Getting started with Threat Hunting with a minimal approach
Start Hunting Today!
Threat hunting doesn’t require enterprise tools. You can simply start with what you already have.
Minimum requirements
Start with what you probably already have. Work from there, and then think about improving and growing.
Centralized logging (Sysmon, firewall, proxy logs).
Query capability (ELK, Splunk, or even grep).
Baseline knowledge of your network.
Allocate 2-4 hours per week for dedicated hunting time.
Simple framework
Consider a simple framework that can work for you and your organization. Expand the framework as you expand your threat hunting operations.
Hypothesis: What might attackers do? (e.g., “Are there any unusual PowerShell executions?”)
Hunt: Query logs for anomalies.
Analyze: Investigate findings.
Document everything.
Sample hunting queries
Here are some examples of hunts where you could start looking.
Rare process-network combinations
Off-hours admin activity
New scheduled tasks
Unsigned executables in temp folders
Reporting template
It is important to keep reports for future reference. Use a template to maintain structure.
Hunt ID: HNT-2025-001
Hypothesis: Credential dumping via LSASS access.
Findings: Three suspicious processes were identified.
Action: Two false positives and one escalation to IR (Incident Response).
IOCs: [List hashes/IPs]
Improvements: Add alerting for Mimikatz patterns.
Use the intel
Use the gathered intel! Create rules, update detection systems, and share your findings with other teams or the community.
Feed detections. Create rules from discoveries.
Update baselines and refine normal behavior.
Share IOCs and distribute them to your team or the community.
Track metrics and measure detection improvements.
Start small. Hunt weekly. Iterate based on findings. Your first hunt begins with your next log query.