What is Cyber Threat Hunting, and How Does it Work?

Cyber threats have advanced more than ever, making cyber threat hunting a crucial component of robust network, endpoint, and data security steps. Modern adversaries, external or internal, exhibit increasingly sophisticated methods that often elude traditional defence mechanisms. These advanced threats can infiltrate networks and remain undetected for extended periods, sometimes months, during which they may exfiltrate sensitive data, compromise confidential information, or obtain credentials to facilitate lateral movement within the network. Hence, relying solely on automated threat detection systems is no longer viable. The emergence of these sophisticated attack vectors necessitates a paradigm shift towards a more proactive and anticipatory approach. Cyber threat hunting empowers security teams to actively seek out and address vulnerabilities and threats before they manifest into breaches. By rigorously searching for indicators of compromise and anomalous behaviour, security professionals can uncover hidden threats and mitigate potential damage before it escalates.

Threat hunting is a proactive cyber security measure designed to uncover the hidden cyber threat within a network. This proactive method goes beyond the traditional security measures to detect malicious actors who have bypassed conventional endpoint security measures.

Once infiltrated, attackers can easily operate stealthily within a network for months, quietly exploiting vulnerabilities, collecting sensitive information, and obtaining login credentials that allow them to move laterally across the environment. This stealthy persistence makes it increasingly difficult for standard security protocols to detect and neutralise these threats before significant damage occurs.

Let’s understand Cyber Threat Hunting in detail.

Cyber Threat Hunting Steps

Threat Hunting occurs in three phases: An initial trigger phase, then an investigation, and ending with a resolution.

Trigger Phase

Threat hunting begins with a focused approach. The hunter first collects information about the environment and formulates hypotheses about potential threats. Next, the hunter selects a trigger for the investigation. This could be anything, such as a specific part of the system, a network, an issue flagged by new information such as a disclosed vulnerability, or an urgent patch. Alternatively, the trigger could be an emerging zero-day exploit, an anomaly detected within the security data set, or even a request from another department within an organisation.

Investigation

Once the trigger has been established, the hunting efforts shift to proactively searching for anomalies that either validate or refute the hypothesis. The threat operates under the assumption that the environment may have been compromised or vulnerable to the new threat and works to prove the assumption true or free. Threat hunters may utilise various technologies to assist them in their efforts. They meticulously review system logs and scrutinise anomalies, which may or may not indicate malicious activity.

Resolution

Threat hunters collect crucial information during the investigation phase to answer pivotal questions that shape the response strategy. These questions include:

• Who – pertaining to the identities involved, particularly in cases of compromised credentials.
• What – detailing the sequence of events.
• When – capturing precise timestamps for anomalies and intrusions.
• Where – mapping the extent of affected systems, including all devices and entities requiring remediation, and, if discernible from the evidence.
• Why – understanding the underlying causes, such as lapses in security protocols, internal dissatisfaction, negligence, or external attacks.

This information is then communicated to other teams and tools that can respond, analyse, prioritise, and achieve it for future use. Whether the information is identified as a benign or malicious threat, it holds significant value for future analyses and investigations. This information can be utilised to predict emerging trends, prioritise and address vulnerabilities and enhance the overall security posture.

Challenges of Cyber Threat Hunting

Cyber threat hunting, while a crucial element in modern cybersecurity, presents several challenges that organisations must navigate to ensure the effectiveness of their programs. For a threat-hunting initiative to be successful, it relies on three fundamental components working in concert:

1. Expert Threat Hunters

The most critical asset in a threat-hunting program is the expertise of its human resources. Threat hunters must possess deep knowledge of the evolving threat landscape and the acumen to identify indicators of sophisticated attacks swiftly. This level of expertise is essential for recognising subtle anomalies and potential threats that may evade automated detection systems. The need for highly skilled personnel means that recruiting and retaining top-tier threat hunters can be both challenging and costly.

2. Comprehensive Data

Effective threat hunting requires access to extensive and diverse data sources, encompassing current and historical information across the entire infrastructure. This data includes endpoint logs, network traffic, and cloud interactions. Threat hunters cannot construct accurate and informed hypotheses about potential threats without a comprehensive dataset.

3. Up-to-date Threat Intelligence

The dynamic nature of cyber threats means that threat hunters need access to the most current threat intelligence. This includes knowledge of emerging attack vectors, new malware strains, and evolving Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP) adversaries use.

Conclusion

Threat hunting empowers organisations to avoid emerging threats by proactively seeking out malicious activity before it can cause harm. Advanced solutions, such as behavioural AI, are crucial in halting many cyberattacks by offering enhanced visibility into network activities and identifying suspicious patterns. However, adversaries continuously evolve their tactics, techniques, and procedures, so they often circumvent even the most sophisticated defences. Organisations must maintain vigilance and address potential attack vectors, including insider threats and highly targeted attacks, to counteract this dynamic threat landscape.

Get the latest scoop on cyber threats and tech trends with Cyber News Live! Join us for up-to-the-minute updates, expert analysis, and in-depth coverage of cybersecurity.