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* Why You Need Actionable T...

# Why You Need Actionable Threat Intelligence

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By [Fred Streefland](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/author/fred-streefland/?ts=markdown "Posts by Fred Streefland")  
May 01, 2017  
3 minutes  
[Cybersecurity](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/cybersecurity-2/?ts=markdown)  
[Threat Prevention](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/threat-prevention-2/?ts=markdown)  
[threat intelligence](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/tag/threat-intelligence/?ts=markdown)

Cybersecurity is a hot topic, and there are hundreds of companies selling, buying or promoting their security products and solutions. In today's world, the cyber challenges are changing constantly in a fast and sophisticated way; most security solutions that work today might be bypassed by threats tomorrow.

In order to keep up with these developments, security needs to be agile too. In the words of Charles Darwin, "It is not the strongest of the species, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change that will survive."

In addition to this required agility, it's also important to have full visibility into what happens inside and outside your organization that might affect you. If you don't have full awareness of what's going on in your corporate network and who is attacking your organization from the outside and/or from the inside, how can you then protect yourself? In other words: Knowledge about threats, and guidance on how to prioritize your next actions, is essential in today's world. So, how can you make sure your protective measures and security products are efficient and can provide the necessary security posture? You might have the best firewalls and/or endpoint protection in place, but if these security tools are not "informed" about the threats, they won't be able to protect the organization adequately. Why buy the best binoculars and use them only with one eye?

It's essential to "feed" your security tools (e.g., firewalls and endpoint protection products) with intelligence about the threats, so they can cope with these threats. Let me provide a simple example: If a firewall is not aware of a certain threat (e.g., malware) that is built with the intention to "fool" firewalls, it is highly likely that the firewall won't be able to stop this threat from entering the corporate network. But if the firewall had received threat intelligence about this malware in advance, it most likely would not have been "fooled," and would have stopped the threat before it could harm the organization.

Palo Alto Networks can do all of this today. Threat intelligence needs to be delivered fast and in an automated way, but it also needs to be accurate in order to prevent false positives or -- even worse -- to miss certain threats. With all the incidences from recent years, we still suffer from too many breaches, which could have been prevented if the security had been informed by an adequate security intelligence platform.

Bottom line: Every organization should understand that security needs an agile and automated threat intelligence platform to prevent security incidents from happening, which are mostly caused by automated and sophisticated threats.

**[Learn about the threat intelligence capabilities available in the Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Security Platform.](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/products/designing-for-prevention/security-platform?ts=markdown)**

*** ** * ** ***

[**Register for Ignite '17 Security Conference**](http://go.paloaltonetworks.com/ignite2017)  
*Vancouver, BC June 12--15, 2017*

Ignite '17 Security Conference is a live, four-day conference designed for today's security professionals. Hear from innovators and experts, gain real-world skills through hands-on sessions and interactive workshops, and find out how breach prevention is changing the security industry. Visit the [Ignite website](http://www.paloaltonetworksignite.com/) for more information on tracks, workshops and marquee sessions.

*** ** * ** ***

## Related Blogs

### [Points of View](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/points-of-view/?ts=markdown), [Threat Prevention](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/threat-prevention-2/?ts=markdown)

[#### Stoked --- Manifesting Innovation in Shared Threat Intelligence](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2024/11/innovation-in-shared-threat-intelligence/)

### [Cybersecurity](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/cybersecurity-2/?ts=markdown), [Products and Services](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/products-and-services/?ts=markdown), [Reports](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/reports/?ts=markdown), [Threat Prevention](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/threat-prevention-2/?ts=markdown), [Threat Research](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/threat-research/?ts=markdown), [Unit 42](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com)

[#### Top Three Ways Organizations Were Unprepared for Cyberattacks in 2023](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2024/11/top-three-ways-organizations-were-unprepared-for-cyberattacks-in-2023/)

### [Cybersecurity](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/cybersecurity-2/?ts=markdown), [Products and Services](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/products-and-services/?ts=markdown), [Threat Prevention](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/threat-prevention-2/?ts=markdown)

[#### GenAI in Cybersecurity --- Threats and Defenses](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2024/10/genai-in-cybersecurity-threats-and-defenses/)

### [Cybersecurity](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/cybersecurity-2/?ts=markdown)

[#### AutoFocus: Actionable Threat Intelligence Leads to Shorter Response Times](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2016/10/autofocus-actionable-threat-intelligence-leads-shorter-response-times/)

### [Cybersecurity](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/cybersecurity-2/?ts=markdown), [Threat Prevention](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/threat-prevention-2/?ts=markdown)

[#### The Cybersecurity Download: Ransomware](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2016/10/the-cybersecurity-download-ransomware/)

### [AI and Cybersecurity](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/ai-and-cybersecurity/?ts=markdown), [Must-Read Articles](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/must-read-articles/?ts=markdown), [Product Features](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/product-features/?ts=markdown)

[#### The Data Digestion Revolution: Why Cortex XDL is the Foundation of Modern Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/the-data-digestion-revolution-why-cortex-xdl-is-the-foundation-of-modern-security/)

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