Refracted Security’s Post

Investigation vs. Threat Hunting both play vital roles but with different approaches: Investigation → Reactive. Triggered by alerts (SIEM, EDR, MDR, user reports). Goal is to confirm, scope, and remediate incidents using logs, forensics, and timelines. Outcome: containment, recovery, and post-incident analysis. Threat Hunting → Proactive. Not alert-driven, but hypothesis-based (“What if X is happening?”). Focused on discovering unknown, hidden, or emerging threats using threat intel, hunt queries, and anomaly models. Outcome: improved detection, reduced dwell time, and new insights. Together, they complement each other to strengthen defense and resilience. #CyberSecurity #SOC #ThreatHunting #Investigation #BlueTeam #IncidentResponse

🔎 Threat Hunting in Action Recently, I conducted an advanced hunting investigation into suspicious outbound activity within a test environment. Using Microsoft 365 Defender queries, I identified: ✅ Multiple internal hosts beaconing to the same external subnet ✅ Activity initiated by svchost.exe and other LOLBins, suggesting persistence ✅ Successful HTTP connections confirming potential C2 communication ✅ Accounts involved included system/service contexts and a simulated user account I correlated findings with MITRE ATT&CK (Execution, Persistence, C2, Lateral Movement) and applied the NIST Incident Response framework to outline next steps: Detection & Analysis: Enriched logs with process/account context Containment: Blocked suspicious IP ranges Eradication/Recovery: Investigated persistence and prepared remediation plans 📈 What made this exercise exciting was moving beyond “alerts” into full IR workflow: detection → enrichment → correlation → response. 💡 Takeaway: Threat hunting isn’t just about finding anomalies — it’s about building the story of an attack, mapping it to frameworks, and planning actionable response. I’m sharing this as part of my growing portfolio in cyber threat hunting and incident response. If your team values proactive defense, I’d love to bring this kind of investigative approach to your #CyberSecurity #ThreatHunting #MITREATTACK #NIST #IncidentResponse #BlueTeam https://lnkd.in/gVwGnRwQ

Pentests check locks. Fine. But what if the attacker is already inside? In this PDF carousel, we break down why "assume breach" thinking + disciplined thread hunting closes the gap that regulators and standards seem a bit silent on, but adversaries continue to exploit. Check out today's FBI Cyber Division "Salt Typhoon" Advisory or the Marriott / Starwood 4 year breach or Equifax or SolarWinds and the list goes on and on. Pen testing validates controls from the outside. Threat hunting validates the reality of what is on the inside. Do we need to rebalance budgets from mostly outward-facing to a healthier mix that funds sustained hunting? Swipe the PDF. Let us know what you think. If you want our 1-page "Assume Breach" Inside-Out Threat Hunt Framework and Worksheet, comment INSIDE or DM me. #ThreatHunting #AssumeBreach #BlueTeam #Cybersecurity #DFIR #AFISConsulting | Advanced Forensic Investigative Solutions LLC

🚨 New Threat Infrastructure Uncovered: Is Your Organization at Risk? Threat researchers have just uncovered 45 domains tied to China-backed espionage groups Salt Typhoon and UNC4841 — with some domains active since May 2020. These actors have: - Targeted U.S. telecoms and critical infrastructure - Exploited zero-day vulnerabilities in Barracuda ESG appliances (CVE-2023-2868) - Used advanced malware like SALTWATER, SEASPY, and SEASIDE for persistent access ⚠️ Many domains remain dormant, but new ones were registered as recently as April 2025, indicating ongoing activity. 👉 Security teams should immediately: - Audit DNS logs and historical telemetry - Check for any contact with these domains - Prioritize proactive threat hunting Staying ahead means staying informed. Even if you're not a direct target, you could be collateral. #CyberSecurity #ThreatIntelligence #APT #SaltTyphoon #UNC4841 #ZeroDay #CyberEspionage #DNSSecurity #Barracuda #MalwareAnalysis #CVE20232868 #IncidentResponse #InfoSec #BlueTeam #NetworkSecurity #ThreatHunting

🔍 Threat Hunting: An Essential Component in Every Security Program 🛡️ In today's cybersecurity landscape, reactive detection is no longer sufficient. Proactive threat hunting has become a critical necessity for organizations seeking to protect their digital assets. 📊 Why is Threat Hunting Crucial? 🔍 - Enables identification of malicious activities that go unnoticed by traditional tools - Reduces intrusion detection time, minimizing potential impact - Provides deep visibility into anomalous network behaviors - Facilitates understanding of attacker tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) 🛠️ Key Elements for Effective Hunting 🎯 - Quality and comprehensive data from multiple sources - Appropriate tools for analysis and correlation - Trained personnel with investigative mindset - Defined and repeatable processes for hunting operations - Integration with other security functions like SOC and incident response 🚀 Successful Implementation 💡 Organizations must adopt a structured approach that combines technology, people, and processes. Automation plays an important role but does not replace human intuition and analytical experience. Threat hunting is not a luxury but a necessity in the modern security ecosystem, transforming defensive programs from reactive to proactive. For more information visit: https://enigmasecurity.cl 💙 Support our work by donating at: https://lnkd.in/er_qUAQh Connect on LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/eM76BwGC #ThreatHunting #Cybersecurity #InformationSecurity #SOC #CyberDefense #ProactiveSecurity #IncidentResponse #CyberThreats #SecurityOperations #InfoSec 📅 Thu, 04 Sep 2025 14:00:00 GMT 🔗Subscribe to the Membership: https://lnkd.in/eh_rNRyt

🚨 Threat Hunting: The Silent Game-Changer in Cybersecurity In today’s digital battlefield, cyberattacks aren’t always noisy. Some attackers move quietly, hidden in logs, endpoints, or network traffic waiting for the perfect moment to strike. That’s exactly where Threat Hunting comes in. 🕵️♂️ It’s not just responding to alerts, it’s actively looking for threats before they look for you. 💡 Why it matters: ✅ Finds stealthy threats traditional tools miss ✅ Boosts SOC visibility & confidence ✅ Cuts down response time when seconds matter ✅ Builds a proactive, resilient defense posture Think of it like this: Instead of waiting for a burglar alarm, you’re already outside, spotting the thief before they even touch the lock. 🔐 🔎 Question for the community: Are you or your team already practicing Threat Hunting? If yes, what’s your biggest win so far? If not, what’s holding you back? Let’s share experiences, because the best hunters learn from each other. 💭 #ThreatHunting #CyberSecurity #SOC #BlueTeam #Infosec #CyberDefense #Threat #Bug #Bugcrowd #BugHunting

🔍 What is Threat Hunting? In this post, we want to unpack one of the most misunderstood yet critical aspects of cybersecurity: threat hunting. At its core, threat hunting is a proactive practice — searching for signs of compromise before traditional tools raise any alarms. That word proactive is key. Unlike incident response or alert triage, threat hunting starts with the assumption: 💭 “What if we’re already compromised and just don’t know it yet?” 🔎 Threat hunters form hypotheses, analyze patterns, and understand what “normal” looks like across systems. From there, they detect the abnormal — the suspicious, the stealthy, the subtle indicators attackers often leave behind. 🧠 Great threat hunters: Think like adversaries ⚔️ Understand attacker TTPs 🛠️ Hunt through logs, memory, network flows, and behaviors 📊 Reveal what others miss 👀 Threat hunting isn’t just about finding threats — it’s about strengthening defenses, improving visibility, and staying ahead of attackers. #SOC #MDR #XDR #Crosscipher #LifeAtCrosscipher #ThreatHunting #CyberSecurity #BlueTeam #DetectionEngineering #IncidentResponse #SecurityOperations #CyberDefense #MITREATTACK #DigitalForensics #EDR #SecurityAnalyst #NetworkSecurity #InfosecCommunity #ProactiveSecurity #ThreatIntel

What does a day in the life of a Threat Hunter really look like? It’s not routine, and it’s never passive. Every day starts with questions: What doesn’t belong? What patterns hide in plain sight? Where is the faint trace of something trying not to be found? Our hunters break down the noise. They separate harmless background activity from the subtle signs of intrusion. They test weaknesses before anyone else can. They share intelligence across the team so every angle is covered. But it’s not all screens and alerts. There are moments of calm. A coffee. A conversation. Because threat hunting isn’t chaos, it’s discipline. The ability to switch from stillness to pursuit in an instant. This video captures that balance. The human side of the job, and the relentless pursuit of threats that never rest. Step inside a day in the life of CyberSafe’s Threat Hunters. Where your security is the only priority. https://lnkd.in/geAYA6fh #CyberSafe #ThreatHunting #CyberDefence #CyberSecurity #SOC

Most people think threat hunting is about detecting hackers. That is true. But it is not the most important outcome. The real benefit is what it does to your team. When your analysts go through a structured threat hunt, they: 🥷 Learn their network inside and out. 🥷 Spot blind spots in tools and data. 🥷 Build muscle memory for how to respond under pressure. It is like running fire drills. The more you do them, the sharper your people get. I have seen teams walk into a hunt nervous and scattered. By the end, they are confident and aligned. They understand where they are weak and how to close gaps fast. Yes, threat hunting uncovers threats you did not know existed. But its deeper value is turning your team into a stronger defense force. If you are not running hunts regularly, you are leaving your people underprepared. Curious? 🙋Check out Insane Cyber ‘s recent post for an introduction on how to hunt. 🙋Check out GuidePoint Security ‘s GRIT Report for threats to hunt for. These analysts are amazing. 🙋❗️Best of all ❗️- Check out SANS ICS course ICS515 for hands on hunting and threat intelligence from crazy good practitioners of our craft.

Why Manual Cyber Operations Can Create Dangerous Gaps: Manual threat hunting can leave enterprises exposed to sophisticated attacks. Learn why Fortune 500 companies are abandoning traditional approaches for autonomous threat operations. #RecordedFuture #Innovation