Cyber Threat Hunting: Staying One Step Ahead of Attackers

13 February 2025

You must have heard that prevention is better than cure, and the same applies to organisations when it comes to their cyber security. With preventive measures like IT support, IT security audits, etc., you can ensure that threats are not allowed to come in.

But sometimes, organisations need extreme cybersecurity measures like threat hunting, which is a way to detect threats in advance. In this blog, we are discussing cyber threat hunting and how it works. So, let's get started.

What is Threat Hunting?

Threat hunting is a proactive approach towards detecting the threats and potential weak areas in the IT infrastructure of a company which are at risk of compromise in advance. It is about acting on instances that may turn out to be a serious security breach before they happen or escalate.

But that's what many security tools do for your IT infra, right? Well, there's a big difference between threat hunting and other IT Support solutions. While IT security solutions aim to detect pre-existing malware and security threats, cyber threat hunting aims to find out both known and unknown threats in the environment. The process is not automated but manual and is done by cyber experts known as hunters or threat hunters.

What are the Types of Threat Hunting Approaches?

There are two most common approaches for threat hunting, and one of these two is more reliable and efficient. These two approaches are:

Structured Approach

In this method, the hunters follow a data-driven route to hunt for the threats. What data, if you ask? The data on known attack tactics, techniques, and procedures are otherwise known as attack TTPs.

Unstructured Approach

In this approach, the hunters rely on their expertise and experience, which is why it can be very efficient sometimes but totally time-consuming in most cases. For a small business, this can be particularly challenging, as resource allocation for such time-intensive tasks may be limited. They don't use hunters SIEM, intelligence data, etc., to drive the investigation.

The structured approach mostly drives results from both of these approaches as it has a specific route to take. An unstructured approach may give you results but remains inconsistent. https://www.renaissance.co.uk/small-business/

What are the Benefits of Threat Hunting?

So now the  question is, "Do you need to invest in a cyber security method like threat hunting?" And the answer is yes because threat detection allows:

• Early Threat Detection: You can detect potential threats early, leading to not letting the threat do any damage to your organisation.
• Reduced Dwell Time: By using certain techniques, hackers or malware can be in a system for extended periods. But, threat hunting reduces the time taken to detect and remove threats. And it limits potential damage.
• Enhanced Security Posture: Organisations that conduct regular cyber hunt exercises develop a more robust defence against evolving cyber threats.

Conclusion

In conclusion, threat hunting is one of the cybersecurity models that is crucial to invest in. Not only threat hunting but other cyber security tactics are also important for organisations irrespective of their size. At Renaissance, we cater to all sizes of business with the best IT support and cyber security services, making you always on the safe end.