The Jellyfish Effect: Why Cyber Intelligence Matters Against Emerging Threats
Early, effective intervention and prevention of cyber attacks is the white whale of cybersecurity.
If only cyber professionals could accurately predict threats and vulnerabilities with 100% accuracy, and intervene effectively the first time emerging threats start to rear their ugly heads!
Living and working in the Digital Age means more and more opportunities for bad actors to attack the cyber world required for our connected life (Aslan et al. 2023). While we have become increasingly dependent on technology for day-to-day communications and operations, we have not succeeded in foolproof prevention of cyber attacks. The realities of cybersecurity in a hyperconnected society tend to include some level of reactive defense, especially when it comes to emerging threats from sources and approaches we have not seen before.
Emerging Cyber Threats: A Jellyfish in the Digital Ocean
I recall the first time I saw a jellyfish in the ocean - I was 5 or 6 years old and was mesmerized by the way the translucent jellyfish looked suspended in the clear water. I reached out and touched it, only to be fiercely stung in return. How could something so intriguing hurt that bad? Emerging cyber threats can present like the jellyfish - a novel observance that can leave you with piercing pain if you don’t recognize the threat level they present. In the realm of technology, the tools and programs we use are always changing. There’s always a new “jellyfish” floating up toward the top of the surf. New and changing technologies contribute to why cyber attacks are on the rise (Aslan et al. 2023). Cyber professionals must be conscious of the ever-changing landscape of cyber threats and implement processes for early threat detection.
AI: A Double-Edged Sword When it Comes to Emerging Cyber Threats
Artificial intelligence (AI)-facilitated cyber attacks are one such emerging threat that has the potential to disrupt many aspects of technology. According to Guembe et al. (2022), AI-facilitated cyber attacks will be much more sophisticated than traditional cyber attacks. These emerging threats will have the capabilities to learn as they go, not requiring a human hacker to program them to adapt to obstacles encountered; instead, they will evolve and adapt as necessary to succeed in a breach (Guembe et al. 2022). On the other hand, AI can be useful in helping us combat emerging threats. After the Pegasus spyware attack, Pakistan’s government got serious about implementing AI in a way that enhances its cyber defenses (Javed, 2021). Modern cyber attacks tend to be more complex than just stealing one login credential - they often hit multiple points of attack; hence, why having an AI-empowered cyber response can help improve defenses (Javed, 2021).
Enhancing Cybersecurity with Effective Cyber Intelligence
Cyber intelligence can be helpful in enhancing cybersecurity as it pertains to emerging threats, as it can provide real-time data related to cybersecurity on a continuous basis (Spyros et al. 2025). This is far more superior to waiting on the IT folks to login to the network and assess a breach. Cyber intelligence provides a 24/7 steady stream of data related to security and threats, which can be very useful in terms of effective prevention and effective response. It can help us identify vulnerabilities much sooner than we would be able to otherwise. Additionally, it can help us constantly strengthen our cyber defenses through regular updates in strategy and information. One challenge of cyber intelligence is sifting through large amounts of data that it has the potential to collect, and determining what’s useful and what’s not. According to Spyros et al. 2025, AI programs, such as ThreatWise AI, can be very useful in assisting cyber professionals with this task.
Emerging cyber threats require a new approach to cyber risk assessments, and cyber intelligence can greatly assist in this endeavor. According to Amin et al. (2024), integrating cyber intelligence into the risk assessment phase of cybersecurity can improve accuracy and effectiveness. This future-focused approach to risk management expands beyond just focusing on historic threats; instead, it takes into account the realities of emerging threats coming onto the landscape. Such information helps position organizations to respond in an effective manner to cyberattacks that may go beyond your more traditional data breaches. Understanding the enemy - not just understanding the internal network - is an important part of effectively integrating cyber intelligence in risk assessments.
Emerging Challenges Related to Cyber Intelligence
Challenges with cyber intelligence include ongoing concerns related to analyzing a large amount of data that gets collected, fast and accurate processing of the data, and supporting privacy (Dhanushkodi and Thejas 2024). Everything collected by cyber intelligence won’t be useful. There can be some major concerns regarding accurate accreditation for cyber crimes. Also, the programs we utilize for cyber intelligence are at risk of being hacked and manipulated themselves. Nothing in our digital world is 100% secure 100% of the time. Understanding the realities of the evolving cyber domain is a key part of any sustainable security plan for the future.
In a world where cyber threat actors are using all the “big tech”, such as AI, to disrupt our networks, we want to make sure we’re meeting them “toe-to-toe” in terms of capabilities; however, the utilization of these potentially highly intrusive, data-driven programs is not without concerns. It’s critical that we understand the realities of undiscovered threats that exist in the realm of new and emerging cyber threats, and prioritize the responsible and ethical collection of cyber intelligence needed to combat the new things threatening our systems, organizations, and society.
References:
Amin, Habib El, Ellatif Samhat Abed, Maroun Chamoun, Lina Oueidat, and Antoine Feghali. 2024. "An Integrated Approach to Cyber Risk Management with Cyber Threat Intelligence Framework to Secure Critical Infrastructure." Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy 4 (2): 357. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/jcp4020018.
Aslan, Ömer, Semih Serkant Aktuğ, Merve Ozkan-Okay, Abdullah Asim Yilmaz, and Erdal Akin. "A Comprehensive Review of Cyber Security Vulnerabilities, Threats, Attacks, and Solutions." Electronics 12, no. 6 (2023): 1333. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics12061333.
Dhanushkodi, Kavitha, and S. Thejas. “AI Enabled Threat Detection: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Advanced Security and Cyber Threat Mitigation.” IEEE Access 12 (2024): 173127–36. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3493957.
Guembe, Blessing, Ambrose Azeta, Sanjay Misra, Victor Chukwudi Osamor, Luis Fernandez-Sanz, and Vera Pospelova. 2022. “The Emerging Threat of Ai-Driven Cyber Attacks: A Review.” Applied Artificial Intelligence 36 (1): 1–34. doi:10.1080/08839514.2022.2037254.
Javed, Zeeshan. 2021. “The Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Enhancement of Cyber Security of Pakistan.” Journal of Contemporary Studies 10 (2): 1–15.
Spyros, Arnolnt, Ilias Koritsas, Angelos Papoutsis, Panos Panagiotou, Despoina Chatzakou, Dimitrios Kavallieros, Theodora Tsikrika, Stefanos Vrochidis, and Ioannis Kompatsiaris. 2025. “AI-Based Holistic Framework for Cyber Threat Intelligence Management.” IEEE Access 13: 20820–20846. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3533084.