Intelligence Requirements

The relative priority an intelligence requirement is assigned should reflect the criticality of the decision it is intended to support. Simply put, some decisions are more critical than others. For instance, the identification of a new threat actor without clear understanding of the actor’s capabilities or even if they may see Your organization as a target is less of a priority than an existing threat actor known to target your organization with new methods of infiltration and a change in intent from espionage to sabotage in the form of disk wiping. Of note: intelligence collection, analysis, and reporting should focus on critical systems and data. Publicly communicated software vulnerabilities or control weaknesses in a desktop office suite are not considered part of standard intelligence requirements. They are considered a risk due to the vulnerability that requires modification(s) to process or technology controls such as stop gaps prior to a patch. These are functions of risk, vulnerability management, and day-to-day security operations.