In today’s sophisticated threat landscape, relying solely on reactive security measures – waiting for alerts and responding to known attacks – leaves organizations vulnerable to advanced persistent threats (APTs) and zero-day exploits. Proactive threat hunting, a security practice focused on actively searching for hidden malicious activity within an organization’s network, is becoming an increasingly essential component of a mature security program.

Shifting from Reactive to Proactive Defense

Traditional security tools, such as intrusion detection systems (IDS) and antivirus software, operate based on known signatures and patterns of malicious activity. While these tools are valuable for detecting and blocking common threats, they may not identify sophisticated attackers who can evade these defenses or novel attack methods that haven’t been seen before. Threat hunting takes a different approach. Security analysts actively look for anomalies, suspicious behaviors, and indicators of compromise (IOCs) that might indicate the presence of a threat that has bypassed traditional security controls.

“Think of traditional security as setting up alarms and waiting for them to go off,” explains Ben Carter, Lead Threat Hunter at CyberGlobal. “Threat hunting, on the other hand, is like actively patrolling your environment, looking for anything out of the ordinary, even if the alarms haven’t sounded. It’s about assuming a breach has already occurred and proactively searching for evidence.”

Effective threat hunting requires a combination of technical skills, threat intelligence, and a deep understanding of an organization’s network and normal behavior. Threat hunters utilize various tools and techniques, including analyzing network traffic, examining system logs, investigating endpoint activity, and leveraging threat intelligence feeds to identify potential indicators of compromise. They often work based on hypotheses – educated guesses about where attackers might be hiding based on their tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs).

“The key to successful threat hunting is to understand what ‘normal’ looks like in your environment,” notes Ben Carter, part of cybersecurity specialists team at CyberGlobal “By establishing a baseline of typical network behavior, user activity, and system processes, threat hunters can more easily identify deviations that might indicate malicious activity.” 

Building a Threat Hunting Capability

Establishing a successful threat hunting capability requires dedicated resources, the right tools, and a well-defined process. Organizations may choose to build an internal threat hunting team or leverage the expertise of external security providers. Regardless of the approach, a commitment to continuous learning, adapting to the evolving threat landscape, and sharing findings across the security team are essential for maximizing the effectiveness of proactive threat hunting efforts.