Tech

Know thy enemy: Symantec launches cyberthreat intelligence service for the enterprise

The new solution gives enterprise players answers to all their questions related to the cyberthreat landscape.

Written by Charlie Osborne, Contributing Writer Nov. 5, 2015 at 12:44 a.m. PT

Symantec has introduced Directed Threat Research, a DeepSight Intelligence service which provides the enterprise with tailored answers to their cybersecurity questions.

Businesses have had to move quickly to shore up their defenses against the rising threat of cyberattacks in recent years. It is no longer a matter of "if," but "when" a successful attack occurs, and so companies must not only work on network perimeter defense, but must also have risk management and damage limitation policies in place.

Security

However, you cannot expect the enterprise to become cybersecurity experts overnight. Investment might be slowly increasing in the security field, but a skill shortage -- with over 90 percent of firms saying finding security professionals to fill gaps is difficult -- is considered by many as a main reason for data breaches.

Addressing this issue will take time. But one thing we can do now to reduce the risk of cyberattack is to learn about the constantly evolving threat landscape.

This week, Symantec announced the launch of Directed Threat Research, a threat intelligence program which provides the enterprise with industry threat data.

Symantec's Al Cooley and Roger Park said in a blog post that the foundation of the program, built with DeepSight Intelligence, combines telemetry from Symantec's Global Intelligence Network with threat analysis to provide enterprise players with the "full picture" of today's threats -- from the adversary to their tactics and intended victims.

"DeepSight Intelligence gives broad visibility to global and industry specific threats; however, sometimes urgency and the amorphic nature of threats leave security operations without any results from intelligence sources," Symantec said.

"For those cases, Directed Threat Research provides an on-demand service to answer companies' specific intelligence questions."

The subscription-based service delivers tailored reports to address an enterprise's specific questions and requirements and offers access to a Symantec team of intelligence analysts. Symantec also says clients can take advantage of monitoring services which keep an eye out for the first signs of an incoming attack.

Once armed with custom threat data, companies can patch the holes left by other intelligence sources, including the "by whom and why," according to the company.

Cooley commented:

"Organizations who know their adversaries, while being aware of their own strengths and vulnerabilities, stand a better chance in the ongoing cybersecurity war.
As the threat landscape evolves, Symantec DeepSight Intelligence also evolves and adapts to give customers the edge over their adversaries."

Last week, Symantec introduced Advanced Threat Protection (ATP), a service which can detect and remediate advanced threats across control points.