From the SOC to the C-Suite:

Why Threat Intelligence is Now a Board-Level Priority

From Defensive Maneuvering to Proactive Decision-Making

Threat intelligence is undergoing fundamental changes in both the breadth of its capabilities and its applications. We are seeing threat intelligence evolve from a tactical defensive tool—where teams are bringing in indicators of compromise and trying to make informed decisions around known risks—to a more proactive and strategic tool. Increasingly, enterprises are using threat intelligence to determine areas of investment, security tool purchasing, which supply chain or third party vendors to work with, and even how they train their employees.

Rather than looking at threat intelligence as a kind of routine reporting reserved for security teams, organizations are beginning to see its value in broader business decisionmaking. Today, threat intelligence is being used across the enterprise, informing decisions from the board and executive levels all the way down to day-to-day security operations.

With our 2025 State of Threat Intelligence report finding that 83% of organizations now run full-time threat intelligence teams, and most use intelligence to guide daily or weekly operations, it’s clear that what once began as a tactical advantage has now become a strategic necessity.

A Seat at the Boardroom Table: The Strategic Maturation of Threat Intelligence

These changes constitute a true paradigm shift in today’s enterprise security operations. In relatively short order, threat intelligence has evolved from just another security tool to an essential source of information for business strategy. So, what fueled this change?

Threat intelligence was once the domain of analysts hunched over indicators and dashboards. But as cyber risk began shaping balance sheets and brand value, intelligence moved beyond the SOC. Today, it informs everything from vulnerability management and incident response to compliance, insurance, and executive protection. The same datasets that once helped detect intrusions now guide procurement choices, risk modeling, and crisis communication plans.

As a result, we are seeing threat intelligence used by more than just security teams. It is now being used by governance, risk & compliance (GRC) teams, fraud teams, physical security teams, marketing and communications teams, and perhaps most importantly, by executive leadership teams and board leadership.

Modern threat intelligence shifts the narrative from “are we secure?” to “how much risk can we tolerate?” We're never going to reach zero risk. But with threat intelligence, we can ensure that we're operating at an acceptable level, where we can keep under control those things that would cause business disruption, competitive disadvantage, financial implications or regulatory failures.

In our 2025 State of Threat Intelligence Report, Recorded Future found that nearly three-quarters (73%) of surveyed security professionals report using threat intelligence, along with 48% of Incident response teams, 47% of risk management teams, and 46% vulnerability management teams.

This continued spread of threat intelligence across business functions signals a shift from threat intelligence as a tool for optimizing defensive posture to one for optimizing strategic integration and risk management.

The Board’s New Dashboard: Threat Intelligence as a Business Translator

As the board’s appetite for timely, relevant risk insight grows, threat intelligence provides a vital bridge between technical data and strategic clarity. Boards are increasingly demanding information and briefings that translate adversarial behavior into plain-language impacts, such as:

We can see these new applications play out in routine, yet vital, processes across the modern enterprise. Consider the following two scenarios and how they illustrate the ways in which threat intelligence is being used to determine executive and board-level decision-making:

These examples demonstrate how intelligence enables boards to truly act on risk, not just acknowledge it. With these tools, organizations are now able to use threat intelligence to decide which businesses to work with, which technologies to bring on board, and whether or not the business can expand into new regions safely and effectively.

Enterprises are increasing threat intelligence spend as security shifts from reactive defense to a holistic, intelligence-driven strategy. Modern intelligence helps detect attacks sooner, prioritize critical risks, and respond faster—strengthening vulnerability management, incident response, and board-level risk decisions. With ransomware, supply-chain attacks, and regulatory pressure on the rise, intelligence is now central to smarter, faster, and more effective enterprise-wide action.

2025 State of Threat Intelligence Report

Recorded Future

Intelligence as the Backbone of Enterprise Agility: How Threat Intelligence Keeps Orgs On Their Toes

Whereas in the past, an organization might use threat intelligence to inform their security posture, today, threat intelligence is being used in a much more holistic way, directly powering overall enterprise adaptability, resilience, and governance outcomes.

In today’s rapidly changing threat landscape—with the growth of advanced, AI-enabled threats, supply-chain attacks, and shifting global regulations—boards can no longer afford to rely on static risk models. And it is comprehensive, timely, and relevant threat intelligence that helps keep today’s models dynamic.

The majority of organizations today use threat intelligence to guide business decisions related to purchasing, risk assessment, and resource allocation. In our 2025 State of Threat Intelligence Report, Recorded Future found that:

With all of these figures representing year-over-year increases, it’s safe to say that the majority of organizations have already adopted this more holistic view of threat intelligence. And for those that haven’t, all signs seem to suggest that they soon will. At the very least, we can say that they certainly ought to.

Intelligence-Driven Governance Is Essential for Modern Risk Management

The widespread adoption of threat intelligence across operations (including board-level decision-making) marks a turning point in how organizations perceive risk and value intelligence. No longer confined to security operations, threat intelligence is now a cornerstone of enterprise governance—a means of continuously informing executive and board-level risk decisions with clarity and confidence.

In both its capabilities and its applications, threat intelligence has evolved dramatically over recent years, maturing from a reactive tool to a foundation for informed risk decisionmaking across the enterprise. From the SOC team, to the C-suite, and all the way to the board, threat intelligence is being used to inform a wide range of critical business decisions. With this larger shift in security from a reactive defense to a holistic, intelligence-driven strategy engine, enterprises are expanding their understanding and use of threat intelligence and seeing meaningful benefits as a result.

Want to learn more about the state of enterprise threat intelligence today? Download our 2025 State of Threat Intelligence Report here.

Interested in making modern threat intelligence a part of your board’s operations? Book a customized demo with Recorded Future today.