Build Your Fortress, Defend Your Kingdom: 8-Steps to an Effective Cyber Threat Intelligence Program

While cybersecurity is top of mind for most technology and business leaders across the Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) region, there often is confusion between cybersecurity and cyber threat intelligence (CTI) programs.

Traditional security controls focus on defence - firewalls, endpoint protection and access controls. CTI is about foresight - it’s evidence-based knowledge about threats: who’s targeting your industry, how they operate, what tools they use, and how to stop them. It provides context, indicators, and actionable insights that help security teams make faster, more informed  decisions.

Organizations should care about threat intelligence because threat actors are becoming better at sneaking their way in and defeating defence lines, and because regulatory compliance requirements are becoming stricter. Across APJ, governments are placing an emphasis on stronger threat protection mandates:  Australian organisations now have a duty to report ransomware payments, while many Asian countries including Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia and more have tightened their local cyber regulations and guidelines.

At Recorded Future, we have decades of experience dealing with cyber threat intelligence: how to gather it, and how to use it to build strong defence programs.

And there are  companies already leading the way in this field. This is the case of Canva, which integrated strategic planning with tactical operations to build a strong CTI program. Similarly, ANZ Bank and Pexa have demonstrated how proactive threat-led security strategies can improve detection response and executive visibility.  

Building a CTI program is like constructing a fortress in a kingdom-building strategy game: it’s a complex undertaking with ever-shifting dynamics.  

Here is an 8-step guide to get started:  

1. Define Your Mission

A successful CTI program starts with a clearly defined mission that ties into the organization’s broader goals. Begin by identifying the purpose of the program and how it supports the business — whether it’s protecting patient data, ensuring uptime, or safeguarding customer assets. Define the ultimate goal (commander’s intent), and establish specific objectives and success metrics such as time to detect, time to respond, vulnerability patching or credential reset. 

2. Know Your Stakeholders

Understanding internal alliances is crucial, and successful intelligence programs can provide insights across almost all stakeholders needs. Map out key stakeholders including executive leadership, business units, and functional teams. Determine what each group values, their risk priorities, and what successful intelligence looks like from their perspective. Use this information to align CTI priorities and foster collaboration, ensuring the program delivers actionable insights and earns organizational support. 

3. Know Your Intelligence Requirements

Establish Priority Intelligence Requirements (PIRs) — these should reflect key business risks like ransomware, DDoS, or supply chain compromise. PIRs provide clarity, helping analysts prioritize threats and ensuring leadership understands what intelligence efforts are addressing and why they matter. 

4. Assess Your Resources and Establish Your Operating Model

Inventory your current team, products, and capabilities — your defenders. Define roles, from security operations center (SOC) analysts and threat hunters to architects and third-party risk analysts. Identify skill gaps, technical proficiencies, and whether to rely on internal staff, outsourced support, or a hybrid model. From there, build an operating model and hierarchy. 

5. Map Your Kingdom

What are you protecting? Identify your “crown jewels” — sensitive data, IP, critical infrastructure, and business processes. Map out and understand your entire attack surface, including digital, physical, and human components. This understanding helps prioritize defenses and ensures threat intelligence is focused on high-value targets. 

6. Assess the Threat Landscape

It’s all about understanding the ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ about your adversaries.  

Identify the top threats to your organization by actor type, motivation, tactics, and targets. Consider attack methods such as malware, phishing, insider threats, and supply chain attacks. This assessment enables tailored defenses and helps allocate resources efficiently. 

7. Collect and Activate Intelligence

Develop workflows to gather and operationalize intelligence that actively helps your stakeholders. This is about enabling intel and tools to be shared in an efficient manner, whether that be SOAR, EDR, WAF or other controls.  

8. Communicate Achievements and Deliver Situational Reports

Create tactical bulletins, operational threat patterns, and strategic industry reports  for regular reporting to stakeholders. Measure and share program success using defined metrics, and implement feedback loops to continuously improve. Effective communication builds trust, proves value, and secures ongoing support for the CTI program. 

An effective CTI program is one that is comprehensive, integrating people, processes, and technology into a cohesive system of defense. Success requires a clear purpose, thorough planning, meticulous construction, and a willingness to continually adapt and evolve.  

If you want to know more about threat intelligence before you buy any products or solutions for your business, check out the Recorded Future Threat Intelligence Buyer’s Guide.