In times of geopolitical and economic instability, no organisation would consider running without backups, additional support, clear end goals, and company-wide communication. Within business, the wisdom of strength in numbers and power in unity is widely understood. However, when it comes to its cybersecurity – a critical pillar that reputation, safety, and resilience rely upon – the opposite often happens. Cybersecurity is often treated as a siloed function within organisations and their workforces, despite the increasingly complex and volatile threat landscape, writes Leon Ward, Chief Transformation Officer at ThreatQuotient, A Securonix Company.
Not a ‘Single Point of Failure’
Recent high-profile incidents, such as attacks in the retail sector or the closure of KNP following a devastating breach, have pushed cybersecurity onto the boardroom agenda. However, as it rises in visibility, a fundamental misunderstanding persists about how protection works. Responsibility for security is frequently concentrated on a few individuals. SOC teams are expected to carry the weight of an organisation’s defence, while employees across HR, finance, and operations are told to spot sophisticated threats with minimal context. Senior leaders, fearful of financial or reputational fallout, often reinforce the notion that “humans are the weakest link.” This is not only unhelpful but unsustainable. Overburdened SOC teams face burnout, employees make mistakes when pressured without support, and costly breaches inevitably follow. Humans are indeed a critical part of cybersecurity, but they cannot be the only line of defence.
Cybersecurity must be treated as an organisation-wide responsibility, woven into day-to-day operations and visible across the workforce. This is where threat intelligence proves invaluable. By surfacing relevant TTPs, attack vectors, and sector-specific risks, intelligence provides the context employees need. Instead of vague warnings to “stay vigilant,” staff can be briefed on the latest phishing campaigns targeting their industry, shown what to watch for, and given clear escalation paths. Effective threat intelligence sharing reduces the risk of a single point of failure and distributes responsibility across the organisation.
No ‘Silver Bullet’
AI is increasingly being touted as a silver bullet: a tool that can hunt down threats autonomously and eradicate phishing attempts like a digital immune system. For many boards, this looks like a neat solution – another “member of staff” to drop into the SOC and expect twice as much in terms of results. However, AI without oversight, context, or clear goals can create as many problems as it solves. Deploying new technology without first understanding the specific risks an organisation faces risks unnecessary spending, misaligned expectations, and even new vulnerabilities.
That said, AI and automation can add enormous value when properly integrated. Within a threat intelligence platform, AI-driven triage and profiling can accelerate hunting, reduce analyst workloads, and push relevant intelligence to the right teams at speed. When combined with human oversight and organisational context, these tools turn data into actionable intelligence – enabling teams to scale their responses at the speed of risk.
Value of shared intelligence
Adversaries operate collaboratively: they share tools, infrastructure, and techniques globally, moving faster than any single organisation can respond. If defenders remain siloed, they are forced to repeat the same mistakes and fight the same battles – often reactively, rather than proactively. At ThreatQuotient, a Securonix company, our annual cybersecurity automation adoption reports have been tracking market sentiment, including threat intelligence sharing and use cases, and have captured a growing shift within industry. Last year, our report ‘The Evolution of Cybersecurity Automation Adoption’ found that 99pc of cybersecurity professionals reported sharing threat intelligence through at least one channel, with 54pc sharing cyber threat intelligence with their direct partners and suppliers, and 48 per cent sharing with others in their industry through official threat intelligence sharing communities.
In an exclusive preview of our upcoming report, launching this October, 31 per cent of respondents said they now share threat intelligence with others outside of their industry – a sharp rise from the 6pc who said this last year.
This collective model mirrors adversary behaviour and multiplies the value of intelligence. Threat actors are documented as hopping rapidly from one sector to the next, which can leave industries soon to be targeted on the back foot. Through sharing details across the borders of industries in threat intelligence sharing communities, peers can help strengthen entire business ecosystems and supply chains. This collaboration raises the baseline of vigilance, even for organisations that may not yet have mature security programs. Threat intelligence communities benefit from hosting both large and small organisations, with smaller organisations benefiting from the resources of larger organisations, while also alerting to and confirming attacks at various points within a supply chain.
From compliance to a cybersecurity culture
Too often, cybersecurity awareness is treated as a compliance exercise, with training sessions, box-ticking, and policy documents. Effective use of threat intelligence allows organisations to move beyond compliance and embed security into their culture. When it is integrated into employee training, SOC workflows, executive briefings, and cross-department communication, security ceases to be a burden placed on individuals. Instead, it becomes a shared responsibility and a collective practice, where employees are empowered rather than blamed and SOC teams can focus on critical threats instead of drowning in pressure and noise. When intelligence flows not just across teams, but across industries, awareness becomes scalable and sustainable – and leaders gain clarity to treat cyber risk as a strategic issue, rather than just an IT problem.
Cybersecurity cannot rest on a single person, password, or team. It must be built on controlled, intelligent, and collective responses. Threat intelligence makes this possible; arming individuals with context, supporting stretched SOCs, and connecting organisations into shared defence ecosystems.
By weaving intelligence into everyday operations and extending its reach beyond organisational borders, businesses can move past the myth of “the weakest link.” What emerges instead is resilience built on shared responsibility and awareness that scales, defences that adapt, and industries that stand stronger together.
