4 Key Capabilities of a Cyber Threat Intelligence Professional

Cyber Threat Intelligence professionals are growing in demand, but the supply of skilled, capable cyber threat intelligence analysts is still meager. On the other hand, it is estimated that the threat intelligence market will grow from USD 5.3 billion in 2018 to USD 12.9 billion by 2023, making now the best time to enter the industry.  

Build a cutting-edge, actionable threat intelligence  

Digital transformation has infiltrated the enterprise world, leading to a rise in the increasingly complex threat landscape. Understanding the big picture of the threat lifecycle, including a range of threat modeling processes, tools, threat actors, emerging attack surfaces, and attack philosophies is a must to ensure proactive and strategic cyber threat intelligence.

What makes a skilled cyber threat intelligence professional? 

While a threat intelligence analyst plays a multitude of roles and has even more responsibilities, there are specific capabilities that every skilled cyber threat analyst must possess: 

1. They must be able to deal with the different types of threat intelligence

This includes strategic threat intelligence, operational threat intelligence, tactical threat intelligence, and technical threat intelligence.  

2. They must have the skill to collect data from IoCs

This is possible when they are aware of the different types of threat intelligence tools, report writing tools, threat modeling tools and methodologies, statistical data analysis tools, malware analysis tools, and threat sharing platforms.   

3. They must be proficient when collecting data

Knowing how to collect data through the Google Hacking Database and other search engines, web services, website footprinting, DNS interrogation, and other techniques will result in better response time and faster resolution of the threat.  

4. They must be able to form a report

The job of a cyber threat intelligence professional does not end at collecting and analyzing the data. One of the most crucial capabilities is being able to report this found data to management so that appropriate action can be taken. To do so, the professional must have creativity, analytical, technical skills. The report must also describe all assessments and suggestions to contain and mitigate the incident.   

Upskill and become a Certified Threat Intelligence Analyst  

Getting trained and attaining a credential can help you attain the skills mentioned above and more. EC-Council’s Certified Threat Intelligence Analyst (CTIA) is a globally accepted training and credentialing program that imparts real-world practical knowledge. 40% of the program is run as a hands-on lab session to ensure hands-on experience.

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