Threat intelligence supply chain is full of weak links

"This move represents more than just another salvo in ongoing tech tensions between the two governments. It threatens to fracture a foundational practice of internet cybersecurity: the global threat intelligence ecosystem that allows defenders worldwide to collect, analyze, and share information about emerging attacks and responses to cyber threats that know no borders."

"The researchers identified three main players in the ecosystem: Threat intelligence platforms like VirusTotal and MalwareBazaar; Antivirus companies that produce their own threat intelligence, and tools to make it usable; Malware sandbox services that offer analysis-as-a-service to anyone trying to understand the behavior of a binary."

"The paper points out that threat intelligence is a big business, but that the quality of information available is not great because different stakeholders release different data."

Georgia Tech researchers have identified vulnerabilities in the global threat intelligence supply chain, which enables cybersecurity defenders worldwide to share information about emerging attacks. China's January 2026 ban on US and Israeli security software exemplifies how geopolitical tensions can fracture this foundational practice. The ecosystem comprises three main players: threat intelligence platforms like VirusTotal, antivirus companies producing their own intelligence, and malware sandbox services. Researchers found that despite threat intelligence being a significant business, data quality remains poor due to inconsistent information releases across stakeholders. Their study involved creating suspicious binaries and tracking how security vendors handled them, revealing systemic weaknesses in the ecosystem.

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