According to a recent report by PwC, CEOs of organizations are “extremely concerned” about cyber threats, which are higher than pandemics and other health problems. Threat hunting is a relatively new methodology used by IT professionals to locate dormant or active threats on their network in order to have a better understanding of network visibility and threat actor access points. This skill, however, can only be used effectively in a broader security environment.
There is a need for a more deceptive intelligence-gathering approach than what is now used by most companies, with a focus on not only speed but also accuracy in assessing incoming threats.
Effective threat hunting is intimately linked to maintaining full data visibility, leveraging many platforms via a robust, relational MSSP, and continually monitoring the flow of information and general network behavior. Threats could easily be missed and ignored without such informational context and external partners, giving hackers enough time to wreak damage.
Threat hunting is becoming more popular, however, realizing the advantages of such an investment may take some time. Although the proactive appeal of threat hunting has made it a popular practice for securing networks, its success is only as beneficial as the contextual information obtained within the network where the danger was discovered, which necessitates a more sophisticated, comprehensive approach to threat detection and identification.
Implementing a clear deployment and upkeep strategy for such a conscious security endeavor should be a top priority for firms keen to invest in threat hunting training for their respective security teams. Four essential features of a larger, modernized SOC that intends to effectively add threat hunting to its arsenal of tools are automation, responsiveness, data analysis, and threat management.
Automation
The ability to understand the exponential volumes of data created inside a single SOC environment, as well as respond to what the data reveals, cannot be accomplished only by human expertise. Automation, as a configurable tool that relieves stress in a variety of ways, handles both simple activities and more complex multi-step analytic requirements. Intelligent automation can supplement human threat hunting efforts, providing an extra layer of security analysis that would otherwise be neglected.
End Point Detection and Response (EDR)
It is unavoidable to analyze potential breaches in real-time throughout both working and non-working hours. Attackers aren’t necessarily the same as their targets; they may be from different nations, time zones, cultures, or have different personal habits.
Security teams can immediately apprehend an unwelcome guest by arming threat hunters and other qualified security analysts with cyber threat intelligence and detection capabilities that detect such activities around the clock. The end result is a well-informed prognosis rather than a wild guess.
Data Analysis
As indicated by the huge and possibly permanent increase in remote work and the pre-existing urge to transfer to the cloud, the SOC security perimeter is ever-growing. If security events from numerous logging regions aren’t connected and cross-examined, they can’t serve any actual contextual use.
A comprehensive, intelligent threat hunting strategy requires complete network visibility. SaaS, remote devices, and other security components are all potential weak points waiting to be exploited. Not only does identifying residual activity throughout these logging regions necessitate well-trained employees, but it also necessitates excellent software management across various platforms.
Threat Management
Combining data analysis and automation technologies with a tiered SOC provides for the essential separation between the monitoring, managing, and advising a reaction to potential risks while also preserving the essential communication between each tier to execute specialized responsibilities effectively. Because of the complexity of today’s SOCs, dozens of security events spanning dozens of platforms might occur in the same security environment, necessitating a network-wide delegation of tasks to avoid confusion and congestion.
Separating monitoring, management, and advising into three tiers relieves a presumably overwhelmed IT department’s workload, allowing for threat hunting-specific training in addition to current SOC management chores.
It is undeniably necessary to keep track of potential vulnerabilities in IT infrastructure. However, the efficiency of the system is determined by whether these dangers can be thoroughly assessed using the instruments available. Threat hunting may be significantly more useful than relying on one-off predictions devoid of context when security automation, threat detection, and response are combined with a relationship-focused MSSP.
A strong security posture necessitates a multi-pronged, tiered approach, which may be delivered through strong partnerships that effectively handle threats without overburdening IT staff. Although threat hunting is not an antidote in and of itself, it can help reduce the gap by properly training already experienced IT personnel to not only check for unusual behavior within a network, but also to use the tools they currently have in a more efficient, proactive, and thorough manner.
Better threat detection and risk reduction will be possible with an approach that promotes timeliness, data correlation, automation, and tiered threat management.
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