What Is Cyber Threat Hunting?

Cyber threat hunting is the proactive searching for threats that have evaded traditional security
defences. It's a method of security operations (SecOps) that uses a combination of people,
processes, and technology to detect, investigate, and respond to cyber threats.

Cyber threat hunting aims to identify threats that have slipped through the cracks before they can
do damage. Threat hunters use various techniques, including data mining, correlation analysis,
and behavioural analysis. They also need to understand how attackers operate, so they can think
like one and anticipate their next move.

Cyber threat hunting is a relatively new concept, but it's gaining momentum as organizations
realize the benefits of proactively searching for threats. Gartner predicts that by 2021, 30% of
enterprises will have assigned someone the role of "threat hunter."

If you're wondering whether your organization needs to start hunting for threats, ask yourself if
you're comfortable not knowing what's lurking in your network. If the answer is no, it might be
time to start thinking like a threat hunter.

Threat Hunting Investigations

Threat hunting investigations are conducted to find and eliminate potential security threats before
they can cause harm. The first step in a threat hunting investigation is to identify potential
targets. This can be done by analyzing data sources such as system logs, network traffic, and user
activity. Once potential targets have been identified, the next step is to conduct further analysis
to confirm that they are indeed threats. This may involve running malware samples and
conducting social engineering tests. Once threats have been confirmed, steps can be taken to
eliminate them. This may involve patching vulnerabilities, disabling accounts, or deploying
countermeasures.

You should start investigating when you think there might be a risk or when the risk is often
happening. This is what Cyber Threat Hunting investigations are. They are a ways to find out
what is going on and fix it:

 Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP) Investigation: Hunting for attack

mannerisms, on the other hand, often utilizes similar operational tactics. This is
 beneficial in identifying or attributing the threat and using established remediation
strategies that worked with these behaviours.
 Hypothesis Driven Investigations: Cyber threat hunting will go deeper into network
or system logs, searching for hidden anomalies or patterns that may indicate a new
threat when important information about a new, developing vector is discovered.
Information derived from analytics and AI tools is used to search.

By conducting regular threat hunting investigations, organizations can stay one step ahead of
potentially devastating security threats. There are several methods for detecting and preventing
cyber threats. The most common ones include:

Attack-Specific Hunts

Baselining can help you understand your environment, while attack-specific hunts can help you
track down dangerous behaviour. Attack-specific searches are often directed at a particular threat
actor or risk. However, this specificity can sometimes produce false positives. A good way to get
good results is to mix attack-specific pursuits with baselining.

Baselining

Baselining aids in the identification of what "normal" is within an organization. The usefulness
of baselining is to look for a needle in a haystack by removing ten percent of the hay, which
shortens the time it takes for the needle to become apparent. To help speed up the process of
combining baseline analysis with attacker techniques, SANS has a few pointers:

 Where does PowerShell execution come from, and which user accounts execute it most?

 What does a normal system administrator activity entail if it's typical?

 What percent of your environment runs PowerShell?

This makes it easier for a hacker to attack a system since they will not have to baseline all of the
PowerShell in the system.

Third-Party Sources
Finding needles in a haystack of data can be difficult for large groups of hunters. Third-party
suppliers can assist hunters in more successful hunts by pointing them to relevant third-party
resources. The following are some of the advantages that third-party sources can offer:

 Excluding false-positive suggestions

 Log detection

 IP lookups

 Geolocation

 Concentrate on the most interesting leads.

 Comparison of internal and external or host and network data points

 Metadata encrypted

 Overlays are used in the Attacker approach.

Time Sensitivity

Because a hunt is time-sensitive, hunters must revalidate their baseline circumstances regularly.
As attackers switch from one approach to another or return to outdated techniques, SANS
recommends double-checking that new software installations are not causing excessive traffic,
resulting in false positives.

The Top 5 Threat Hunting Stages

Step by step, a hunt for cyber threats follows a logical pattern. The following are some of the
activities involved in conducting such a mission:

Step 1: Hypothesis

A threat hunt begins with a hypothesis or statement reflecting the hunter's beliefs about what
threats might exist in the environment and how to find them. A suspected assailant's strategies,
methods, and processes could be included in a hypothesis (TTP). Threat hunters use threat
knowledge, environmental awareness, skill, and ingenuity to create a logical path to discovery.

Step 2: Collect and analyze data.

Finding threats necessitates having access to good intelligence and data. A strategy for gathering,
organizing, and analyzing information is necessary. Security Information and Event Management
(SIEM) tools can provide insight into the IT environment and a history of actions.

Step 3: Trigger

When sophisticated threat detection tools direct threat hunters to start an investigation of a
certain system or section of a network, a hypothesis may serve as the trigger.

Step 4: Investigation

Investigative technologies may search for or track suspicious events deep into a system or
network and ultimately determine them to be safe or malicious.

Step 5: Response/Resolution

Relevant data can be supplied to automated security technology for response, resolution, and
mitigation. Remediation is an essential component of cyber security. It includes removing
malware files, restoring corrupted or deleted files to their original condition, adjusting firewall /
IPS rules, deploying security updates, and changing system configurations to better understand
what occurred and how to prevent future assaults.

The Maturity Model for Threat Hunting

The maturity model for threat hunting is a tool that can be used to assess an organization's
progress in developing its threat hunting capabilities. The model consists of four levels, each
corresponding to a different level of sophistication in threat hunting.

 Level 1 represents the most basic level, where organizations have only a basic
understanding of what threat hunting is and are not yet actively engaged in it.

 Level 2 organizations have begun implementing threat hunting programs, but they are
still relatively immature.

 Level 3 organizations have made significant progress in their threat hunting efforts, and
their programs are well-developed.

 Level 4 organizations are considered experts in threat hunting, with highly sophisticated
programs that consistently produce excellent results.
By using this model, organizations can assess their current level of threat hunting maturity and
develop a plan for moving up to the next level.

Benefits of Automation in Cyber Threat Hunting

Adversaries automate their methods, strategies, and procedures to get beyond preventative
defences. As a result, it's only logical for enterprise security teams to automate their manual tasks
to remain ahead of attacks. Automation improves cyber threat detection processes and allows
security departments to utilize their people and resources more effectively. These include:

 Data Collections: A cyber threat hunting investigation tries to collect various types and
volumes of data from various sources, which requires a large amount of time to go
through and separate excellent data from insufficient data manually. Automation has the
potential to significantly cut collecting time while also increasing the security of SOCs'
precious assets.

 Investigation Process: Even the most seasoned and well-resourced SOC may be
overwhelmed by a seemingly unending stream of danger notifications and warnings.
Automation can reduce security staff time demands by quickly classifying high, medium,
and low-risk threats, allowing them to focus on those that need immediate attention or
further study.

 Prevention Process: Mitigations must be developed across an organization's networks,

endpoints, and cloud in response to a vulnerability.

 Response Process: Automated responses can defend against smaller, more common
assaults, such as removing a customized script to isolate a compromised endpoint,
deleting harmful files after isolation, and automatically restoring data stolen in an assault.

What Are the Qualifications for Conducting Cyber Threat Hunting?

Cyber threat hunting is the proactive searching for threats that have evaded detection by
traditional security solutions. It's a key component of a comprehensive security strategy, and it
can help organizations rapidly identify and respond to sophisticated attacks. To be successful,
cyber threat hunting requires several things:
First, you need to understand your organization's network and systems clearly. This includes
knowing what normal activity looks like, so you can quickly identify abnormal behaviour that
could indicate an attack.

You also need access to high-quality data, including information from intrusion detection
systems, firewall logs, and web proxy logs.

Finally, you need experienced analysts who know how to use the latest tools and techniques for
identifying threats. You can ensure that your organization is prepared to defend against even the
most sophisticated attacks by taking these steps.

Conclusion
Cyber threat hunting is a proactive approach to security that involves looking for signs of
potential threats in data and activity logs. It can supplement traditional security measures, such as
antivirus software and firewalls. When done correctly, threat hunting can help identify attacks
penetrating an organization's defences. It can also help gain intelligence about an enemy's tactics,
techniques, and procedures. While threat hunting requires significant time and resources, it can
be a valuable tool in the fight against cybercrime. As the world becomes increasingly digital,
organizations must be vigilant to protect their data. Cyber threat hunting can play a vital role in
this effort, and those who invest in it are likely to reap the rewards.