Query: Threat hunting

title: DRTHIS: Deep ransomware threat hunting and intelligence system at the fog layer
abstract: Ransomware, a malware designed to encrypt data for ransom payments, is a potential threat to fog layer nodes as such nodes typically contain considerably amount of sensitive data. The capability to efficiently hunt abnormalities relating to ransomware activities is crucial in the timely detection of ransomware. In this paper, we present our Deep Ransomware Threat Hunting and Intelligence System (DRTHIS) to distinguish ransomware from goodware and identify their families. Specifically, DRTHIS utilizes Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) two deep learning techniques, for classification using the softmax algorithm. We then use 220 Locky, 220 Cerber and 220 TeslaCrypt ransomware samples, and 219 goodware samples, to train DRTHIS. In our evaluations, DRTHIS achieves an F measure of 99.6% with a true positive rate of 97.2% in the classification of ransomware instances. Additionally, we demonstrate that DRTHIS is capable of detecting previously unseen ransomware samples from new ransomware families in a timely and accurate manner using ransomware from the CryptoWall, TorrentLocker and Sage families. The findings show that 99% of CryptoWall samples, 75% of TorrentLocker samples and 92% of Sage samples are correctly classified.

title: POIROT: Aligning Attack Behavior with Kernel Audit Records for Cyber Threat Hunting
abstract: Cyber threat intelligence (CTI) is being used to search for indicators of attacks that might have compromised an enterprise network for a long time without being discovered. To have a more effective analysis, CTI open standards have incorporated descriptive relationships showing how the indicators or observables are related to each other. However, these relationships are either completely overlooked in information gathering or not used for threat hunting. In this paper, we propose a system, called POIROT, which uses these correlations to uncover the steps of a successful attack campaign. We use kernel audits as a reliable source that covers all causal relations and information flows among system entities and model threat hunting as an inexact graph pattern matching problem. Our technical approach is based on a novel similarity metric which assesses an alignment between a query graph constructed out of CTI correlations and a provenance graph constructed out of kernel audit log records. We evaluate POIROT on publicly released real world incident reports as well as reports of an adversarial engagement designed by DARPA, including ten distinct attack campaigns against different OS platforms such as Linux, FreeBSD, and Windows. Our evaluation results show that POIROT is capable of searching inside graphs containing millions of nodes and pinpoint the attacks in a few minutes, and the results serve to illustrate that CTI correlations could be used as robust and reliable artifacts for threat hunting.

title: A deep Recurrent Neural Network based approach for Internet of Things malware threat hunting
abstract: Internet of Things (IoT) devices are increasingly deployed in different industries and for different purposes (e.g. sensing/collecting of environmental data in both civilian and military settings) The increasing presence in a broad range of applications, and their increasing computing and processing capabilities make them a valuable attack target, such as malware designed to compromise specific IoT devices. In this paper, we explore the potential of using Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) deep learning in detecting IoT malware. Specifically, our approach uses RNN to analyze ARM based IoT applications' execution operation codes (OpCodes) To train our models, we use an IoT application dataset comprising 281 malware and 270 benign ware. Then, we evaluate the trained model using 100 new IoT malware samples (i.e. not previously exposed to the model) with three different Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) configurations. Findings of the 10 fold cross validation analysis show that the second configuration with 2 layer neurons has the highest accuracy (98.18% in the detection of new malware samples. A comparative summary with other machine learning classifiers also demonstrate that the LSTM approach delivers the best possible outcome.

title: Intelligent Threat Hunting in Software Defined Networking
abstract: The emergence of Software Defined Networking (SDN) has brought along a wave of new technologies and developments in the field of networking with hopes of dealing with network resources more efficiently and providing a foundation of programmability. SDN allows for both flexibility and adaptability by separating the control and data planes in a network environment by virtualizing network hardware. We, in this work, present an advanced threat hunting model by combining the SDN infrastructure with threat hunting techniques and machine learning models aiming to intelligently handle network threats such as denial of Service, repeat, and main in the middle attacks. This advancement enables the handling of dynamic network traffic in areas such as smart cities and autonomous vehicles more efficiently by rapidly mitigating network threats.

title: A framework for effective threat hunting
abstract: In today's dynamic cyber security environment, with its rapidly changing threat landscape, companies are becoming increasingly aware of the necessity of getting ahead of new cyber attack trends. It is for this reason that threat hunting has become so popular. A new wave of attacks has become exceptionally proficient in successful, undetected intrusions, breaching network defences, exploiting system vulnerabilities and obtaining access to organisations' systems and data.

title: Generating Hypotheses for Successful Threat Hunting

title: 'Threat hunting' ?es para mi?

title: A Practical Model for Conducting Cyber Threat Hunting
abstract: There remains a lack of definition and a formal model from which to base threat hunting operations and quantifying the success of said operations from the beginning of a threat hunt engagement to the end that also allows analysis of analytic rigor and completeness. The formal practice of threat hunting seeks to uncover the presence of attacker tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) within an environment not already discovered by existing detection technologies. This research outlines a practical and rigorous model to conduct a threat hunt to discover attacker presence by using six stages: purpose, scope, equip, plan review, execute, and feedback. This research defines threat hunting as the proactive, analyst driven process to search for attacker TTP within an environment. The model was tested using a series of threat hunts with real world datasets. Threat hunts conducted with and without the model observed the effectiveness and practicality of this research. Furthermore, this paper contains a walkthrough of the threat hunt model based on the information from the Ukraine 2016 electrical grid attacks in a simulated environment to demonstrate the model's impact on the threat hunt process. The outcome of this research provides an effective and repeatable process for threat hunting as well as quantifying the overall integrity, coverage, and rigor of the hunt.

title: Advanced threat hunting over software defined networks in smart cities
abstract: The emergence of Software Defined Networking (SDN) has brought along a wave of new technologies and developments in the field of networking with hopes of dealing with network resources more efficiently and providing a foundation of programmability. SDN allows for both flexibility and adaptability by separating the control and data planes in a network environment by virtualizing network hardware. Threat hunting is a technique that allows for the detection of advanced network threats through forensic analysis. We present an advanced threat hunting model by combining the SDN infrastructure with threat hunting techniques and machine learning models aiming to intelligently handle advanced network threats such as lateral movement. We found that our approach outperforms current threat hunting models in vital areas such as the detection to mitigation time. Our results show that we are able to detect advanced threats with 93.4% accuracy and begin mitigation within 10 seconds of detection.

title: Data Driven Threat Hunting Using Sysmon
abstract: Threat actors can be persistent, motivated and agile, and they leverage a diversified and extensive set of tactics, techniques, and procedures to attain their goals. In response to that, organizations establish threat intelligence programs to improve their defense capabilities and mitigate risk. Actionable threat intelligence is integrated into security information and event management systems (SIEM) forming a threat intelligence platform. A threat intelligence platform aggregates log data from multiple disparate sources by deploying numerous collection agents and provides centralized analysis and reporting of an organization's security events for identifying malicious activity. Sysmon logs is a data source that has received considerable attention for endpoint visibility. Approaches for threat detection using Sysmon have been proposed mainly focusing on search engines (NoSQL database systems) This paper presents a new automated threat assessment system that relies on the analysis of continuous incoming feeds of Sysmon logs. The system is based on a cyber threat intelligence ontology and analyses Sysmon logs to classify software in different threat levels and augment cyber defensive capabilities through situational awareness, prediction, and automated courses of action.