If we’ve got all the right tools, why don’t we know when we’re being targeted?
It’s a question more and more cybersecurity and IT leaders are quietly asking themselves: “We’ve invested in good security tools. We’ve ticked the right boxes. So why do I still feel like we’re flying blind when it comes to knowing whether we’re actually a target?”
You’ve got endpoint detection humming. You’re collecting logs. You’ve got alerts firing off when something hits a known signature. You even check whether your execs’ credentials have been dumped in the latest breach.
And yet… you don’t know if someone’s actively targeting your company. Not in a meaningful, specific, and actionable way.
That’s because most organisations are relying on tools that were never designed to give them the kind of threat intelligence they really need.
What threat intelligence isn’t
Let’s start by clearing up a common misconception. Security tooling is not the same as threat intelligence.
Many modern cybersecurity stacks include impressive technology - log correlation platforms, endpoint protection, email security gateways, and so on. Some even include basic threat intelligence feeds or alert overlays. But these tools are focused on detection and response, not on surfacing proactive, contextual intelligence about who might be preparing to attack you and how.
Yes, these platforms will tell you if something’s already hit. But they won’t tell you if your brand is being impersonated in a phishing kit that’s just gone live. They won’t detect when your domain is mentioned in a Telegram group frequented by ransomware affiliates. They won’t flag that a known threat actor group has pivoted to targeting businesses like yours.
This is the critical distinction: they’re built to protect you from known attacks - not to help you anticipate unknown, evolving, or tailored threats.
The problem with generic intelligence
Even when businesses tap into “threat intelligence” feeds, they’re often pulling in data that’s generic, global, and noisy.
Here’s what that usually looks like:
- Indicators of compromise (IOCs) from widespread malware or phishing campaigns
- Lists of known bad IPs and hashes
- Credential dumps that say someone in your org had a Gmail account breached three years ago
- Out of date LinkedIn leaks that aren’t specifically linked to the work credentials of that individual
Useful? Sometimes.
Relevant to your current risk profile? Rarely.
It’s like getting a daily crime report for the entire country when what you really need is a heads-up that someone’s casing your street. Or getting your breaking news from the newspaper the chip shop wraps your takeaway in.
What real threat intelligence looks like
True threat intelligence is specific, timely, and contextual. It’s designed to help you understand:
- If you’re being targeted - now, or soon
- Who the likely actors are
- What techniques they’re using against others like you
- Where your vulnerabilities are exposed in the wild
- How you can take action before something happens
It’s not just a feed - it’s a process. A combination of automated data collection, expert analysis, and correlation against your actual business environment.
It’s knowing that your CFO’s LinkedIn profile was cloned last week and used in spear phishing attempts against a competitor.
It’s being alerted that your staging environment, hosted under an obscure subdomain, has been indexed by threat actors scanning for exploitable misconfigs.
It’s intelligence that tells you when you’re being watched - not just when you’ve been hit.
The hidden risk: false confidence
One of the most dangerous things about relying on generic or bundled threat intelligence is the false sense of security it creates. When the alerts are quiet, leaders assume things are fine. But in many cases, the silence doesn’t mean “no threats” - it means “no visibility.”
Worse, when alerts do come through, they’re often so broad or irrelevant that teams stop paying attention altogether.
Meanwhile, the attackers are getting smarter. More targeted. More opportunistic. And if you’re in a mid-sized enterprise or growing scaleup, you’re firmly in their sights - big enough to matter, small enough to overlook cybersecurity blind spots.
Rethinking threat intelligence
You don’t need more dashboards. You need insight.
Here’s what that looks like:
- Tailored monitoring of your brand, domains, key personnel, and digital footprint
- Sector-specific intelligence that tracks how threat actors are adapting their tactics for your industry
- Actor-centric tracking that connects the dots between chatter, probes, and campaign activity
- Proactive alerts that tell you when you’re in the crosshairs - not when it’s already too late
This kind of threat intelligence isn’t something you install. It’s something you integrate - into your existing security stack, your response process, and your risk strategy.
Stop asking the wrong question
Too many companies are asking “Are we protected?” The better question is “Do we know when we’re being targeted?”
Because if your tools can’t answer that, it doesn’t matter how advanced or expensive they are. You’re not getting the threat intelligence you actually need.
Want to know what relevant threat intelligence looks like in action? Talk to the Talanos team today.
