Threat intelligence is becoming indispensable in the public sector
More proactive security is needed in the public sector. This is the opinion of Michael Chalvatzis, Senior Director DACH & Eastern Europe at Recorded Future. He has written the following commentary on this topic.
Cyber attacks on the public sector are on the rise. State institutions, authorities and operators of critical infrastructure are increasingly being targeted by both cyber criminals and state-controlled groups. The threat situation is intensifying as many attacks now use combined vectors, outdated IT systems offer additional targets and geopolitical tensions increase the risk of targeted operations. In addition, there is often a lack of the necessary personnel, sufficient resources and the required skills to respond quickly and effectively.
Despite these challenges, expectations remain high. Citizens continue to expect government institutions to provide their digital services reliably and protect sensitive data. A successful attack would not only have financial consequences, but would also damage trust in the state's ability to act in the long term.
From reactive to proactive
For a long time, cyber defense in the public sector was predominantly reactive. Security incidents were documented, analyzed retrospectively and only then were measures initiated. In view of the current threat situation, this approach is no longer sufficient. What is needed is a systematic approach that recognizes threats at an early stage, classifies them in the appropriate context, assesses their relevance and translates them into concrete measures.
Threat intelligence solutions support this approach by automatically processing security-relevant information from various sources. This includes technical feeds, publicly available data, industry-specific information channels and content from hard-to-access digital environments such as the darknet. The platforms analyse this data in real time, prioritize it according to urgency and make it available for further processing.
By connecting to existing security systems such as SIEM or SOAR, relevant findings can be integrated directly into existing processes. This shortens response times, reduces the workload of analyst teams and makes more efficient use of resources. At the same time, contextualized information improves the basis for strategic decisions, for example when evaluating geopolitical developments, assessing the risk of supply chains or complying with regulatory requirements.
Proactive defense as a strategic advantage
Threat intelligence is becoming a key tool for securing the public sector's digital capacity to act in the long term. Numerous government institutions are already relying on AI-supported threat intelligence platforms to meet these requirements proactively and efficiently.
The automated evaluation of security-relevant information allows potential threats to be identified at an early stage, classified in the right context and prioritized according to relevance. Alerts can be sent to affected areas in a targeted manner before any actual damage occurs. At the same time, such an approach supports the implementation of national security strategies and compliance with regulatory requirements such as the NIS-2 Directive.
More information: Recorded Future
This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/threat-intelligence-wird-im-oeffentlichen-sektor-unverzichtbar/
