Page 62 - Cyber Defense eMagazine August 2024

In recent years, we have witnessed several high-profile cyber incidents. In 2021, vulnerabilities in open-
source Log4J and Microsoft Exchange Server were exploited extensively; in 2022, the focus shifted to
combating a surge in ransomware attacks; and in 2023, there were reports of cyberattacks using
generative AI, including ChatGPT, to develop new threat tools.

The landscape is continuously evolving, and Cyber Threat Actors are now said to be leveraging
generative AI to improve their attack tools rapidly. Despite generative AI's built-in safeguards, attackers
have found ways to create malware by breaking down the development process into smaller and more
manageable tasks to exploit these programs. This has led to the rapid emergence of previously unknown
threats.

Putting things into context, the evolution of the cybersecurity landscape can be categorized into five
generations:

1. The first generation – Vaccine: The advent of computers and the emergence of viruses, which were
effectively countered by antivirus solutions.
2. The second generation – Firewall: The appearance of firewalls in the Internet era generated new m
alware and network attacks.

3. The third generation - IPS: Attackers began exploiting application vulnerabilities.
4. The fourth generation – Sandbox: The realization that traditional signature-based defenses were in
sufficient as payload-targeted attacks became prevalent.

5. The fifth generation – Threat Intelligence: The current era is marked by large-scale intelligent attack
s, ransomware, sophisticated malware, advanced supply chain attacks, and unknown threats. This
generation necessitates an integrated security infrastructure, real-time threat information sharing, a
nd the ability to defend against unknown threats. Threat intelligence plays a crucial role in this defe
nse strategy.

2) What Is Threat Intelligence?

Now that we are in the fifth generation of the cybersecurity landscape, threat intelligence has become a
fundamental component of the modern organization’s cybersecurity strategy. An effective threat
intelligence strategy involves continuous collection and analysis of the information needed to identify
and respond to threats.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – August 2024 Edition 62
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