PIRs & Battle Scars - Lessons Learned from Implementing Intelligence Requirements
Andy Piazza
SAINTCON 2025 · Day 2 · Main Track 3
In his SAINTCON talk, "PIRs & Battle Scars - Lessons Learned from Implementing Intelligence Requirements," Andy Piazza, Senior Director for Threat Research at Unit42, delivers a candid and provocative critique of how the cybersecurity industry, particularly the threat intelligence community, approaches intelligence requirements. Piazza argues that traditional methodologies, often inherited from military or government intelligence, are fundamentally misaligned with the needs and understanding of business leaders, leading to stagnation, inefficiency, and a failure to deliver impactful security outcomes. His central thesis is that the industry's reliance on complex, jargon-laden frameworks like Priority Intelligence Requirements (PIRs) often confuses stakeholders rather than informing them, hindering effective defensive strategies.