Cyber threat intelligence (CTI) is a collection of data, information, and knowledge about past, present, and future cyberattacks. It is the cornerstone of mature cyber defense programs and a sought-after product category that allows organizations to adapt their security posture to the rapidly evolving threat landscape. Information about potential attacks enables organizations to thwart attackers’ plans by anticipating their next move, and knowledge about past and present campaigns empowers organizations to increase the speed and accuracy of detecting potential breaches.

The growing volume and complexity of attacks drive the demand for cyber security solutions. Organizations increasingly recognize the importance of proactive and predictive defense for staying ahead of cyber adversaries. Security-conscious organizations bolster cyber security spending and look for innovative solutions that enable them to understand and prevent cybercrime. In an environment where organizations remain unprepared to withstand nation-state-sponsored attacks that only evolve in sophistication and scale, threat intelligence represents the first line of defense for organizations targeted by state-sponsored actors, as well as those caught in the crossfire.

CTI historically was of interest to large enterprises in industries that typically lead cyber security product adoption, such as banking and finance. Today, however, smaller enterprises across a wide range of vertical markets demonstrate an interest in threat intelligence use cases. CTI vendors, in turn, increasingly aim to meet less mature customers halfway and design tailored offerings for the midmarket. CTI vendors bring additional use cases to their customers and communicate a compelling business value to key stakeholders for whom information security is uncharted territory. The overlap between digital risk protection and CTI solutions enables vendors to demonstrate immediate business benefits of using their services and drives the market growth.

CTI is a segment of the threat intelligence services market, which also includes threat intelligence platforms and digital risk protection. There is a notable convergence as vendors strive to become a one-stop shop for organizations’ intelligence needs.