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Security teams face constant pressure to sift through vast data to identify threats, assess risks, and respond promptly. Imagine a scenario where a Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) team is investigating a sophisticated phishing campaign targeting their organization. Clues are minimal, and time is critical. This is where the Microsoft Copilot for Security integration with ThreatConnect becomes a game-changer.
The Challenge
One morning, reports came in about a potential phishing attack. Several employees have received suspicious emails that appear legitimate but contain malicious links. These emails are highly targeted, mimicking internal communications with an unknown threat actor behind them. The CTI team’s objectives are clear:
- Identify the indicators of compromise (IOCs) in the phishing emails.
- Determine if the threat aligns with known adversary patterns.
- Produce actionable intelligence to inform the incident response team’s strategy.
Faced with limited information and the need for a quick response, the CTI team turns to the integrated Microsoft Copilot for Security within ThreatConnect.
How the Microsoft Copilot Integration Enhances the Investigation
Step 1: Rapid IOC Identification
Using Copilot’s natural language processing capabilities, the team inputs:
“What does ThreatConnect know about the domain ‘secure-update-notice.com’?”
Copilot rapidly searches ThreatConnect’s intelligence data, providing a concise summary:
- The domain has been flagged in recent phishing campaigns.
- It’s linked to a threat actor group known as “Silver Falcon.”
- Related IOCs include specific IP addresses and malware hashes.
Step 2: Investigating Threat Actor Groups
To gain a broader understanding of the adversary, the team uses a skill command:
/tcGetGroups adversary called “Silver Falcon”
Copilot retrieves comprehensive information on Silver Falcon, including their tactics, techniques, and historical campaigns. This provides immediate context, suggesting that the phishing attack may be part of this group’s larger, coordinated effort.
Step 3: Generating Advanced TQL Queries
The team needs to uncover related indicators within their data. Instead of manually crafting complex queries, they use Copilot to generate a ThreatConnect Query Language (TQL) query:
/tcGenerateBasicTQL indicators associated with “Silver Falcon” from the past 30 days
Copilot generates a ready-to-use TQL query, saving valuable time and enabling the team to pull relevant intelligence for analysis quickly.
Step 4: Summarizing Intelligence for Stakeholders
To communicate findings efficiently, the team requests a summary from Copilot:
“Summarize key findings related to the phishing attack and Silver Falcon.”
Copilot generates a precise summary, highlighting the critical aspects:
- The phishing campaign is targeting financial sector organizations.
- Silver Falcon employs sophisticated social engineering tactics.
- Recommended mitigations include blocking identified domains and IPs and enhancing team member awareness.
The Impact of Microsoft Copilot Integration
Using the Microsoft Copilot Integration for ThreatConnect, the CTI team completes the investigation with impressive efficiency:
- Time Savings: Cut the time to gather and analyze data from hours to minutes.
- Increased Accuracy: Reduced the risk of missing critical indicators or connections.
- Effective Communication: Enabled concise summaries for quick team alignment.
- Swift Response: Empowered the security team to implement countermeasures promptly.
Why This Integration Matters for CTI Teams
The integration of Microsoft Copilot’s AI with ThreatConnect brings several benefits to CTI teams:
1. Faster Analysis and Investigation: Natural language queries and skill commands provide rapid access to relevant intelligence without manual searches.
2. Task Automation: Automated generation of queries and summaries alleviates the workload on analysts, allowing them to focus on complex issues.
3. Improved Collaboration: AI-driven summaries and reports make sharing insights with broader teams and decision-makers easier.
4. Enhanced Threat Intelligence: The ability to process and summarize large datasets enables the team to generate richer, more actionable intelligence.
Empowering Cybersecurity with AI
This case demonstrates the transformative power of integrating Microsoft Copilot with ThreatConnect for any CTI team. As they work to stay ahead of emerging threats, this integration accelerates their processes, enhances data quality, and provides an AI-powered ally to help make informed, timely decisions.
Microsoft Copilot for Security, integrated with ThreatConnect, offers a powerful and efficient solution for organizations looking to elevate their security operations. Visit the ThreatConnect Marketplace to explore the integration and see how it can strengthen your cybersecurity defenses.