"In the shadows of the network, where data flows like a poisoned river, true defenders don't just watch. They hunt."The digital battlefield is a perpetual war zone, and the frontline defenders, the blue team, are locked in a constant, often unseen, struggle against adversaries seeking to exploit the slightest chink in the armor. Understanding the enemy's tactics isn't just advantageous; it's a matter of digital survival. This is where the art and science of threat hunting come into play. Recently, industry titans RiskIQ and CrowdStrike joined forces to host a collaborative workshop, a rare convergence of offensive insights and defensive prowess. This post deconstructs what such a joint effort signifies for the security landscape and how you, as a security professional, can leverage its implications for your own defensive strategy.
The Genesis of a Joint Threat Hunting Initiative
The cybersecurity ecosystem is fragmented. Vendors often operate in silos, each championing their unique solutions. When established players like RiskIQ, known for its external attack surface management and threat intelligence, and CrowdStrike, a leader in endpoint security and threat detection, conduct a *joint* workshop, it signals a significant strategic alignment. This isn't merely about cross-promotion; it's about recognizing that modern threat hunting requires a holistic view – from the outermost perimeter and the internet-facing attack surface down to the most granular endpoint activity. The workshop's focus on "integrated use cases" is key. It implies a move away from isolated tool demonstrations towards practical, real-world scenarios. Attackers don't operate with single tools; they chain exploits, move laterally, and leverage various reconnaissance and delivery mechanisms. Effective threat hunting must mirror this complexity.Anatomy of Modern Threat Hunting
Before dissecting the workshop's potential contributions, let's ground ourselves in the fundamentals of threat hunting. At its core, threat hunting is a proactive security process dedicated to searching for and identifying malicious activity that has evaded existing security solutions. It's not about waiting for alerts; it's about asking questions of your data, formulating hypotheses, and meticulously investigating. The typical threat hunting lifecycle involves: 1. Hypothesis Generation: Based on threat intelligence, known TTPs (Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures) of adversaries, or observed anomalies, a hypothesis is formed. For example, "Adversary X is known to use PowerShell for initial access in environment Y. I will search for specific PowerShell execution patterns." 2. Data Collection & Triage: Relevant data sources are identified and collected. This can include endpoint logs, network traffic, cloud logs, authentication logs, and threat intelligence feeds. 3. Analysis: Collected data is analyzed against the hypothesis. This often involves specialized tools, scripting, and deep domain knowledge. Techniques might include behavioral analysis, indicator of compromise (IOC) correlation, and statistical anomaly detection. 4. Investigation & Response: If malicious activity is confirmed, it's investigated to understand the full scope of the compromise. This leads into incident response procedures, including containment, eradication, and recovery. 5. Automation & Refinement: Findings from hunts are used to improve automated detection rules, update security policies, and refine future hunting hypotheses.Deconstructing the "Integrated Use Cases"
The power of a RiskIQ and CrowdStrike collaboration lies in their complementary strengths:- RiskIQ's External Perspective: RiskIQ excels at mapping an organization's external attack surface, identifying exposed assets, and understanding how adversaries might probe and exploit vulnerabilities from the outside. Their threat intelligence often focuses on infrastructure, reconnaissance, and initial access vectors.
- CrowdStrike's Internal Vigilance: CrowdStrike provides deep visibility into endpoints and workloads, detecting and responding to threats that have already breached the perimeter or originated internally. Their strength lies in behavioral analysis, malware detection, and rapid response.
- Attack Surface to Endpoint Correlation: A threat hunter could use RiskIQ data to identify a newly exposed, vulnerable web server on the internet. The hypothesis might be: "This server is being actively targeted. I will hunt for signs of exploitation on our internal network originating from its IP." CrowdStrike's endpoint data would then be scrutinized for connections to that IP, suspicious process executions, or data exfiltration attempts.
- Reconnaissance to Lateral Movement: An attacker might perform reconnaissance using publicly available information (RiskIQ's domain). The hypothesis becomes: "Has this reconnaissance led to an internal compromise?" Hunting would then focus on user accounts, internal IPs, and services that align with the discovered external footprint, looking for signs of forced entry or credential abuse detected by CrowdStrike.
- 1. Threat Intel-Driven Hunting: RiskIQ might identify a new command-and-control (C2) infrastructure. CrowdStrike can then use this intelligence to search endpoints for any communication patterns matching the identified C2 IPs or domain names. This moves threat hunting from a reactive process to one directly informed by current adversary infrastructure and TTPs.
- 2. Proactive Vulnerability Hunting: Instead of just patching known vulnerabilities, threat hunters can combine external scanning data (RiskIQ) with internal posture assessments (CrowdStrike) to predict potential attack paths. For instance, identifying an unpatched internal system that is also exposed externally becomes a high-priority hunting objective for signs of compromise.
The Engineer's Verdict: Is This the Future of Defense?
Joint workshops like this are not just educational events; they are bellwethers for an evolving security paradigm. The trend is clear: siloed solutions are insufficient. True resilience comes from integrating threat intelligence, attack surface management, endpoint detection, and robust hunting methodologies. Organizations that embrace this integrated approach will possess a significant advantage.- Pros: Enhanced visibility, more actionable threat intelligence, reduced mean time to detect (MTTD) and respond (MTTR), ability to hunt for complex, multi-stage attacks.
- Cons: Requires significant investment in tools and skilled personnel, potential for data overload if not managed effectively, complexity in integration and correlation.
Arsenal of the Operator/Analyst
- Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR): CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne. Essential for deep endpoint visibility.
- Attack Surface Management (ASM): RiskIQ (now Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management), CyCognito, Randori. Crucial for understanding your external footprint.
- Security Information & Event Management (SIEM): Splunk, ELK Stack, Microsoft Sentinel. Aggregates and analyzes logs from various sources.
- Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP): Recorded Future, Anomali, ThreatConnect. Consolidates and operationalizes threat intelligence.
- Data Analysis & Scripting: Python (with pandas, scapy), KQL (Kusto Query Language), SQL. For custom hunting queries and data manipulation.
- Books: "The Web Application Hacker's Handbook" by Dafydd Stuttard and Marcus Pinto, "Practical Threat Hunting" by Kyle Brutman, "Red Team Field Manual" (RTFM) and "Blue Team Field Manual" (BTFM).
- Certifications: GIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH), GIAC Certified Forensic Analyst (GCFA), Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP), Certified Threat Hunter (CTH).
Defensive Tactic: Hunting for C2 Communication
A fundamental threat hunting activity is identifying command-and-control (C2) communication. Attackers use C2 channels to remotely control compromised systems, exfiltrate data, and stage further attacks. Here's a basic hunting guide using hypothetical logs, emphasizing detection rather than exploitation.Hunter's Guide: Detecting C2 Beaconing
This process assumes you have access to network flow logs or proxy logs.- Hypothesis: Suspicious internal hosts are communicating with external, unknown IPs or domains that are not part of our approved services. This could indicate malware attempting to establish a C2 channel.
- Data Source: Network flow logs (e.g., NetFlow, IPFIX) or proxy logs, enriched with GeoIP information and known threat intelligence feeds.
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Query (Conceptual KQL for Sentinel/Microsoft Defender):
DeviceNetworkEvents | where Direction == "Outbound" | summarize count() by RemoteIP, ReportId, DeviceName, Timestamp | join kind=inner ( ThreatIntelligenceIndicator | where isnotempty(IPAddress) | project IPAddress, Description ) on $left.RemoteIP == $right.IPAddress | project Timestamp, DeviceName, RemoteIP, Description, count_ | order by Timestamp desc -
Analysis: Look for:
- Internal IPs communicating with IPs flagged by threat intelligence.
- Unusual ports or protocols being used to external destinations.
- Hosts communicating with a high number of unique external IPs over a short period (beaconing).
- Long-lived connections to unusual external IPs.
- Hosts communicating with IPs in geographically unexpected regions not sanctioned by the organization.
- Investigation: If a suspicious host is identified, pivot to endpoint logs (e.g., process execution, file modifications, network connections from the endpoint) to identify the malware or process responsible for the C2 communication.
- Mitigation: Block identified C2 IPs/domains at the firewall/proxy. Isolate the compromised host. Remove the malicious process/malware from the endpoint. Update detection rules based on the identified IOCs.
FAQ
What is the primary goal of threat hunting?
The primary goal is to proactively identify and investigate advanced threats that have bypassed existing security controls.
How does RiskIQ's external view complement CrowdStrike's endpoint view for threat hunting?
RiskIQ identifies external attack vectors and potential compromise points. CrowdStrike provides visibility into internal activity, allowing hunters to connect external reconnaissance or initial access attempts to internal malicious behavior.
Is threat hunting only for large organizations?
While large organizations often have dedicated teams, the principles and techniques of threat hunting can be adapted and applied by smaller teams or even individuals with the right tools and knowledge.
What is a "use case" in threat hunting?
A use case is a specific scenario or hypothesis that a threat hunter investigates, such as looking for evidence of a particular adversary's TTPs or seeking signs of a known vulnerability being exploited.
The Contract: Securing the Digital Frontier
The digital frontier is not a static entity; it's a dynamic landscape constantly being reshaped by innovation and malice. The RiskIQ and CrowdStrike joint workshop underscores a critical truth: defense is strongest when it's informed by an understanding of the attack. Your contract is to evolve. To move beyond reactive alerts. Ask yourself:- What external exposure do I have that an attacker would leverage?
- What subtle signs of compromise might exist on my endpoints that current tools are missing?
- How can I synthesize intelligence from external and internal sources to build a proactive hunting program?