Threat hunting is the proactive search for threats that have bypassed automated security mechanisms such as EDR, NDR, or NGFW. It is particularly effective against advanced attack techniques (e.g. LOLBins) that rely on legitimate tools and behaviors that are difficult to detect using signature-based methods.

Effective threat hunting is built on the combination of Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI), telemetry analysis, and knowledge of attacker tactics and techniques (MITRE ATT&CK). Its outcomes include not only early incident detection but also the creation of better detection rules (detection engineering), which strengthen the overall security architecture. In mature organizations, this process is carried out by SOC teams that integrate hunting, CTI, and detection into a coherent, continuous defense model.

Hackers continuously refine their techniques to evade security monitoring systems such as EDR, NGFW, and NDR. They often leverage LOLBins—legitimate binaries, system processes, or third-party applications—making their attacks difficult to identify.

Proactive activities such as threat hunting enable the detection of previously unknown threats that have bypassed existing defenses and support the creation of effective detection rules (detection engineering), ultimately strengthening an organization’s security architecture.

In this article, we explain what threat hunting is and how it helps improve organizational security.

What is threat hunting?

Threat hunting is the practice of searching for malicious activity within systems that has not been detected by automated detection mechanisms. It allows organizations to mitigate threats at an early stage of the cyber kill chain, before they cause real and significant damage.

Threat hunters rely on various sources of information, which can be divided into:

• internal – including systems monitoring network traffic, logs from servers and endpoints, and corporate email inboxes that may contain phishing messages;

• external – primarily industry trends and research, reports, articles, social media posts, and information about new tools and techniques used by attackers. Advanced knowledge of Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) plays a key role here, enabling the definition of indicators of compromise and the identification of common tactics, techniques, and procedures used by cybercriminals.

How threat hunting differs from threat intelligence and detection engineering

The terms threat hunting, threat intelligence, and detection engineering are often confused.

Threat hunting involves manually searching for threats that were missed by automated security controls or are not covered by existing protections.

Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) focuses on collecting, analyzing, distributing, and sharing information about potential threats across the cybersecurity community. CTI effectively feeds and informs threat hunting activities.

Closely related to both threat hunting and threat intelligence is detection engineering, which involves building automated, real-time detection mechanisms based on insights gained from previous detections. While threat hunting focuses on finding threats already present in an organization’s environment, detection engineering aims to detect the same threats earlier in the future—or even prevent them altogether.

There is no effective threat hunting without threat intelligence, and without mature threat hunting it is difficult to achieve effective detection engineering. All three areas must work together to form a cohesive and effective cybersecurity system.

Types of threat hunting

There are three common approaches to threat hunting:

1. Intel-based hunting

This approach relies on Indicators of Compromise (IoCs) derived from threat intelligence (CTI). Threat hunters primarily use EDR, NDR, and SIEM systems. When such indicators are identified, analysts examine network activity before and after the alert to verify the potential threat.

2. Hypothesis-based hunting

This type of hunting is based on known Indicators of Attack (IoAs), such as those described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework. It involves analyzing whether attackers are using specific tactics, techniques, and procedures to gain access to the network. Once a behavior pattern is identified, analysts monitor activity to mitigate the threat.

3. Custom hunting (organization-specific)

This approach takes into account an organization’s specific context, previous security incidents, geopolitical factors, targeted attacks, and alerts from security systems. It may combine intelligence-based and hypothesis-based hunting, with strategies tailored to the unique threats faced by the organization.

Threat hunting processes in SOC teams

Advanced SOC teams use CTI, threat hunting, and detection engineering to support their core functions—monitoring systems, analyzing events, detecting threats, and responding to incidents. SOC clients benefit directly: when suspicious activity is identified at one organization and successfully investigated through threat hunting, analysts can check whether similar threats exist across other supported environments.

Threat hunting in SOC teams begins with forming a hypothesis based on:

a. intelligence insights (e.g. “BYOVD attacks have been prominent recently—have any of our clients been affected without detection?”)

b. suspicious activity in a client’s environment (e.g. “Is this a real attack or a false positive?”)

c. confirmed incidents at one client (e.g. “Could this technique also be present in other client environments?”)

SOC threat hunters validate or refute hypotheses by creating detection rules using available data sources such as EDR telemetry. Based on the results, they draw conclusions, eliminate false positives, and optimize queries.

Threat hunting process in SOC360:

1. Formulating hypotheses based on CTI insights.
2. Identifying relevant datasets and building queries to verify whether suspicious events occurred in client environments.
3. Analyzing query results:
   a. Eliminating false positives.
   b. Tuning queries.

These processes require time and deep expertise. That is why the role of a Security Operations Center (SOC) offering CTI, threat hunting, and detection engineering is invaluable. Analysts’ broad knowledge and experience—gained from analyzing vast amounts of data across multiple organizations—enable the creation of effective detection rules, precise identification of data sources, and discovery of new attack techniques before they can cause harm.

Invest in a SOC that takes a holistic approach to securing your organization. Contact us to learn more about our offering.

This article was prepared by a 4Prime expert and subsequently edited with the support of artificial intelligence tools.