Survey Finds Tools and Training Key to Effective Threat Hunting
Summary
Team Cymru’s survey of 293 security practitioners found 49% experienced a major breach in the prior 12 months; among them, 72% said threat hunting helped prevent or mitigate it. Respondents also cited tools, training and retention as key program factors.
Key points
- The survey reports that 49% of respondents experienced a major security breach in the previous 12 months.
- Among respondents reporting a breach, 72% said threat hunting helped prevent or mitigate it.
- Respondents associated effective hunting programs with tools such as EDR, SIEM, network forensics, NetFlow and packet-capture capabilities.
- Practitioners identified actionable threat intelligence as a desired program enhancement and cited retaining qualified staff as a major concern.
- The article recommends improving network and asset visibility, using relevant external threat intelligence, integrating tools and automating repetitive work.
Article Details
- Publisher
- Team Cymru
- Report Period
- 2024
- Scope
- Survey findings on threat-hunting program effectiveness, tools, and staffing.
- Sample Size
- 293 security practitioners surveyed.
- Key Statistics
- 49% of organizations surveyed experienced a major security breach in the past 12 months.
- Among organizations that experienced a breach, 72% said their threat-hunting program played a key role in preventing or mitigating it.
- 53% said their threat-hunting program was very effective.
- Recommendations
- Invest in tools that improve visibility across networks, environments, assets, and endpoints.
- Use relevant external threat intelligence specific to the organization and its threats.
- Seek tools that integrate across platforms to support faster response.
- Train threat-hunting staff and add personnel with specific threat-hunting experience.
- Automate manual, repetitive tasks to free staff for higher-impact activities.