Threat Hunting & Security CopilotThreat Intelligence Integration

Threat Intelligence Integration

20 mins

Understanding the Concept

Microsoft Sentinel integrates threat intelligence (TI) through the Threat Intelligence platform blade, TAXII feeds, and the Microsoft Threat Intelligence connector. TI indicators (IoCs) include IP addresses, domains, URLs, file hashes, and email addresses associated with known threats.

Threat intelligence can be used in analytics rules to match indicators against ingested logs (TI Map rules). When a match is found, an alert is generated. TI workbooks provide visibility into indicator volume, types, and match rates.

Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence (MDTI) provides enrichment data for entities including reputation scores, articles about threat actors, and vulnerability information.

Key Points

  • TI indicators: IPs, domains, URLs, hashes, email addresses
  • Sources: TAXII feeds, MDTI, custom uploads, API
  • TI Map analytics rules match indicators against logs
  • TI workbooks show indicator volume and match rates
  • MDTI provides entity enrichment and reputation
  • Indicators have expiration dates and confidence levels

Why This Matters in Real Organizations

Threat intelligence transforms security operations from reactive to intelligence-driven. By matching known threat indicators against your data, you detect compromises that behavioral detections might miss.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Ingesting too many low-confidence indicators causing false positives
Not setting expiration dates on indicators leading to stale data
Using only IoC matching without behavioral hunting
Not leveraging MDTI for entity enrichment during investigation

Interview Tips

  • Discuss how you integrate threat intelligence into SOC operations
  • Explain the difference between strategic, tactical, and operational TI

Exam Tips (SC-200)

  • Know TI integration methods in Sentinel
  • Understand TI Map analytics rules
  • Know MDTI capabilities for entity enrichment

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