evaluating-threat-intelligence-platforms

name	evaluating-threat-intelligence-platforms
description	Evaluates and selects Threat Intelligence Platform (TIP) products based on organizational requirements including feed integration capability, STIX/TAXII support, workflow automation, analyst interface, and total cost of ownership. Use when conducting a TIP procurement, migrating between TIP solutions, or assessing whether the current TIP meets program maturity requirements. Activates for requests involving ThreatConnect, MISP, OpenCTI, Anomali, EclecticIQ, or TIP procurement decisions.
domain	cybersecurity
subdomain	threat-intelligence
tags	["TIP","ThreatConnect","MISP","OpenCTI","Anomali","EclecticIQ","STIX-TAXII","CTI-program","procurement"]
version	1.0.0
author	team-cybersecurity
license	Apache-2.0
nist_csf	["ID.RA-01","ID.RA-05","DE.CM-01","DE.AE-02"]
mitre_attack	["T1591","T1592","T1593","T1589"]

Evaluating Threat Intelligence Platforms

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Conducting a formal RFP or vendor evaluation for a TIP solution
• Assessing whether the current TIP (e.g., MISP) needs to be replaced or augmented as the CTI program scales
• Establishing evaluation criteria aligned to organizational maturity and budget

Do not use this skill for evaluating feed quality independently of the TIP — feed evaluation is a separate workflow focused on data quality rather than platform capabilities.

Prerequisites

• Documented CTI program requirements: team size, feed sources, integration targets, use cases
• Budget range and procurement timeline
• Technical staff who will administer the platform (Python/API experience for open-source TIPs)
• List of current and planned integrations (SIEM, SOAR, EDR, firewalls)

Workflow

Step 1: Define Evaluation Criteria

Structure requirements into mandatory (M) and desired (D) categories:

Core TIP Functions:

• M: STIX 2.1 import/export with TAXII 2.1 server
• M: REST API for automated IOC ingestion and export
• M: Indicator deduplication and TTL management
• M: TLP classification enforcement
• D: Built-in MITRE ATT&CK integration and technique tagging
• D: Graph visualization of indicator relationships
• D: Workflow automation for analyst triage

Integrations:

• M: SIEM integration (Splunk, Sentinel, QRadar) via syslog, API, or native connector
• M: EDR integration for IOC push (CrowdStrike, Defender, SentinelOne)
• D: SOAR integration (XSOAR, Splunk SOAR) for playbook triggers
• D: Ticketing system (ServiceNow, Jira) for intelligence task tracking

Operational:

• M: Role-based access control with TLP-aware data segregation
• M: Audit logging for all analyst actions
• D: Multi-tenancy for MSSP use cases

Step 2: Evaluate Major TIP Options

MISP (Open Source):

• Cost: Free (self-hosted infrastructure cost only)
• Strengths: Largest community, 250+ modules, extensive ISAC usage, STIX 2.0 native
• Weaknesses: Requires dedicated admin, limited visualization, UI dated
• Best for: Budget-constrained teams with technical staff; government/ISAC sharing programs

OpenCTI (Open Source):