Sherrod DeGrippo, Director of Threat Intelligence Strategy at Microsoft, discusses the current state of Threat Intelligence, including threat actor naming conventions, advanced persistent threats, and the adversarial relationship between analysts and cybercriminals. They also explore the importance of integrating threat intelligence into products for enhanced protection.
Threat intelligence enhances security decision-making by analyzing risks and providing contextual insights.
Understanding diverse threat actor groups' tactics helps prioritize resource allocation for mitigating specific risks.
Deep dives
Threat Intelligence Definition and Importance
Threat intelligence provides insight into potential risks and attackers' activities, empowering organizations to make informed security decisions. It goes beyond simple data like file hashes and IP addresses, requiring analysis and context from trained professionals. Understanding threat intelligence aids in resource allocation, focusing on mitigating risks from various threat actor groups.
Notable Threat Actor Examples
Different threat actor groups like Octotempest and Peach Sandstorm demonstrate diverse tactics and focus areas. For instance, Octotempest combines social engineering with technical capabilities for quick network reconnaissance and ransomware attacks. On the other hand, Peach Sandstorm conducts intelligence gathering using SAML attacks and targets specific sectors like energy and defense.
Role of AI and Machine Learning in Security
AI and machine learning play a crucial role in both attackers' strategies and defenders' security measures. Threat actors increasingly leverage AI for reconnaissance, evasion of detection, and social engineering, while defenders, like Microsoft, utilize AI to enhance detection and protection capabilities. The proactive use of AI in security enables organizations to stay ahead in identifying and mitigating potential threats.
In this episode Michael, Sarah and Mark talk with guest Sherrod DeGrippo, Director of Threat Intelligence Strategy at Microsoft about the current state of Threat Intelligence.
We also discuss Azure Security news about Tampa BSides, Virtual Networks, Azure Database for MySQL and PostgreSQL, and SQL Server on Linux.