What is Threat Hunting in Cyber Security?

What is Threat Hunting in Cyber Security?

Threat hunting in cyber security is the most used active information security process and strategy by security analysts. It consists of searching iteratively through network, cloud, and endpoint system logs for indicators of compromise (IoCs), threat actor tactics, methods, and procedures (TTPs), and advanced persistent threats (APTs) that escape your existing security system. Threat intelligence organizations have identified a known attacker whose code pattern is on a list. A threat-hunting framework can be highly effective for protecting critical infrastructures against cyber threats and suspicious activity....

How Does Threat Hunting Work?

A successful threat-hunting program depends on the large amount of data in a specific environment. Cyber threat hunters add a human element to enterprise security by complementing automated technologies. They are highly experienced IT security experts who locate, log, monitor, and eliminate threats before they can cause serious problems Ideally, they are security analysts from a company’s IT department who know its operations well, but they can also be external analysts. Threat hunting is the skill of detecting unknowns in the environment. It goes beyond typical detection technologies like SIEM and EDR. Threat hunters search through security data. They search for hidden malware or attackers, as well as patterns of suspicious activity that a computer can have missed or judged....

Why Threat Hunting in Cyber Security is Important?

Threat hunting is complementary to the normal process of threat detection, response, and remediation while security systems examine raw data to generate alarms, threat hunting works in parallel, using queries and automation to extract hunting leads from the same data. Hunting leads are then analyzed by human threat hunters, who are skilled in identifying the signals of adversary activity, which can be handled using the same pipeline. Threat hunting is important because sophisticated threats can bypass automated cybersecurity. Although automated security technologies and tier 1 and 2 security operations center (SOC) analysts should be able to handle approximately 80% of attacks, you should still be concerned about the remaining 20%. The remaining 20% of threats are more likely to be sophisticated and cause significant damage. Effective threat hunting reduces the time between intrusion and discovery, limiting attacker harm....

Types of Threat Hunting

Structured hunting: It is typically based on an attacker’s indicator of attack (IoA) and their tactics, methods, and procedures (TTP). Unstructured hunting: An unstructured hunt begins with a trigger, one of many signs of compromise. Situational or entity-driven: A situational hypothesis comes from an enterprise’s internal risk assessment or trends and vulnerabilities study unique to its IT environment....

Steps of Threat Hunting in Cyber Security

Step 1: A trigger points threat hunters to a system or area of the network for further investigation when advanced detection tools identify unwanted actions that can indicate malicious activity. Step 2: During the investigating phase, the threat hunter mostly uses technology such as EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) to take a deep dive into the potential malicious compromise of a system. Step 3: In the resolution phase, pertinent malicious activity intelligence is passed on to operations and security teams, allowing them to respond to the event and mitigate threats....

Hunting Models

Advanced analytics and machine learning investigations: This approach uses advanced data analysis and machine learning to filter through enormous amounts of data to find irregularities that may indicate potential malicious activity. These anomalies become hunting leads, and expert analysts explore them to identify stealthy threats....

Threat Hunting Tools

Security Information and Event Management: SIEM is the main nerve center for threat hunting, which centralizes various data sources to detect security threats. Managed detection and response systems: MDR applies threat intelligence and proactive threat hunting to detect and remediate advanced attacks. This type of security solution can help reduce attack dwell time and respond fast to network attacks. Analytical Tools: Statistical and intelligence analysis software generates visual reports using interactive charts and graphs, making it easier to correlate things and find patterns....

What’s the Difference Between Threat Hunting and Threat Intelligence?

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Conclusion

In this article, we have learned about Threat hunting in cyber security. Threat hunting has become a favorite in many company’s security programs because it ensures a level of situational awareness, that other methods can not reach so quickly....

Frequently Asked Questions on Threat Hunting in Cyber Security – FAQs

What is the main objective of threat hunting?...