3 Key Elements of an Effective Intelligence Data Feed

An effective intelligence data feed that is worthy of investment should give businesses access to accurate and valuable data at speed, whilst also providing a return on investment.

Many threat intelligence services are automated or rely on a single source. This often means that they can offer you speed but no context. At Intelligence Fusion, our aim is to provide strategic reporting in a timely manner as well as in-depth analysis on a global scale. Effective and successful threat mitigation demands all of these criteria.

Intelligence data feeds have become a major component of many organisations’ security strategy. In a rapidly changing world, with an ever-expanding threat landscape, organisations need to be able to quickly detect and respond to relevant threats in order to mitigate damage and protect their people and assets across the world. But intelligence data feeds can vary considerably, from the incidents that are included to how the incidents are reported on, they tend to focus on one region, incident type or source. Many organisations find themselves investing in numerous feeds with the aim of producing a comprehensive solution, yet find that the amount of data is overwhelming and mostly irrelevant.

An Intelligence Fusion data feed seamlessly blends together 3 essential elements to create one overarching process. This unique approach to intelligence gathering allows organisations of all sizes access to a groundbreaking solution to situational awareness.

By fusing together these key elements, not only can we offer a fast, accurate and valuable feed of data, but we can filter incidents and alerts so that you only see those which you need to be aware of.

Here’s how;

1. ALGORITHMIC APPROACH

Automated threat intelligence services that solely rely on modern algorithms or ‘data-scraping’ are, from the outset, a much more affordable option but lack the context that makes data actually ‘intelligent’.

Raw data can be overwhelming. It creates more work for in-house teams, often wasting precious time, money and effort evaluating irrelevant and false alerts. When teamed with a spectrum of sources, however, algorithms are highly rewarding.

Research in algorithms has come a long way in giving us the ability to discover and analyse the massive amount of digital data that’s now available to us. Intelligence Fusion uses a highly specific algorithm as part of our threat intelligence data feed. The algorithm element provides the basis upon which all available data sources are interrogated.

The algorithm approach allows us to work at speed, gathering intelligence from across the globe as soon as it happens.

2. CROWDSOURCED INTELLIGENCE

Open source intelligence has evolved with the expansion and growth of the internet, through which the term ‘crowdsourcing’ become more frequently used in intelligence and security. It refers to the free and transparent sharing of information about suspected threats or vulnerabilities and actual security incidents.

Social media platforms, for example, provide some of the most timely reports on security incidents around the globe, and an automated system based on the preset algorithm can instantly highlight those that require additional exploration.

The secondary element of crowdsourcing gives us the depth and breadth of our intelligence. It provides us with yet another layer of validation, additional detail and knowledge, as well as acting as a feedback channel that can be used to improve our algorithms.

3. HUMAN ANALYSIS

By adding human input to the process, the vital component of context is available, something that is distinctly lacking in most intelligence data feeds.

Our team of expert analysts are able to take the raw data from a spectrum of sources and turn it into operationally valuable information by analysing and contextualising the threat intelligence.

It’s the element of context that allows risk and security departments to cut through the noise and identify the threats that are relevant to the environments in which they have business activities, assets or people. Intelligence Fusion’s human input allows organisations to truly understand the potential threats and make fast, informed decisions in response.

Human threat intelligence analysts can also give a unique insight into data, making correlations between incidents and interpreting actions or events to produce practical and comprehensive reporting.

So while threat intelligence services rely on technology, here at Intelligence Fusion, we use it as a starting point. Tech gives us speed and volume, but the human element is critical in ensuring the accuracy and integrity of our global data feed.

Offering even further value for money, an Intelligence Fusion data feed comes with a commercial license agreement as standard. This means that in addition to using our threat intelligence data internally, organisations can sell the feed to their own client base and create a new revenue stream.

Take Track24, for example. Since they purchased our intelligence data feed in late 2017, we have globalised their product offering. They’re now able to offer their clients a higher quality of data from across the world, all of which is sifted through by professionals with years of experience in intelligence collection and analysis.

To find out more about what you should look for when choosing an intelligence data feed for your business, download our FREE Guide to Intelligence Data Feeds.