Join Sean Martin, TAPE3, and a handful of guest contributors as they explore how cyber threat intelligence can become a leadership signal that drives real business decisions and strategic growth. Hear how security and risk leaders use CTI to shape investments, partnerships, and resilience where it matters most.
Cyber threat intelligence (CTI) is no longer just a technical stream of indicators or a feed for security operations center teams. In this episode, Ryan Patrick, Vice President at HITRUST; John Salomon, Board Member at the Cybersecurity Advisors Network (CyAN); Tod Beardsley, Vice President of Security Research at runZero; Wayne Lloyd, Federal Chief Technology Officer at RedSeal; Chip Witt, Principal Security Analyst at Radware; and Jason Kaplan, Chief Executive Officer at SixMap, each bring their perspective on why threat intelligence must become a leadership signal that shapes decisions far beyond the security team.
From Risk Reduction to Opportunity
Ryan Patrick explains how organizations are shifting from compliance checkboxes to meaningful, risk-informed decisions that influence structure, operations, and investments. This point is reinforced by John Salomon, who describes CTI as a clear, relatable area of security that motivates chief information security officers to exchange threat information with peers — cooperation that multiplies each organization’s resources and builds a stronger industry front against emerging threats.
Real Business Context
Tod Beardsley outlines how CTI can directly support business and investment moves, especially when organizations evaluate mergers and acquisitions. Wayne Lloyd highlights the importance of network context, showing how enriched intelligence helps teams move from reactive cleanups to proactive management that ties directly to operational resilience and insurance negotiations.
Chip Witt pushes the conversation further by describing CTI as a business signal that aligns threat trends with organizational priorities. Jason Kaplan brings home the reality that for Fortune 500 security teams, threat intelligence is a race — whoever finds the gap first, the defender or the attacker, determines who stays ahead.
More Than Defense
The discussion makes clear that the real value of CTI is not the data alone but the way it helps organizations make decisions that protect, adapt, and grow. This episode challenges listeners to see CTI as more than a defensive feed — it is a strategic advantage when used to strengthen deals, influence product direction, and build trust where it matters most.
Tune in to hear how these leaders see the role of threat intelligence changing and why treating it as a leadership signal can shape competitive edge.
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Sean Martin is a life-long musician and the host of the Music Evolves Podcast; a career technologist, cybersecurity professional, and host of the Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast; and is also the co-host of both the Random and Unscripted Podcast and On Location Event Coverage Podcast. These shows are all part of ITSPmagazine—which he co-founded with his good friend Marco Ciappelli, to explore and discuss topics at The Intersection of Technology, Cybersecurity, and Society.™️
Want to connect with Sean and Marco On Location at an event or conference near you? See where they will be next: https://www.itspmagazine.com/on-location
To learn more about Sean, visit his personal website.
Cyber threat intelligence (CTI) has long lived in the shadows of technical operations: endless threat feeds, indicators of compromise, and complex threat reports delivered to security operations center teams. But in an era where cyber risk equals business risk, that is changing fast.
The smartest organizations increasingly treat CTI as a leadership signal, a stream of adversarial insight that can shape not only security posture but also business direction and growth. In line with this, boards and chief information security officers are demanding clearer answers. According to Gartner, nearly half of board directors rank cyber risk as a top enterprise risk.¹ That means threat intelligence must do more than feed detection engines; it must help leaders answer bigger questions:
What emerging threats could derail growth?
Where should we invest?
How can we adapt before adversaries do?
Where can we gain an advantage competitors will miss?
John Salomon, Board Member at non-profit Cybersecurity Advisors Network (CyAN), adds: "CTI is one of the clearest and most engaging parts of security. It gets senior leaders to pay attention and motivates CISOs to share information with peers. C-levels who see this kind of cooperation between otherwise competing companies are more likely to encourage security collaboration at all levels. This acts as a multiplier for any organization's resources by allowing them to benefit from peers' experience and making it more likely that the industry can spot, analyze, track, and defeat complex emerging threats."
"Cyber threat intelligence is helping us shift from compliance-centric conversations to risk-informed ones," says Ryan Patrick, Vice President at HITRUST. "It is changing how leadership structures the organization, operational evolution, and capital investments."
This is more than risk reduction. It is opportunity. Forward-looking companies can turn threat data into strategic business decisions that create competitive edge. A manufacturer could combine threat intelligence with supply chain data to choose more resilient partners, reduce downtime, and assure customers of reliability, winning contracts that others cannot. A technology company could spot where new regulations and emerging threats overlap, accelerating product features that strengthen trust and win market share.
Organizations are reshaping how CTI is collected, analyzed, and presented. Many chief information security officers now bring threat intelligence into quarterly board reviews, moving CTI from analyst reports to the strategic agenda. This shift is necessary because the digital environment is more fluid than ever. Hybrid work, cloud sprawl, and mergers and acquisitions constantly reshape risk exposure.
"One standout area for CISOs to shine in guiding business and investment decisions is the rapid and confident assessment of exposure and posture during mergers and acquisitions," says Tod Beardsley, Vice President of Security Research at runZero.
Too often, hidden vulnerabilities appear only after the deal closes. Modern CTI, combined with continuous asset discovery, can help leaders find surprises early and strengthen deals. When threat intelligence is connected to business context, the conversation shifts from "where are we vulnerable" to "how do we strengthen our advantage."
Wayne Lloyd, Federal Chief Technology Officer at RedSeal, Inc., explains: "When threat intelligence is enriched with network context, it shifts organizations from reactive triage to proactive risk management. This supports better investments, stronger insurance positioning, and faster compliance readiness." It can also help leaders connect cyber exposure to continuity, revenue streams, and customer trust.
The hardest part is not gathering data but turning raw intelligence into clear action. Many feeds still overwhelm teams with noise. Too often, operations teams discard signals because they cannot validate them in time. Artificial intelligence and smarter tooling can close this gap, filtering noise and surfacing intelligence that matters for business decisions.
"Cyber threat intelligence is no longer just a technical feed; it is a source of business insight that helps leaders anticipate risk and make informed decisions. By aligning threat trends with organizational priorities, it enables proactive action that protects both operations and outcomes. CTI gives leadership the visibility to navigate uncertainty with confidence and clarity," says Chip Witt, Principal Security Analyst at Radware.
Jason Kaplan, Chief Executive Officer at SixMap, Inc., notes: "We increasingly hear from Fortune 500 CISOs that cyber threat intelligence is a velocity game. Who finds a risk first, your team or the attacker? The right CTI approach can help leaders make faster, smarter trade-offs and stay ahead." That speed is not just about defense. It can mean acting before markets shift, protecting operations, and launching initiatives while others hesitate.
Mature CISOs can embed threat intelligence into everyday operations beyond the security operations center. They can adjust third-party risk scoring, shape product timelines, and guide supply chain choices. When intelligence shows that a threat group is targeting an industry, leaders can reroute investments, adjust partnerships, or reinforce resilience to keep the business running while others scramble.
CTI also shapes how organizations communicate with partners, regulators, and insurers. Demonstrating that threat intelligence informs real business moves builds trust and can lower costs. Some insurers may begin to factor CTI maturity into policy pricing, if they haven't already.
Yet too many companies still see CTI as an input, not a driver. Changing that view takes trust between security, operations, and the board. Security leaders who succeed tell clear stories about threats and opportunities, not fear but foresight.
In the coming months, the gap between proactive defenders and reactive responders will grow. Companies that treat CTI as a leadership signal, not just a technical feed, will make faster, better decisions. They will act before threats disrupt them and capture advantages while others wait.
CTI’s real value is not the data alone. It is the clarity it brings to choices that shape how companies make decisions around growth, competition, and leading the market.
Gartner. (2024). Emerging Risk Response: Cybersecurity. Gartner, Inc. Retrieved from https://www.gartner.com/en/audit-risk/trends/emerging-risk-response-cybersecurity
How is your organization using threat intelligence beyond defense? Are you seeing CTI help shape business growth, market positioning, or competitive strategy? 🤔
Your experience might help another leader find opportunity hidden in their own threat data.
Drop a comment below or tag us in your posts! 💬
What's your perspective on this story? Want to share it with Sean on a podcast? Let him know!
Sean Martin is a life-long musician and the host of the Music Evolves Podcast; a career technologist, cybersecurity professional, and host of the Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast; and is also the co-host of both the Random and Unscripted Podcast and On Location Event Coverage Podcast. These shows are all part of ITSPmagazine—which he co-founded with his good friend Marco Ciappelli, to explore and discuss topics at The Intersection of Technology, Cybersecurity, and Society.™️
Want to connect with Sean and Marco On Location at an event or conference near you? See where they will be next: https://www.itspmagazine.com/on-location
To learn more about Sean, visit his personal website.