What Is Cyber Threat Hunting?

Threat hunting is a proactive approach of searching networks, endpoints, and datasets to uncover hidden cyber threats that have bypassed traditional security measures. Threat hunting in cybersecurity is not just about reacting to alerts; it’s about actively seeking out malicious activities and advanced persistent threats that lurk beneath the surface, potentially causing significant damage if left undetected.

Cyber Threat Hunting Process

The threat hunting process is an iterative cycle that involves planning, data collection, analysis, and action to neutralize a threat. It’s a continuous loop of searching, learning, and improving security defenses. The process includes these threat hunting steps: 

1. Planning: Define the scope and objectives of the hunt.
2. Data collection: Gather relevant data from various sources.
3. Analysis: Examine the data to identify potential threats.
4. Investigation: Look into any suspicious activity to confirm the presence of a threat.
5. Response: Take appropriate action to contain and remediate the threat.
6. Learning: Document your findings and improve future threat hunting steps.

Threat hunting is a key element of a well-rounded managed detection and response (MDR) service—especially when combined with expert analysts and the right tech. Check out our MDR Buyer’s Guide to help you choose the right partner to keep your business safe.

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Threat Hunting Tools: Your Top 7 Choices   

Cyber threat hunting tools are designed to proactively search for and identify malicious activities within a network. These threat hunting solutions collect, analyze, and investigate potential threats.

• Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions provide real-time monitoring and analysis of endpoint activity, allowing threat hunters to detect and respond to threats that may have slipped past traditional security measures. 
• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems aggregate and analyze security logs from various sources, providing a centralized view of security events and helping threat hunters identify suspicious patterns. 
• Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) tools monitor network traffic for anomalies and suspicious behavior, allowing threat hunters to identify potential threats that may be communicating within the network. 
• Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIPs) aggregate and correlate threat intelligence from various sources, providing threat hunters with valuable information about known threats and attack patterns. 
• User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) tools establish baselines of normal user and entity behavior, allowing threat hunters to identify anomalies that may indicate malicious activity. 
• Vulnerability scanners identify weaknesses in systems and applications that could be exploited by attackers. Threat hunters can use this information to proactively address vulnerabilities and reduce the attack surface.
• UnderDefense MAXI is a comprehensive threat hunting platform that integrates your existing threat hunting software into a cohesive security framework. It offers advanced analytics, threat intelligence integration, and automated investigation capabilities to streamline the threat hunting process.

Threat Hunting Techniques for Robust Cyber Defense

Cyber threat hunting techniques are the methodologies used to proactively track down and detect malicious activities within a network. Here are some common threat hunting techniques:

1.Hypothesis-Driven Hunting

This technique starts with a specific theory or suspicion about a potential threat. For example, a threat hunter might hypothesize that a new type of malware is present in the network based on recent threat intelligence.

2. Analytics-Driven Hunting

This approach uses advanced analytics and machine learning to identify unusual patterns or anomalies that could indicate malicious activity. It’s like using a high-powered microscope to find irregularities in a sample.

3. Intelligence-Driven Hunting

This threat hunting methodology leverages threat intelligence to identify known indicators of compromise (IOCs) and indicators of attack (IOAs) within the network. Intelligence-driven network threat hunting effectively uncovers deviations from the normal traffic, adversary techniques, and stealthy threats. 

4. Situational Awareness-Driven Hunting

This technique of threat hunting is based on the understanding of the organization’s specific environment, assets, and risks. It’s about knowing your own backyard so well that you can spot anything out of place.

5. Reactive Threat Hunting

Reactive threat hunting is triggered by a known malicious event, typically after a data breach or theft is discovered. This approach to cyber threat hunting is focused on forensics and remediation.

6. Proactive Threat Hunting

Proactive threat hunting actively seeks out ongoing malicious events and activities inside the network to detect an in-progress cyberattack. The efforts are typically focused on detection and remediation.

Proactive threat hunting for Finance company: 6 malicious VPN accounts detected

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7. External Threat Hunting

External threat hunting proactively seeks out malicious threat actor infrastructure to map and predict where cyberattacks are likely to emerge to prepare defensive strategies. The efforts are typically focused on Cyber Threat Reconnaissance, Threat Surface Mapping, and monitoring of third-party risks.

8. Insider Threat Hunting

Insider threat hunting focuses on detecting malicious activities originating from within the organization, whether intentional or unintentional. This is a critical aspect of cyber threat hunting, as insider threats can be particularly damaging and difficult to detect. It involves monitoring employee behavior, access patterns, and data-handling practices to identify any anomalies that could indicate malicious intent or compromised accounts.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the key steps and tools used in these techniques.

Threat Hunting Frameworks that Work Best for Business

Threat hunting frameworks offer guidelines and best practices to streamline the threat hunting process. Some of the top examples include MITRE ATT&CK, Cyber Kill Chain, Diamond Model of Intrusion Analysis, and NIST Cybersecurity Framework.

• MITRE ATT&CK is a knowledge base of adversary tactics and techniques based on real-world observations. It helps threat hunters understand how attackers operate and identify potential threats within their networks. 
• Cyber Kill Chain is a model that describes the stages of a cyberattack, from reconnaissance to data exfiltration. It is needed for security teams to identify where an attacker might be in the attack chain and proactively disrupt their activities. 
• Diamond Model of Intrusion Analysis is a framework for analyzing the relationships between adversary, capability, infrastructure, and victim. It provides a way to understand the context of an intrusion and identify patterns that can be used to detect future attacks. 
• NIST Cybersecurity Framework provides a comprehensive approach to managing cybersecurity risk. It includes guidelines for identifying, protecting, detecting, responding to, and recovering from cyber threats. 

Managed Threat Hunting: Benefits and Capabilities 

Managed threat hunting services provide you with the expertise and resources needed to proactively detect and respond to cyber threats. 

• Improved threat detection: Uncover threats that bypass traditional security, utilizing skilled analysts to find hidden breaches and prevent potential attacks.
• Reduced attacker dwell time: Minimize the time attackers remain undetected by proactively searching for malicious activity. This helps you limit the potential damage caused by a cyberattack.
• Enhanced security posture: Identify and address security vulnerabilities, strengthening defenses and proactively reducing the risk of attacks.
• Cost savings: Prevent costly data breaches, avoiding expenses related to recovery, legal fees, and reputational damage.
• 24/7 monitoring and support: Ensure threats are detected and responded to promptly, regardless of the time of day or night. 
• Expertise and experience: Get access to experienced security professionals and advanced tools for effective threat hunting.
• Scalability: Benefit from adaptable services that scale to meet the needs of your organization, regardless of size. Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, you can find a threat hunting service that fits your budget and requirements.
• Integration with existing security tools: Streamline the threat hunting process and security operations by unifying your existing security tools, such as SIEMs and EDRs, to provide a more comprehensive view of your security posture.

How MDR Drives Cyber Threat Hunting 

Managed threat hunting may be further reinforced by Managed Detection and Response (MDR), which takes threat hunting to the next level. MDR and cyber threat hunting services differ in scope and approach. MDR offers a broader, outsourced cybersecurity service that includes threat hunting as a component, while threat hunting is a specialized practice focused on actively seeking out and identifying hidden threats.

UnderDefense MDR offers top-level threat detection and response, helping you detect and contain threats in minutes—not hours or even days. Our high-caliber threat hunting team works around the clock to track down and eliminate even the most sophisticated threats that may have infiltrated your system.

Watch the video to see how the UnderDefense MAXI MDR platform empowers threat hunting, prevents breaches, and minimizes the consequences of attacks.