Threat Intelligence in Cyber Deception: A Planning Guide

Why Threat Actors Matter

Every attacker operates with specific objectives. Whether financially motivated or state-sponsored, they only succeed when they achieve their goals. Understanding these objectives transforms how we deploy deceptions.

Financially motivated groups operate like businesses:

• They need quick returns on investment
• They abandon unprofitable targets
• They move between sectors seeking easy wins
• Groups like LAPSUS$ and Scattered Spider ask: "Is this worth our time?"

State-sponsored actors play a different game:

• They establish footholds for future operations
• They target supply chains for strategic access
• They measure success in years, not hours
• With state resources, they can afford patience

This distinction matters because different motivations require different deceptions.

What Threat Intelligence Actually Provides

Threat intelligence is analyzed information about adversary capabilities, intentions, and activities. For deception planning, it answers four critical questions:

• Who targets organizations like yours?
• What are they seeking?
• How do they operate once inside?
• Where do they typically look first?

Think of it like researching crime patterns in a neighborhood - you're not predicting specific incidents, you're understanding patterns to make informed security decisions.

Intelligence Drives Deception Placement

Random honeypot deployment wastes resources. Intelligence-driven placement ensures deceptions appear where attackers actually look.

Example scenarios:

If intelligence shows attackers in your industry typically:

• Search for AWS keys in code repositories → Place honey tokens in realistic repo locations
• Target specific database types → Create decoy databases matching those patterns
• Use particular lateral movement techniques → Design network segments that channel those movements

The key: match your deceptions to observed attacker behavior, not theoretical possibilities.

MITRE ENGAGE: From Theory to Practice

MITRE ENGAGE structures deception operations around five goals that create a continuous improvement cycle:

Prepare → Use intelligence to plan deceptions Expose → Force adversaries to reveal themselves Affect → Increase their operational costs Elicit → Learn new techniques from interactions Understand → Generate intelligence for future operations

Each deception interaction teaches you something new, improving future deployments.

What Intelligence Can and Can't Do

Intelligence provides:

• Industry-specific attack patterns
• Common attacker toolsets and techniques
• Typical targets within your sector
• Historical breach patterns

Intelligence doesn't provide:

• Exact attack timelines
• Guarantees of safety
• Complete threat coverage
• Perfect predictions

Use intelligence to prioritize and guide, not as absolute truth.

Building Your Intelligence-Driven Deception Program

Start with what you have:

1. Previous incidents - Your best intelligence source
2. Industry reports - Focus on your specific sector
3. Peer experiences - Learn from similar organizations
4. Open source data - GitHub, forums, security blogs

Ask the right questions:

• Which groups actually target businesses like mine?
• What assets do they typically seek?
• How do they validate discovered resources?
• Where do they establish persistence?

Deploy intelligently:

• Place deceptions based on actual attack patterns
• Match the sophistication to your real environment
• Monitor interactions to generate new intelligence
• Adapt based on what you learn

Measuring Success

Track metrics that matter:

• Detection rate of known threat actors
• Time to detection compared to traditional controls
• Intelligence generated from deception interactions
• False positive rate (should be near zero)

Success isn't catching every attacker - it's learning from each interaction to improve future defenses.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Over-relying on intelligence - Remember the unknown unknowns Analysis paralysis - Start simple and evolve Ignoring your own data - Internal incidents are gold Generic deployments - Customize to your environment

Getting Started Today

1. Document what you know

   • Recent incidents in your organization
   • Attack patterns in your industry
   • Your most valuable assets

2. Design simple deceptions

   • Honey tokens in likely search locations
   • Decoy systems matching your real environment
   • Breadcrumbs that tell believable stories

3. Deploy and learn

   • Start with 5-10 deceptions
   • Monitor all interactions
   • Document attacker behaviors
   • Refine based on results

4. Scale intelligently

   • Add deceptions where attackers look
   • Remove ones that never trigger
   • Increase sophistication gradually

Key Takeaways

Threat intelligence transforms deception from guesswork to strategy. Instead of hoping attackers stumble into honeypots, you're placing deceptions exactly where intelligence suggests they'll look.

Remember:

• Different threat actors require different deceptions
• Your own incidents provide the best intelligence
• Start simple and evolve based on what you learn
• Every interaction generates valuable intelligence

The goal isn't perfect security - it's ensuring that when attackers enter your environment, they encounter deceptions that expose their presence, waste their resources, and teach you how to defend better.

Ready to move beyond random honeypots? Start with what you know about attackers in your industry and build from there.