Top Cyber Threat Hunting Techniques for Identifying Advanced Cyber Threats

Cybercriminals aren’t just getting smarter—they’re getting sneakier. And, more importantly, they are reinvesting in themselves. That last bit is critical, and we want you to keep it in mind—we’ll get to it in a couple of paragraphs. Hackers, right now, hide in plain sight, slip past traditional security defenses, and lurk inside networks for months before launching an attack. They muck up your network, working it down, making its defenses penetrable, and when they strike—it’s devastating. By the time most companies realize something’s wrong, it’s not just too late—it’s complete annihilation.

A consultant once described the scenario as “akin to a nuclear strike. It takes 32 minutes for an ICBM to launch from North Korea to Washington. And once it’s airborne, there’s no stopping it. All you can do at the Capital is plan for retaliation and start counting your dead. It’s the same once you realize a hacker has, well, hacked you.” This is why cyber threat hunting is vital. Let’s dig in.

The Economics of Hackers

Let’s look at the economics of hackers—most have a very lucrative job. Heists and scams can score them thousands, sometimes millions of dollars. And it’s not just one heist at a time; most professional hackers diversify. While they are attacking you, they are networking on other jobs, planning other strikes, and selling data they have plundered—some even work as consultants for enemy states.

They make a lot of money. And part of that money goes back into their business. This means they get better training, stay up to speed with the latest trends, and have the type of gadgets that would make Q at MI6 drool with envy. Hackers have computers worth over $25K, with processors created just for them and RAM speeds that could power NASA.

Let that sink in. They have a company. They are running a business. They are scaling up. They are leveraging AI for their own gains. They have the best tech. They have the backing and support of enemy states. They have almost no liabilities. They are almost impossible to catch. They have genius-level IQs. They have talent working with them, and since they pay top dollar, they have the best. Can you say the same for your security team? Do you even have one?

Hence, threat hunting in cyber security takes a proactive approach—actively searching for hidden threats before they escalate into full-blown breaches. It’s the difference between stopping an attack early and becoming the next company to suffer a multimillion-dollar ransomware disaster.

So, how does cyber threat hunting actually work? What techniques help security teams detect advanced threats before they wreak havoc?

What Is Cyber Threat Hunting?

Proactive Security vs. Reactive Security

Most cybersecurity tools are designed to react. Antivirus programs scan for known malware signatures, firewalls block suspicious traffic based on predefined rules, and SIEM systems alert teams when something unusual happens.

That’s a problem.

Attackers aren’t playing by those rules. They use zero-day exploits, malware, and advanced persistent threats (APTs) that remain undetected for weeks or months. And most work off intelligence gathering that could blow your mind. They take the time to factor in the human, well, factor. To look at something and add intuition to it. They don’t automate until they need to, and when they it’s with the type of customization you couldn’t even fathom.

If security teams rely only on automated alerts, they risk missing the subtle signs of an intrusion.

Why Cyber Threat Hunting Matters

Threat hunting assumes that attackers are already inside the network—the goal is to find them before they cause damage.

A 2023 IBM report found that, on average, attackers dwell inside networks for 21 days before being detected. That’s three weeks where they can steal sensitive data, move laterally across systems, and set up backdoors for future access.

Threat hunting reduces this dwell time by identifying the early indicators of compromise (IoCs) that traditional security tools might miss.

The idea is that you are either already infected or you are being probed—it’s akin to coming to terms with the possibility that you have cancer. You might not, but it’s better to scan as if you do.

Why? Because, in most cases, it does occur. Some hackers install malware in an app before it’s even launched—through open-source coding and executables. They maintain a list of all the apps and software that use that compromised code. Some aren’t worth their notice, but others hold critical information they can exploit. Through the widespread use of open-source programs—a common practice in software development—they have installed a backdoor into your system—one you weren’t even aware existed.

Why Is Threat Hunting in Cyber Security Necessary?

Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) Bypass Traditional Defenses

APTs don’t rely on brute-force attacks or obvious exploits. Instead, they use low-and-slow techniques to blend in with normal network activity. This makes them incredibly difficult to detect using signature-based security tools.

Instead of deploying malware that can be flagged by antivirus, attackers:

• Move laterally across networks using stolen credentials.

• Deploy legitimate system tools (like PowerShell) for malicious purposes.

• Maintain long-term access to sensitive systems without triggering alerts.

Fileless Malware and Zero-Day Exploits Are on the Rise

Not all cyber threats involve traditional malware files. In fact, fileless malware has become one of the most effective ways for attackers to evade detection. Since these attacks run directly in memory, they don’t leave a trace on disk, making them invisible to antivirus programs.

Zero-day vulnerabilities—security flaws that haven’t been patched yet—pose an even greater risk. Attackers often play with these weaknesses before organizations have a chance to respond — using them as entry points for ransomware or espionage.

Threat Intelligence Plays a Critical Role in Threat Hunting

Good and effective cyber threat hunting is at its core, guided by real-time threat intelligence, which helps security teams:

• Identify emerging attack techniques used by known hacker groups.

• Detects indicators of compromise (IoCs) associated with new malware strains.

• Monitor dark web forums for leaked credentials or planned attacks.

What most people fail to understand is that cyber security is a whole process, it’s not just “install the antivirus and let’s get it done.” It’s multiple departments working in unison. Why? Because the whole industry has become convoluted — we’ve deployed and used so many digital tools and have so many people working with them that we’ve opened ourselves up to all manner of attacks. 

That employee you fired might have a grudge and some codes and passwords on hand. That other employee who seems a bit naive might fall for a phishing scam. That vendor you trust has trained his team on sanitizing their digital presence and what they do when they work on your projects. And like that, the list goes on and on — that's why having the equivalent of a project manager is vital in this field. 

The Cyber Threat Hunting Process: How It Works

Cyber threat hunting follows a very straightforward approach to identify, analyze, and neutralize hidden threats.

1. Hypothesis-Driven Hunting

Every hunt starts with a hypothesis—a well-informed assumption about where threats might be hiding based on recent attack trends, industry-specific risks, or unusual network activity.

For example, if threat intelligence suggests that ransomware gangs are exploiting a new remote access vulnerability, a security team might investigate whether similar activity is occurring within their own network.

2. Data Collection & Analysis

Threat hunters gather large volumes of security data from various sources, including:

• Network logs, firewall data, and DNS records.

• Endpoint detection and response (EDR) telemetry.

• User activity and authentication logs.

The goal is to spot patterns that don’t belong—for example, a user account logging in from a foreign country at an unusual hour or a spike in outbound data transfers that could indicate exfiltration.

3. Detection & Investigation

Once anomalies are identified, threat hunters dig deeper. Behavioral analytics and machine learning help differentiate normal activity from potential attack behaviors.

For instance, a legitimate system administrator might use PowerShell to automate network tasks, but an attacker using PowerShell to disable security defenses? That’s a red flag.

4. Threat Validation & Response

Not every anomaly means there’s an active threat. Before triggering an incident response, security teams validate their findings by correlating data points, analyzing attack techniques, and assessing potential risks.

If a real threat is detected, organizations move quickly to:

• Isolate affected systems to prevent further compromise.

• Block attacker infrastructure, such as command-and-control (C2) servers.

• Strengthen security controls to prevent similar attacks in the future.

Top Cyber Threat Hunting Techniques for Identifying Advanced Threats

Behavioral Analysis & Anomaly Detection

Instead of searching for known malware signatures, this method focuses on behavior—what’s normal and what’s not. Unusual logins, unauthorized file modifications, and suspicious privilege escalations all point to potential hidden threats.

Threat Intelligence-Driven Hunting

Threat intelligence provides crita ical context for investigations. Security teams track new attack campaigns, known adversaries, and active exploit trends to predict how attackers might target their networks.

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) & Threat Hunting

By auditing and taking into account real-time network traffic, threat hunters can spot:

• Malicious connections to known hacker infrastructure.

• Unusual spikes in data transfer that could indicate exfiltration.

• DNS requests linked to phishing campaigns or malware distribution.

Memory Forensics & Fileless Malware Hunting

Since fileless malware operates in system memory, traditional antivirus tools won’t detect it. Memory analysis helps identify:

• Code injection attacks targeting legitimate system processes.

• Malicious scripts executing PowerShell commands in the background.

• Registry modifications that persist even after a system reboot.

Cyber Threat Hunting: The Key to Staying Ahead

As we said, hacking is a booming business. And business is going great. 

Here’s something to sober you up — ethical hackers who work for security companies have huge salaries. Why? To dissuade them from donning their black hats. An entry-level ethical hacker makes about $65 per hour. A medium level, over $230k a year. A professional? Between $300k and half a million. Let that sink in. Hacking is so lucrative that in order to poach and retain talent - that can hack - companies have to sell off their kidneys. 

Imagine how much a black hat hacker is making — living on the fringes and willing to do anything? This is why security teams that rely only on automated defenses are already one step behind attackers. Cyber threat hunting is the key to proactively identifying and neutralizing advanced threats before they become major incidents.