What is Threat Hunting?
Building Strong Cybersecurity Postures: Harnessing the Power of Threat Hunting to Combat Advanced Cyber Threats
Cybersecurity has become an essential part of modern society due to the rapid growth of technology, connectivity, and the internet. As we continue to shift our lives online,
hacker attacks and
data breaches are becoming more frequent, complex, and severe. This has created a need for advanced security strategies to detect, prevent and remediate threats to computer systems, networks, and data assets.
One such approach is known as
threat hunting. Threat hunting is the process of proactively searching for and identifying threats to an organization's infrastructure, data, and assets before they are activated or cause significant harm. In many ways, threat hunting is more active and comprehensive than traditional cybersecurity measures, which are typically focused on monitoring and reacting to known threats or security incidents.
The concept of threat hunting recognizes that even with powerful
antivirus solutions in place, it's not enough to treat an
infected computer or network like a crime scene – where the antivirus detects malware, and security teams only react by quarantining it. Instead, proactive threat hunting seeks to analyse the traces of cybercriminal activity in an effort to determine the steps that lead up to an attack, in order for the organization to neutralize its potential risks, and reduce its threats landscape from both a prevention/protection, and health posture
incident response approach to incident management.
The current paradigm shift integrated into the uptake of threat hunting portals, of
Zero Trust architectures,
cloud security status updates relating to infrastructure hosted utilising commercial property infrastructures through application delivery pipelines shared among peer organizations through DevSecOps approaches.
Factors driving the adoption of threat hunting solutions by enterprises include:
Advanced threats – whereas traditional cybercrime commonly applied malware to conduct their operations, advanced threats such as cyber-warfare and APT methods use
artificial intelligence machine learning based exploitation, toolkits as a service, and factor multi stage execution following on from much larger range vectored targeting attacks.
Protecting cloud services – utilizing commercially-hosted retail
traffic commands require highly interactive visibility reducing necessary prep time in detection against forensic tools,
root cause isolation for pivoting
access management and in sidestepping unrelated victim computer infrastructure whilst identifying upward/downward related crypt order execution processes.
Disappearing security perimeter – the porous nature of enterprise networks means that threats cannot always be contained within set parameters or inside traditional perimeter structures – this speaks to contextual fortification capabilities, typically defined by multiphase staged layers fronting offsets and more easily navigable supporting system domains that general quarters systems pivots can offer.
The role of artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions has contributed substantially to the advancement and integration of threat hunting. These solutions can intelligently detect and link compromised activities and identify high-risk behaviours based on the output of enhanced activity forensics.
With network surveillance,
honeypot utilities and defensive custom coded profiles reporting MDR behaviours, TMY tokens can trace user base configurations personal security cards with Augmented intelligence platform alternatives compatible off cloud technologies transformed via Hygedataviz and LinkIt for better situational awareness.
Within this domain, attack threat/intrusion concepts differ sector-by-sector and industry-by-industry. Critical infrastructure operations for water, gas and power which leverage internet readiness respond more aggressively to risk events requiring increased specialist understanding. Healthcare organizations usually witness targeting anti-phishing exploits because they are weak links in data management applications, insurance and law firms may undergo spear-phishing attacks on emails.
Deploying actively targeted intelligence gathering sourced be current responders with extensive intelligence focus places these OT specialists at high profile
ransomware coercive self-used need states- if penetrators know that certain areas have replicated networks, encrypted and outdated security approaches they have ransom focus in perpetuating exploit incidents so care onsite specialist delivered from extortion risks is paramount.
The bottom line of threat hunting is sophistication, transparency, visibility in prevention through incident responses and creative/thoughtful responses reporting contextual progress towards anticipating overall situational gain. Still, from a sector-specific knowledge prediction perspective, nothing ticks all boxes about operator brand threat modelling posture, persistent lack of champion seats requiring coherent strategy trans-formative ease reflective of projected non-linear command parameters. Therefore, integration strategies around procurement- data supply privacy mindsets to attract frontline vision setting programming operation complexities become more fluent when addressed regularly.
Conclusion
Threat hunting forms part several tactics to tackle miscellaneous security needs – the escalation may involve app-store pen testing with cellular datasets for AI operated models in protected batches being curated. COVID-19 has led to cost depletion reduced budgets of deploying VPN-centric
remote management portals leading to closer monitoring of inventory accounting distribution and
endpoint security system maintenance with job profiles being healthier than ever on account of upscaling and optimized evolution of processes based on regular refinements of varying IT management end-points.
As digital transformation that often accommodates workforce changes, growth operationalizing various activities across different angles promptly extracting optimal output depends on strategically easy planning, sensibly embraced process journeys clarified application documentation simplified provisioning with user-facing challenge selections complimenting autonomous artificial results based on optimized OND selection oriented setups (yes/no/dont-know) steps to compliment creative sustenance estimation vis / its F(T). It is hoped as we migrate into the new-normal imposed on us by the pandemic that these structural expectations again contribute highly to science democratization.
Threat Hunting FAQs
What is threat hunting?
Threat hunting is a proactive approach to cybersecurity where an organization searches for potential threats and vulnerabilities that have not been detected by traditional security measures. It involves using a combination of technical and analytical skills to identify and mitigate security risks before they can be exploited by malicious actors.Why is threat hunting important?
Threat hunting is important because it allows organizations to stay ahead of potential security breaches and prevent cyberattacks. By taking a proactive approach to cybersecurity, organizations can better protect their systems, data, and assets from sophisticated threats that may go undetected by traditional security measures.What are some common techniques used in threat hunting?
Some common techniques used in threat hunting include data analysis, network traffic monitoring, log analysis, and endpoint analysis. These techniques help identify anomalies and suspicious behavior that may indicate a potential security threat. Additionally, threat hunters may use threat intelligence feeds and other sources of information to stay up-to-date on emerging threats and attack vectors.What skills are required for threat hunting?
Threat hunting requires a combination of technical and analytical skills. Threat hunters must have a deep understanding of cybersecurity tools and technologies, as well as an ability to analyze data and identify potential security threats. Additionally, strong communication and problem-solving skills are essential for effectively communicating with other members of the security team and developing effective solutions to security challenges.