You Outsourced Monitoring, But Who’s Doing the Hunting?
Security leaders are doing more than ever. You’re expected to understand the details of complex security stacks, choose the right MSSP
(Managed Security Service Provider), and in some cases, build and manage 24/7 operations. These are critical steps toward reducing risk in
today’s fast-moving threat landscape.
MDRs (Managed Detection and Response) and MSSPs play a vital role in helping organizations detect and respond to known threats. They’re a practical
solution to scale expertise, reduce alert fatigue, and maintain around-the-clock visibility. In many ways, they form the backbone of modern security
operations, but their strength is also their limitation as often they are designed to respond to what is already known.
Think of an MSSP like a security guard watching cameras and responding to alarms. Whereas a threat hunter is more like an undercover detective walking
the grounds, spotting unusual behavior, and checking the locks while asking, “What if something’s already here?”
Most managed services are alert-driven as they monitor for known indicators, respond when rules are triggered, and contain those threats. But what about
the ones built to stay hidden?
Today’s threats don’t always come in the form of traditional malware. They may involve valid credentials, native tools, or cloud misuse, all techniques
that look “normal” on the surface. These might not cause alerts. So threat hunters take a different approach. They don’t wait for alarms; they build
hypotheses, follow patterns, and explore scenarios an attacker might use to stay hidden. Their work connects subtle clues across systems, uncovering
risks that alert-based monitoring alone can miss.
Threat hunting isn’t about replacing your existing security services. It’s about validating and enhancing them. Proactive hunting confirms that your
controls are working as intended and reveals where best practices may be falling short. It’s not about adding noise; it’s about gaining deeper clarity.
Hunting helps uncover what your tools and services miss and not because they’ve failed, but because threats constantly evolve.
Threat hunting is about giving your team lead time. Instead of reacting to what has already happened, you’re uncovering the earliest signs of risk. This
approach shrinks dwell time, improves response effectiveness, and often stops threats before they’re noticed by users or systems. Also, the insights
uncovered through hunting can also be shared with your MSSP, helping them refine detection rules and improve future alerting based on your unique threat
landscape.
While some may see threat hunting as an added expense, it’s often a case of paying a little now to avoid paying a lot later. Breaches are costly and not
just in dollars, but in trust, downtime, and recovery. In many ways, proactive hunting is less about spending more, and more about spending wisely. And
in many cases, starting small with the right partner can provide immediate clarity - without a major investment.
In the next post, we challenge the idea that hunting is a luxury and why it’s a necessary investment in today’s threat landscape.