Evolving Cyber Threat Intelligence: A Systematic Review and Comparative Analysis

Abstract

To improve cybersecurity across industries, Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) is becoming increasingly crucial. This systematic review explores how CTI practices are evolving in response to advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly in the context of Large Language Models (LLMs). We examined 61 peer-reviewed studies using the PRISMA methodology, which demonstrates a strict selection procedure founded on specified inclusion, exclusion, and quality standards. This approach aligns with the scope of similar systematic reviews in the field of cyber threat intelligence. The review provides a comparative synthesis of CTI research capabilities across threat detection and prediction, attribution, forecasting, and automated reporting. We classify these approaches into three categories: conventional methods, those enhanced by AI and Machine Learning, and those based on LLMs. Our findings indicate that LLMs offer significant advantages in contextual reasoning, processing unstructured threat intelligence, and generating actionable mitigation plans. However, challenges such as model explainability, data privacy, system interoperability, and standardization impede their integration into operational environments. In addition to highlighting the potential and practical limitations of LLMs in CTI, this study identifies research gaps and proposes methods to create scalable, secure, and flexible CTI systems that support real-time cyber defense.