What is threat intelligence?

Introduction

Threat intelligence refers to the process of collecting, analyzing, and using data about current and potential cyber threats. Threat intelligence data enables organizations to make informed decisions to protect their assets and proactively defend against future attacks.

For many organizations, balancing an increasing number of cybersecurity threats and keeping up with today’s rapid innovation is a significant challenge. And for organizations developing software applications, threat intelligence plays a crucial role in reducing risk.

Why threat intelligence is critical for open source software

With over 90% of modern applications relying on open source software, it’s important to consider open source components in use when creating a threat intelligence strategy. Open source software reaches wide, especially when considering the network of dependencies—vulnerabilities or exploits in a single open source package can affect a multitude of organizations. With this in mind, threat intelligence for open source software becomes a cornerstone of any comprehensive cybersecurity plan.

Undertaking threat intelligence analysis for open source software comes with its own set of challenges. For one, the quality of data from different threat intelligence sources can vary, and practices across ecosystems like Java, JavaScript, Python, and others differ significantly. Most importantly, open source software is maintained by independent, often unpaid, volunteer maintainers, making it difficult to have accurate and timely information without direct collaboration with the open source maintainers. 

(Tidelift is taking a unique approach to solve this challenge by partnering with the maintainers of thousands of the most-relied-upon open source packages and paying them to implement industry-leading secure software development practices and document the practices they follow. The result is a unique source of cross-ecosystem threat intelligence that organizations use to evaluate and minimize cybersecurity risks.)

The role of threat intelligence in open source supply chain security

It is important to recognize that the so-called open source software supply chain is not a traditional supply chain. Open source maintainers typically do not have a business relationship with their users and make their software available under an “as-is” license with no guarantees, assurances, or warranty. With that in mind, the “open source software supply chain” is particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks, as demonstrated by high-profile incidents such as the Log4Shell vulnerability incident. Threat intelligence helps identify and address early indicators of security risks within the supply chain in software dependencies and third-party components.

1. Proactive security measures: threat intelligence shifts security strategies from reactive to proactive. By identifying potential threats early, organizations can reinforce their defenses or apply patches to address known risks in their open source supply chain. This approach reduces the likelihood of an attack exploiting a weakness before it is resolved.
   
   
2. Informed risk management: one of the primary benefits of threat intelligence is the ability to prioritize and manage security risks more effectively. With detailed information on potential threats and their frequency, organizations can prioritize effectively and focus on the most vulnerable areas of their infrastructure and allocate resources more efficiently. This is especially important in open source ecosystems, where maintaining visibility over thousands of dependencies can be difficult without the validated and reliable intelligence.
   
   
3. Reducing security costs: preventing security breaches through proactive threat intelligence can save organizations from the hefty costs associated with data breaches. These costs include everything from remediation expenses and legal fines to reputational damage. A well-implemented threat intelligence strategy helps prevent these attacks from occurring in the first place, reducing the overall cost of cybersecurity.

Challenges in open source threat intelligence

Organizations face several hurdles when factoring in open source software into their threat intelligence strategy:

• Diverse ecosystems: different open source ecosystems (e.g., Python, JavaScript, Ruby) have varying security practices, making it difficult to standardize threat analysis across platforms.
  
  
• Data quality: threat intelligence data from different sources is not always consistent, which can lead to challenges in identifying credible and actionable threats.
  
  
• Lack of direct information: without direct input from open source maintainers, important aspects of threat intelligence cannot be accurately addressed, leaving organizations with an incomplete view of the risks they are exposed to.

Open source maintainers and threat intelligence

Maintainers of open source projects play a critical role in identifying and resolving vulnerabilities. It is very difficult to get a full and accurate view of the threat landscape without direct input from maintainers, hence why it is highly recommended that organizations collaborate with them for effective threat intelligence analysis. Maintainers often have the deepest knowledge of their projects and can provide critical information to improve the accuracy and timeliness of threat detection.

Conclusion: the need for comprehensive threat intelligence

For modern organizations, threat intelligence is an essential part of securing both proprietary and open source software. As reliance on open source continues to grow, the need to incorporate it into threat intelligence strategies becomes more critical. By proactively identifying risks, improving open source supply chain security, and collaborating with open source maintainers, organizations can reduce their overall exposure to cyber threats.