| name | managing-intel-lfcycl |
| description | Manages the end-to-end cyber threat intelligence lifecycle from planning and direction through collection, processing, analysis, dissemination, and feedback to ensure intelligence products meet stakeholder requirements and continuously improve. Use when establishing or maturing a CTI program, defining intelligence requirements with business stakeholders, or building feedback loops between intelligence consumers and producers. Activates for requests involving CTI program maturity, intelligence requirements, PIRs, or intelligence lifecycle management.
|
| domain | cybersecurity |
| subdomain | threat-intelligence |
| tags | ["CTI","intelligence-lifecycle","PIR","NIST-SP-800-150","threat-intelligence-program","NIST-CSF"] |
| 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"] |
Managing Intelligence Lifecycle
When to Use
Use this skill when:
- Establishing a formal CTI program and defining its operational model
- Conducting quarterly intelligence requirements reviews with business stakeholders
- Evaluating CTI program maturity against established frameworks (FIRST CTI-SIG maturity model)
Do not use this skill for day-to-day IOC triage or incident-specific intelligence tasks — those use operational intelligence workflows, not lifecycle management.
Prerequisites
- Executive sponsorship and defined CTI team structure (1+ dedicated analysts)
- Stakeholder map identifying intelligence consumers (SOC, IR, executive team, vulnerability management)
- Existing feed subscriptions or ISAC memberships for collection baseline
- CTI platform (MISP, ThreatConnect, OpenCTI) for lifecycle management
Workflow
Step 1: Planning and Direction
Define Priority Intelligence Requirements (PIRs) with stakeholders:
- Interview SOC leads, IR team, CISO, risk management, and product security
- Document PIRs in structured format: "What is the current capability and intent of [threat actor] to attack [critical asset] using [technique]?"
- Prioritize 5–10 PIRs for the quarter, reviewed monthly
Example PIR: "Is ransomware group Cl0p currently targeting organizations in our sector using MoveIT or GoAnywhere vulnerabilities?"
Step 2: Collection Planning
Map PIRs to required collection sources:
- Technical sources: commercial feeds, TAXII, ISAC data, honeypot telemetry, darkweb monitoring
- Human sources: vendor threat briefings, industry working groups, law enforcement partnerships
- Internal sources: SIEM logs, EDR telemetry, phishing submission mailbox
Document collection gaps and associated costs to fill them.
Step 3: Processing and Normalization
Implement automated processing pipeline:
- Ingest → normalize to STIX 2.1 → deduplicate → enrich → score confidence
- Reject unverifiable or duplicate indicators before analysis
- Tag all processed data with source, collection date, and expiration
Step 4: Analysis and Production
Produce intelligence at three levels:
- Strategic: Quarterly threat landscape report for executives; sector trends, geopolitical context
- Operational: Weekly campaign reports for security leadership; active campaigns, adversary activity
- Tactical: Daily IOC bulletins for SOC; actionable indicators with block/monitor recommendations
