Operational threat intelligence involves gathering detailed information about specific threats to an organization. It is often derived from various sources, including human intelligence, social media, chat rooms, and other platforms where data about malicious activities can be collected. This type of intelligence is focused on understanding the specifics of a threat, such as the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of threat actors, and is used to inform the organization about imminent or ongoing attacks.

In the scenario described, John, a threat analyst, is collecting information from diverse sources to create a report on malicious activity. This aligns with the practices of operational threat intelligence, which is concerned with the details of particular threats and activities, rather than broader strategic trends or technical indicators.