SOC Cyber Threat Hunting

• Next-Gen SOCs:

  • Defined as intelligence-led, proactive cyber threat hunting centers.

  • Focus on moving beyond traditional, reactive SOC operations to anticipate and mitigate threats before they materialize.

• Traditional SOC Operations:

  • SOC analysts (levels 1 through 4) are skilled at working within a scripted, reactive environment.

  • Cyber forensic investigation is typically performed by level 3 and level 4 analysts within the SOC, and it is a reactive process. In this context, when a threat has been carried out and a vulnerability exploited, an investigation is necessary. While you are indeed searching for the threat, it is done within the framework of a cyber forensic investigation.

  • Current practices involve cyber forensic investigations, which are reactive rather than proactive.

• Proactive Cyber Threat Hunting:

  • A proactive approach to identifying, intercepting, tracking, investigating, and eliminating adversaries before they cause harm.

  • Requires a different skill set, often missing in traditional SOCs, such as those found in Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) teams.

• Human-Centered Threats:

  • All threats, whether cyber, physical, or related to terrorism, are human-driven.

  • Understanding the human element behind threats is critical for effective threat hunting.

• Importance of Intelligence in Threat Hunting:

  • Effective threat hunting requires actionable intelligence.

  • Understanding threat actors, their tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), and linking this to the cyber kill chain is crucial.

• Cyber Kill Chain:

  • Begins with reconnaissance, where adversaries gather information on targets.

  • Reconnaissance is a critical stage as it defines the adversary’s strategy for exploiting weaknesses.

• Challenges in SOC Maturity:

  • Many organizations delay proactive threat hunting to mature their traditional SOC operations.

  • Waiting to mature SOC operations poses a risk, as threat actors continually evolve.

• Indicators of Concern (IoCs):

  • Introduced as a proactive approach, different from traditional Indicators of Compromise (IoCs).

  • These are proactive signs that suggest a potential threat, guiding organizations to take preventive actions.

• Evolving Threat Landscape:

  • SOCs must adapt quickly to keep pace with evolving threats and adversaries who are often ahead in the threat landscape.

  • Proactive threat hunting is essential to leveling the playing field.

• Starting Point for SOC Evolution:

  • Emphasizes the need to develop the right skill set within SOCs for proactive threat hunting.

  • Suggests starting with understanding global and regional threat landscapes and tailoring threat intelligence to specific organizations.