Threat hunting definition
Threat hunting is a proactive approach to cybersecurity where experts actively search for hidden threats or malicious activity within a network or system. It goes beyond typical security measures and focuses on finding signs of potential attacks that may have slipped past traditional defenses. By analyzing various data sources like logs and network traffic, threat hunters look for abnormal patterns or indicators of a breach. This allows it to detect threats early and respond quickly, which minimizes damage and uses fewer resources while also having less impact on the daily activities of the organization.
See also: threat assessment, threat monitoring
Threat hunting advantages and drawbacks
Advantages of threat hunting:
- Improved detection: specialists can uncover threats that bypass traditional security measures.
- Enhanced incident response: helps gain insights for effective containment and mitigation of threats.
- Continuous learning: gives a chance to improve security controls and adapt defenses.
- Compliance and risk management: it's easier to meet regulatory requirements and reduce risks.
Drawbacks of threat hunting:
- Resource intensive: requires skilled personnel, special tools, time, and effort.
- The risk of false positives: could generate false positives, leading to wasted time and effort investigating benign activities or events that are not actual threats.
- Skill and knowledge requirements: effective threat hunting requires expertise in cybersecurity, threat intelligence, network analysis, and other technical areas. Organizations may face challenges in finding and retaining personnel with the necessary skills and knowledge.
