Maturity assessment

CTI Programme Maturity Assessment

Maturity Levels

Level	Name	Description
1	Ad-hoc	No formal CTI function. Reactive, incident-driven. Intelligence is incidental.
2	Emerging	Basic CTI capability. Some collection, limited analysis. Primarily tactical (IOC feeds).
3	Defined	Formal CTI function with documented processes. Strategic, operational, and tactical output. PIRs defined.
4	Managed	Mature CTI programme. Stakeholder-driven, measured effectiveness, feedback loops. Proactive intelligence.
5	Optimized	Intelligence-driven organisation. CTI informs all security decisions. Continuous improvement, advanced analytics, community contribution.

Assessment Dimensions

1. Collection

Level	Indicators
1	No systematic collection. Ad-hoc Google searches when incidents occur.
2	1-2 threat feeds (usually free). No collection plan.
3	Multiple sources across OSINT, commercial feeds, ISACs. Collection plan exists. Source assessment applied.
4	Comprehensive collection mapped to PIRs. Source quality tracked. Dark web monitoring. Automated collection pipelines.
5	Full-spectrum collection. HUMINT relationships (ISACs, vendors, government). Predictive collection based on emerging threat indicators.

2. Analysis

Level	Indicators
1	No analysis. Raw data forwarded to SOC.
2	Basic enrichment (VirusTotal lookups). IOC correlation. No structured techniques.
3	Structured analysis applied. Threat assessments produced. ATT&CK mapping. Confidence levels used.
4	Full SAT toolkit (ACH, red team, horizon scanning). Knowledge cells maintained. Alternative hypotheses routinely considered.
5	Advanced analytics. Machine learning augments human analysis. Predictive threat modelling. Community-leading analysis.

3. Production

Level	Indicators
1	No intelligence products. Maybe an IOC spreadsheet.
2	Ad-hoc alerts and IOC lists. No standard templates. Inconsistent quality.
3	Standardised products (flash reports, assessments). TLP applied. Likelihood language used. Quality review process.
4	Full product suite tailored to stakeholder needs. Detection rules (SIGMA/YARA/KQL). STIX bundles for sharing.
5	Dynamic intelligence products. Real-time dashboards. Automated tactical output. Strategic foresight publications.

4. Dissemination

Level	Indicators
1	Intelligence stays within the CTI team.
2	IOCs pushed to SIEM/EDR. Some ad-hoc briefings.
3	Products reach defined stakeholders. TLP-governed sharing. Regular briefing cadence.
4	Tailored delivery per stakeholder. Integration with SOAR/TIP. Feedback collected. ISAC participation.
5	Intelligence embedded in all security workflows. Automated dissemination. External sharing (STIX/TAXII). Industry thought leadership.

5. Management

Level	Indicators
1	No CTI manager. Analyst works in isolation.
2	Informal CTI role. No PIRs. No stakeholder engagement.
3	Formal CTI function. PIRs defined and reviewed. Stakeholder register maintained. SOPs documented.
4	Programme measured on outcomes. KPIs tracked. Budget justified. Regular programme reviews.
5	CTI programme informs security strategy. Board-level reporting. CTI drives investment decisions.

6. Tooling

Level	Indicators
1	Email and spreadsheets only.
2	Free tools (VirusTotal, MISP community). Manual processes.
3	TIP deployed. OSINT tools in use. Some automation.
4	Integrated toolchain. API-driven enrichment. SOAR integration. Custom tooling where needed.
5	AI-augmented analysis. Full automation of tactical workflows. Custom detection engineering pipeline.

Self-Assessment Questionnaire

For each dimension, select the level that BEST describes current capability:

## CTI Maturity Self-Assessment

**Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Assessed by**: [Name/Role]

| Dimension | Current Level | Target Level | Gap |
|-----------|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| Collection | _ | _ | _ |
| Analysis | _ | _ | _ |
| Production | _ | _ | _ |
| Dissemination | _ | _ | _ |
| Management | _ | _ | _ |
| Tooling | _ | _ | _ |
| **Overall** | **_** | **_** | **_** |

### Key Findings
[What are the biggest gaps?]

### Recommended Actions
1. [Highest-impact improvement]
2. [Second priority]
3. [Third priority]

### Timeline
[Realistic timeline for reaching target maturity]

Improvement Priorities

When improving maturity, prioritise in this order:

1. Management (PIRs, stakeholders) — without direction, other improvements are wasted
2. Collection — can't analyse what you don't have
3. Analysis — transform data into intelligence
4. Production — package intelligence effectively
5. Dissemination — get intelligence to decision-makers
6. Tooling — automate and scale (last, not first)

This order reflects a common mistake: organisations buy tools (Level 6) before establishing processes (Levels 1-5). Tools amplify process — if the process is broken, tools amplify the problem.