• Agentic AI makes it easier than ever for attackers to mount a targeted campaign against your organization.
• Increased AI sophistication calls for an informed response—one that understands the attacker mindset.
• Expert threat hunters know their environment, identify vulnerabilities, anticipate attacks, and turn predators into prey.

Last year we saw them on the horizon. Today, the AI agents have arrived, bringing with them a host of new threats fueled by next-level AI sophistication and polymorphic malware primed to slip through the defenses of the typical SecOps team. 

Senior security execs recently ranked these AI-powered attacks and disinformation campaigns as their top two concerns. With the average organization experiencing nearly 2,000 attacks each week, threat hunters have plenty to keep them busy.

Turn the tables. Change the game.

For dedicated teams like the legendary Symantec and Carbon Black Threat Hunters, the stakes just seem to grow higher by the day. These teams understand that the best defense is a proactive offense, and an effective hunt begins with a prepared team—one that understands their environment so well that anticipation leads to early detection before an attack is underway.

Threat Hunting for Dummies offers 10 tips for stopping attacks in their tracks. Armed with these best practices, your threat hunting team can enter the AI-fueled cyberwar prepared, with the mindset and insights necessary to successfully deter every attacker, every hunt.

10 tips for making predators your prey

1. Know your environment.

Your networks, systems, applications, and relationships are your terrain. Like a hunter picking up a new scent or hearing an unexpected rustle, setting the baseline for what’s normal helps you spot anomalies that could be potential threats.

2. Think like an attacker.

Don’t react. Anticipate. Start by asking WWAID (what would AI do?). Then use tools like Carbon Black EDR, built with an attacker’s mindset, to set tripwires that sound the alarm when might-do becomes just-did.

3. Develop the OODA mindset.

Observe. Orient. Decide. Act. Adapt this military combat discipline for the cyberwars. OODA takes the soldiers on your threat hunting team from impulsive to tactical.

4. Devote sufficient resources to the hunt.

Mindset without the right gear is a waste of energy. A successful hunt requires trained Personnel, top-notch Tools like Carbon Black EDR installed at every endpoint, and Infrastructure, including a test range ready for target practice with “live fire.”

5. Deploy endpoint intel across the enterprise.

When even one successful hit is one too many, you need endpoint omnipresence to protect everything, everywhere, all at once.

6. Supplement endpoint intel with network intel.

While attackers often target endpoints, you can use your network as a panopticon—giving you comprehensive 360-degree surveillance to reveal attack patterns and suggest a system-wide response.

7. Collaborate across IT.

In the war on AI attackers, strategic human relationships are a powerful weapon. Build trust and connection with your IT professionals, using OODA methodology to identify and reduce risks. 

8. Keep track of your hunts.

You might not get a wall-mounted trophy, but great hunters document every hunt—building a hunt history that reveals patterns and anticipates new intrusions based on recorded details.

9. Hone your security skills.

How to keep up in a lightning-speed cybersecurity arms race? Stay in shape, taking time for technical training and conferences. Readiness pays off.

10. Be aware of attack trends.

Like the KPop Demon Hunters, the best threat hunters keep up with cyber trends. Cybercriminals change tactics by the moment. Successful anticipation means constant awareness of the latest intelligence and protections—which is exactly why the Threat Hunters share their findings with the cybersecurity community

Happy hunting

Read Threat Hunting for Dummies for all the details you need in an efficient format that will have you back in the field with no time wasted. Equip your team and bring the thrill back to the hunt—and go bag some baddies.