“Threat hunting” and “threat detection” are complementary strategies that, when combined, are the most efficient way to find security issues and respond to them. Threat hunting focuses on proactively searching for malicious activity, while threat detection leverages security tools to identify malicious activity. Both of these methods are referred to as “threat hunting.” Threat hunting uses the knowledge of experienced security professionals to proactively look for security incidents, while threat detection is focused on responding to alerts generated by automated systems. Organizations should also consider investing in more sophisticated threat intelligence solutions to detect, investigate, and respond to potential malicious activity.
Hunting for potential threats is an offensive tactic that entails outmaneuvering an opponent before that opponent has the chance to take action. Identifying potential dangers is crucial to any effective defense strategy and provides necessary safety precautions. Threat hunting also requires understanding the tools, techniques, and procedures used by malicious actors so that security professionals can predict their moves and block them before they have a chance to succeed. In addition, threat hunting is often used to uncover previously undetected malicious activity and unknown threats that automated systems may have missed. To do this effectively, security teams must have a strong understanding of the organization’s attack surface and its associated risks.
There are more steps involved than just detection and response when it comes to tracking down possible threats. Security teams must also apply preventive measures to reduce their attack surface and minimize the damage that attackers can do if they are successful. Additionally, they must regularly update and audit existing security controls to ensure they are functioning as expected and remain effective against modern threats.
In contrast to threat detection, which focuses on the identification of evidence of an attack, such as linked events or signature-based detection, threat hunting is a more preventative method of dealing with cybersecurity issues. Threat hunting is also known as threat intelligence or threat intelligence gathering.
Threat detection is a defensive approach that involves identifying indicators of compromise and responding to alerts generated by security systems. It focuses on proactively looking for malicious activity or suspicious behavior in order to protect networks and systems from attack. Furthermore, threat intelligence systems can provide valuable insights into the types of attacks being launched against organizations and the likely motives behind them. This type of analysis allows organizations to take a proactive approach to threat prevention, giving them the ability to identify and respond to emerging threats quickly.
Firewalls and antivirus software are two examples of fundamental threat detection techniques that, when used correctly, can eliminate the vast majority of cybersecurity threats, particularly the less complex ones. If you want to eliminate most cybersecurity threats, proper use of these techniques is essential. Other advanced cybersecurity techniques, such as penetration testing, honeypots, and intrusion detection systems, can be used to identify more sophisticated threats and mitigate them.
A more advanced cybersecurity approach that uses automated security technologies is necessary to locate the very rare attacker who is successful in going undetected. This is because successful defense going unnoticed by defenders is a highly uncommon occurrence.
This involves dishonest insiders as well as malicious outside attackers who use information technology to perpetrate fraud or sabotage. To counter these, organizations need to deploy technologies such as authentication and authorization, encryption, patch management, and data loss prevention (DLP).
There is a possibility that threats made by insiders may be challenging to discover. Because access to private information is often needed for some jobs, it may be difficult to distinguish between malicious behavior and appropriate behavior in the workplace. Advanced cyber threats, regardless of whether they originate from inside or outside the firm, often succeed in evading detection for weeks or even months.
This is true regardless of where the threat originates. During this period, unauthorized parties likely compromise or take sensitive data. To prevent such a situation from occurring, businesses must put measures in place to ensure that access to sensitive data is monitored and appropriate security protocols are enforced. These measures should include a thorough risk assessment, the implementation of solid data access controls, regular audits, and training for staff to ensure they are aware of security risks and best practices. You can read my previous post on threat modeling “What is threat modeling and why should every organization invest in it.
The proactive threat-hunting process aims to combat an adversary that already exists in the organization’s environment but has not yet shown any signs of compromise. By deploying specialized tools to search for weak spots in the system, threat hunters identify and address risks before they can be exploited.
It may be challenging to recognize and uncover threats that originate inside an organization, given the particular prevalence of the problem. As a result, the members of our team of threat hunters will make use of advanced user behavior analytics in order to take advantage of insider threat detection. The fact that this will make it feasible to discover even the most elusive evidence of compromise is going to be a significant gain for the team.
Monitoring both user and contextual data enables us to identify and analyze anomalies in user behavior, as well as frauds and threats from insiders, and to protect against insider threats. This process helps us detect and investigate suspicious activities, identify malicious actors, and understand what is happening in the organization before a significant impact is felt. By doing this, we will be able to protect against malicious activities and better secure our organization proactively.
Cybersecurity professionals have access to a wide array of one-of-a-kind instruments, which allows them to identify even the slightest signals of possible insider threat activity in our organization. As a consequence of this, they are able to work closely with the team in order to put the proper preventative measures in place to stop the behavior from happening.
This collaboration helps to ensure that the most effective countermeasures are taken and allows us to address any potential insider threats in a timely manner. Furthermore, by monitoring the cyber death chain on a daily basis, the CISO and his team will be able to detect and alert any malicious activity that may have slipped through the cracks. There are couple of good threat hunting tools are there in the market, your cybersecurity team can check and do the POC and see which is best for your organization needs. Such tools like Sophos Threat Hunting or check this 7 best threat hunting tools
This provides the organization with a greater level of security and helps us maintain an overall secure organizational environment. Additionally, it allows us to continually refine our countermeasures to better protect against cyberattacks and other malicious activities.
Author: Vaibhav Tare is a CISO & Head of Cloud Infrastructure at Fulcrum Digital with over 27 years of cybersecurity, cloud, enterprise data center infrastructure experience. In his role, he advises customers, partners, ISVs, and OEMs on best practices for developing cybersecurity, data center and cloud management strategies and architecting and designing data center modernization blueprints with software defined infrastructure projects.
