The Role of Threat Intelligence in Cyber Threat Hunting

Threat Intelligence is the process of gathering, processing, and analyzing threat data. It is a key aspect of cyber security in today’s world where sophisticated cyber-attacks, security breaches, data theft, and malware are at their peak.

“Threat intelligence—also called "cyber threat intelligence" (CTI) or "threat intel"—is detailed, actionable threat information for preventing and fighting cybersecurity threats targeting an organization.” (IBM)

Cyber threat hunting is important because advanced threats can bypass the automated security tools and tiers. Attackers lurk for weeks or months inside the system without being caught and waiting for a significant data breach. Cyber threat hunters go beyond traditional detection technologies and look for patterns of suspicious activity that can unfasten a hidden threat.  

Role of Threat Intelligence in Cyber Threat Hunting:

Threat intelligence compliments the process of threat hunting in such a way that it is difficult to do it without threat intelligence. Threat intelligence is a critical part of cyber threat hunting because it;

1. Enhances detection capabilities
2.  Increases efficiency of the cyber threat hunting process by guiding the investigating path.
3. Improves response strategies.
4. It involves collaboration and intelligence sharing that can help security teams with a broader understanding of emerging threats.

Real-Time Intelligence vs. Historical Data in Cyber Threat Hunting:

Real-time intelligence is the dynamic and immediate collection, analysis, and dissemination of data on ongoing threats. Real-time intelligence provides the most recent information about threat activities and attack patterns. It enables security teams to act immediately against ongoing phishing campaigns, active malware, or current vulnerabilities.

Limitation of Real-time intelligence: It is short-lived and can generate false positives due to the high speed of internet data.

Historical Data is the previously collected information about past cyber-attacks, patterns, and vulnerabilities. It is stable and therefore primarily used for understanding long-term threat patterns. It helps in root cause analysis and auditing requirements so the organizations can track past incidents.

Limitation of Using Historical Data in Threat Hunting: Due to new emerging patterns of threats and attacks historical data might become obsolete over time.

Types of Threat Intelligence:

Let's discuss the types of threat intelligence listed based on the source from where the threat data is collected.

Open-Source Intelligence:

Open-source threat intelligence tools provide insights into current trends, patterns, and threat actors. They help organizations stay informed about emerging vulnerabilities and threats. Open-source intelligence helps in data collection analysis and reporting.

In open-source intelligence, organizations can utilize publically available threat data to enhance their cyber security posture. All the data is subject to privacy laws and it does not break into systems and networks.

Internal Network Data:

In this type of threat intelligence data is derived from within an organization’s network, including security logs, intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS), and internal threat reports.  Internal network data is helpful in detecting anomalies, and identifying insider threats, that are specific to the organization's environment.

Third-Party Intelligence Feeds:

Third-party intelligence feeds enrich detection capabilities by integrating with external sources. It provides real-time threat indicators (e.g., IP addresses, file hashes, or domain names related to cyberattacks). These feeds are obtained from external providers or partners, such as commercial threat intelligence services, ISACs (Information Sharing and Analysis Centers), or government bodies. You can subscribe to commercial feeds to receive IOCs for emerging threats.

One most important things to focus on during threat hunting is to secure your internet connection. Using a VPN like NordVPN can be helpful in encrypting your internet connection during the process so you are away from the approach of cyber attackers.

How Threat Intelligence Powers Threat Hunting: 

Effective Threat hunting is not possible without good threat intelligence. Both threat hunting and threat intelligence complement each other to provide a robust security approach. In active threat hunting threat intelligence can guide the hunting process, helping the security teams to narrow down their focus on the most likely targeted areas.

In reactive threat hunting, threat intelligence helps with the methods and tactics used by the attackers. It helps in quickly identifying and neutralizing threats.

Threat intelligence can make threat hunting more effective by providing information about industry-wide threats. This information is further used to anticipate and prepare for specific threats.

Uncovering Hidden Threats:

Threat hunters use the  TTPs (tactics, techniques, and procedures), and IoCs (indicators of compromise) data provided by threat intelligence as a starting point for investigation. This enables threat hunters to make a hypothesis about the hidden threat/ malware within a system so they can focus on more effective areas, e.g. system running the vulnerable software.

Threat intelligence powers threat hunting to find adversaries that are not detectable by traditional systems and often lured into the system for longer times.  Both techniques together make cyber threat hunting a dynamic more effective and efficient approach against hidden threats.

It is recommended to use antivirus software such as Malwarebytes for scanning systems after identifying potential threats. Malwarebytes provides real-time protection and keeps your system secure from any kind of adversaries.

Want to learn more in the field of Threat Intelligence?

Here are some online courses offered by our reliable education platforms for those who want to learn about Threat Intelligence.

1.     IBM: Threat Intelligence in Cybersecurity (edX)

2.     Threat Intelligence (StationX)

Conclusion

Threat intelligence informs cyber threat hunters about about emerging threats, known adversaries, and IoCs, which allows organizations to uncover hidden or advanced threats. Threat hunting when combined with threat intelligence provides a more efficient approach to defending against sophisticated attacks.

Threat intelligence and threat hunting combined enhance an organization's ability to detect and mitigate threats proactively. Both together provide more actionable insights into known threats so that the risks can be eliminated before they cause significant damage.