrepancies in intelligence analysis. I'd like to focus on the latter, operational and engagement-related issues can hinder intelligence effectiveness and its critical that not only these issues can be discovered and dealt with but that they can be discussed and remediated during engagements. Some issues you are likely to encounter are:

Secure Out-of-Band Communication Channels

During critical situations, especially where sensitive or potentially compromised information is involved, CTI teams must use secure out-of-band (OOB) communication channels. Out-of-band communication means using an alternative channel separate from normal corporate networks or systems. OOB channels provide a safe way to coordinate without the adversary’s knowledge. They are also useful if primary systems go down (e.g., a ransomware attack taking out corporate email).

When to Use Out-of-Band

Implementing Secure Channels

Liaising with Third Parties and Regulated Schemes in CTI

Many organizations rely on external intelligence sources, including commercial threat intelligence vendors, Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs), government agencies, and industry peers. Establishing and maintaining relationships with these third parties is essential for enriching an organization’s threat landscape understanding and staying ahead of emerging threats

Compliance with Regulated Schemes

For organizations operating in regulated industries such as finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure, compliance with cybersecurity frameworks and threat intelligence-sharing mandates is non-negotiable. Ensuring adherence to such requirements enhances both security posture and regulatory standing.

Many governments have cyber intelligence-sharing programs that organizations can participate in, such as:

Organizations should maintain a structured approach to liaising with regulatory bodies and national cybersecurity agencies to ensure compliance while maximizing intelligence-sharing benefits.

Challenges in Third-Party Collaboration and Compliance

Introduction to Risk Management in CTI

Firstky, this will be a light touch on Risk and how it goes hand in hand with Cyber Threat Intelligence, specifically threat assessments. I do not want to try and add a full module on RISK as this is outside the scope really, however having said that, its imperative you understand RISK, the frameworks and its application at a fundemantal level.

Risk management is the process of identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing risks, then applying resources to minimize and control the likelihood or impact of those risks​. In the context of cybersecurity and Threat Intelligence, risk management aims to understand cyber threats and decide how to address them before they cause harm. Effective risk management within CTI helps organizations focus on the most critical threats and allocate security efforts where they matter most. An assessment of cyber risks provides a clear view of which threats could harm the organization’s operations, reputation, or assets, enabling teams to prioritize defenses accordingly​

The purpose of risk management in CTI is to reduce uncertainty about cyber threats and ensure that limited security resources address the most significant risks. By continuously evaluating threats (like new vulnerabilities or attack campaigns) and assessing how likely and damaging they are, organizations can make informed decisions. For instance, if threat intelligence reveals a critical vulnerability being actively exploited in the wild, a risk-managed approach would flag this as a high-risk issue and prompt immediate patching, whereas a less risky vulnerability might be scheduled for a routine update. In essence, risk management within CTI ensures that cybersecurity measures are prioritized according to the severity of threats – enabling businesses to protect what matters most first. This alignment of security efforts with risk priorities is fundamental: it means that even as threat landscapes evolve, an organization remains focused on mitigating the risks with the greatest potential impact on its mission.

Key Risk Management Frameworks

To manage cyber risks systematically, organizations turn to established frameworks and standards. These frameworks provide structured methodologies for identifying and treating risks, ensuring no critical step is overlooked. Below I will introduce a few of the most well known industry-standard risk management frameworks and how they apply to cybersecurity

Challenges and Best Practices

Up to this point, we’ve discussed how to assess and prioritize cyber risks(following a framework). Operationalizing risk intelligence is about taking those risk insights and embedding them into the organization’s decision-making and security operations. In other words, it’s how we use the output of CTI-driven risk assessments to actually improve security posture on an ongoing basis.

Implementing risk management within a cyber threat intelligence program comes with several challenges. Being aware of these challenges – and following best practices to address them – can greatly improve the effectiveness of risk management. We’ll also touch on emerging trends that are shaping the future of cyber risk management.