Guys recently i felt threat actors can target CTI folks
Recently i came across aikido's X post about their malware researcher being named in the Team PCP supply chain attack. It got me thinking about something: when researchers’ names are publicly attached to threat actor activity, does that potentially put the individual at risk?
I’ve also noticed quite a few instances where threat actors or security groups publicly name researchers, analysts, or other people involved in CTI. Sometimes analysts also considered that as a win and credibility to their work and starts flexing in Linkedin.
A few months back, I also remember reading about threat actors allegedly threatening Google CTI/security folks. That made me wonder how the industry should actually approach this.
I’m a pentester and just a regular follower of the CTI , so I’m curious to hear from people who work in CTI:
- Should researchers’ identities be kept more private when publishing threat intelligence?
- Do organizations have any specific safety protocols for CTI researchers who become personally targeted?
- Where do we draw the line between attribution/transparency and unnecessarily exposing an individual?
- Is this something the industry is already taking seriously, or is it still somewhat overlooked?
Just thought I’d ask the community. Interested in hearing how people working in CTI see this.
Posted Sep 1, 2026, 9:45 AM UTC