Inoreader - My Threat Intel Secret Weapon
RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, is a web standard that’s been around for almost 25 years but gained widespread popularity in 2005–2006 when Google Reader was released. After it’s discontinuation in 2013 (RIP), RSS usage has steadily declined, and I all but wrote it off.
That was until the end of 2021 when I started a new role as a Threat Intelligence analyst in my company’s Cybersecurity organization. To say I was not prepared for the amount of news and information you need to go through would be an understatement. After researching different RSS reader applications, I settled on Inoreader (which ironically started in 2013 right after Google Reader was shut down).
So how did Inoreader improve my threat intelligence intake - automation and alerting. It has allowed me to stay up-to-date on the latest vulnerabilities, data breaches, ransomware threats, and emerging trends while not needing to constantly be checking 80 different feeds.
The “fun” begins after adding the sources and feeds you’re interested in following. First, I have a folder of feeds I check every post on. This is the first thing I check in the morning and contains sources that regularly provide valuable information. The remaining feeds are placed in another folder where they can easily be referenced, but otherwise are rarely manually checked. The real value of automation and alerting comes in their Rules feature. Using Rules, you can automatically assign tags, sort out articles before reading them and best of all, get notifications sent to your smartphone.
By fine tuning the rules, you’ll only receive notifications that are worth following up on.
Another nice feature is the ability to follow Telegram channels or Reddit feeds. There are a lot of channels for threat actor groups, markets, and data leaks. Inoreader makes it easy to follow and search these channels without having to visit them.
Additional to not being prepared for the amount of news I needed to keep on top of, I was not prepared for how much I would enjoy Cyber Threat Intelligence. RSS, and in particular Inoreader, have improved and the way I stay on top of Cybersecurity news and make sure I don’t miss important events.
*One note to add, some of these features and capabilities (especially creating Rules) require a subscription to their Pro plan.
