What Is Threat Hunting in Cyber Security?

According to the latest SANS Institute Cyber Intelligence survey, a striking 95% of organizations are turning to cyber threat hunting to elevate their detection capabilities and fortify their security. This proactive strategy not only enhances threat detection but reinforces an organization’s overall defenses.

In this article, we’ll dive into the essentials of threat hunting, uncovering how it can become your company’s next line of defense. Read on to discover how this cutting-edge approach can enhance your cybersecurity strategy.

What Is Cyber Threat Hunting?

Cyber threat hunting is a proactive method used to detect unknown and ongoing cyber threats in an organization’s system that may evade traditional security defences. Cyber threat hunters use advanced data analysis tools to identify and neutralize these threats before they cause harm. 

As cyber threats become more sophisticated, relying solely on automated security measures is no longer enough. Advanced persistent threats (APTs) can bypass passive threat detection systems, making skilled threat hunters essential to identifying and mitigating these complex risks. Without them, your organization’s systems and endpoints remain highly vulnerable. 

Types of Cyber Threat Hunting

There are several different threat detection methods that cyber threat hunters use to prevent cyber attacks. Let’s explore some of these different proactive threat hunting approaches.  

Structured Hunting

In this approach, threat hunters analyze an attacker’s tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP). Leveraging cyber threat intelligence, they collect data on activity patterns and suspicious activity that may signal potential threats. Instead of looking for breaches in the system, the threat hunter adopts the attacker’s perspective to predict malicious activity in an organization’s network. 

Unstructured Hunting

Unstructured hunting is trigger-based and focuses more on indicators of compromise (IoCs) or signals that point to a breach in the network. This approach gives threat hunters greater freedom in searching for risks and relies on pieces of threat intel to guide their investigations. Since this is an open-ended approach, threat hunters may find their targeted issue or a different unknown threat lurking in the system. 

Image Source: Canva

Situational or Entity-Driven Hunting

Situational or entity-driven hunting focuses on systems, accounts, and events that pose a high risk to an organization’s network security. Threat hunters rely on internal risk assessments and vulnerability analyses to form a custom approach that fits a company’s needs. 

Proactive Cyber Threat Hunting Techniques 

No cyberthreat is the same, which means that security teams need different threat detection approaches to maintain system security. To isolate potential risks, cyber threat hunters use the following methodologies: 

Hypotheses-Driven Hunting

After crowdsourced data identifies a potential threat, threat hunters use this information to develop hypotheses about the attacker’s methods. They then search the network to verify if the threat is present, allowing for a more targeted and effective threat detection.

Intelligence-Based Investigation

In this reactive hunting approach, analysts rely on indicators of compromise (IoCs) such as hash values, IP addresses, and domain names to identify and assess potential threats. By examining these key data points, hunters can trace and uncover malicious activity within the network.

Investigations Based on Indicators of Attack (IOA)

Threat hunting can use indicators of attack (IOAs), signs, or patterns associated with a cyberattack to detect potential threats. By leveraging these insights from intelligence sources, hunters can identify and investigate ongoing harmful activities or emerging threats within the network.

Hybrid Hunting

This threat-hunting methodology integrates intelligence-based investigation, hypothesis-driven hunting, and reactive analysis. Hunters combine insights from threat intelligence and formulate hypotheses to detect advanced threats, while also use indicators of attack (IoAs) and indicators of compromise (IoCs) to enhance their search and detection capabilities.

Related: A How-To Guide To New Process Implementation

Five Steps of Cyber Threat Hunting

Image Source: Canva

There are five typical steps to threat hunting. We’ll get into the details of each to give you insight into how threat-hunting teams keep your network safe.

Step 1: Develop a Hypothesis

The first step in a successful cyber threat hunting program is to form a threat hypothesis based on data. A threat hunter uses routine data collection and real-time analysis to identify threats. They may also use an attacker’s TTP, intelligence sources, historical social engineering data, or other creative solutions to search for hidden threats.

Step 2: Conduct Research and Collect Data

Cyber threat hunters gather data to uncover clues and solid leads about potential threats. They may also integrate security information and event management (SIEM) software into their data analysis to gain insight into a company’s IT environment.

For example, in the case of phishing attacks, which often appear as emails that look no different from real emails, threat hunters may use email security tools to closely inspect the headers and content of suspicious emails to look for patterns. This enables them to gain a deeper understanding of the threat landscape.

Step 3: Finding the Trigger

Threat hunters use advanced detection tools to search for anomalies like unusual network traffic or file changes. Once detected, these anomalies act as trigger points for further investigation. Typically, a hypothesis about a new threat guides their efforts, focusing on whether these anomalies signify a real security risk.

Step 4: Starting the Investigation

Investigating the threat involves proving or disproving a threat hunter’s hypothesis. They use investigative tools to analyze various activities and determine if they are malicious. 

Initially, threat hunters alert affected employees and provide instructions on necessary actions. They then trace phishing emails back to their source and assess the attacker’s intent. To prevent future attacks, they implement email filtering to detect similar threats more easily.

Step 5: Resolution

In the final step, threat hunters gather crucial information from the investigation and share it with other teams for incident response and mitigation. Whether the activity is considered safe or malicious, the data collected aids in predicting trends and strengthening security measures.

Secure Your Business Assets With Integr8

Cyber threat hunting can greatly increase network security and protect your organization from sophisticated threats. Pairing your current security tools and measures with effective threat hunting can boost the effectiveness of threat detection and response, lowering the risk of breaches and keeping your business safe. 

If you want well-rounded cybersecurity, look no further than Integr8—Canada’s trusted managed IT services provider. We offer packages tailored to your organization’s needs to build a secure IT infrastructure you can rely on. 

Contact us with any questions and let us help you achieve your tech goals!

‍