National Cyber Security Centre Urges Enhanced Observability and Threat Hunting to Bolster Cyber Defense

What's Happening?

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has called for UK organizations to improve their observability and threat hunting capabilities to enhance national cyber resilience. According to NCSC CTO Ollie Whitehouse, there is significant variation in the ability of organizations to detect cyber threats, which is crucial for modern cyber defense. Observability, the ability to monitor and understand system activities, is foundational for effective threat hunting, as it allows organizations to identify potential threats. However, many organizations lack comprehensive visibility into their systems, which hampers their ability to perform advanced threat hunting. The NCSC has urged security teams to maximize system visibility and encourage tech vendors to build systems that support improved monitoring and investigation. Additionally, the NCSC recommends moving beyond traditional indicators of compromise and focusing on tactics, techniques, and procedures used by attackers.

Why It's Important?

Improving observability and threat hunting is vital for strengthening national cyber resilience, as it enhances both reactive and proactive security capabilities. Organizations that can effectively monitor and analyze their systems are better equipped to detect and respond to sophisticated cyber threats. This is increasingly important as threat actors become more adept at evading detection through techniques like living-off-the-land. By focusing on the behaviors and objectives of attackers, rather than just the tools they use, organizations can develop a more comprehensive defense strategy. Enhanced threat hunting capabilities can lead to improved security outcomes, reducing the risk of cyber incidents that could impact critical infrastructure and services.

What's Next?

Organizations are encouraged to adopt the NCSC's guidance and improve their threat hunting practices by developing infrastructure that allows for comprehensive system visibility and correlation. The NCSC also recommends utilizing its Assured list of incident response providers and Cyber Adversary Simulation scheme to validate threat hunting approaches. As organizations enhance their capabilities, they may see increased collaboration with tech vendors to build systems that support advanced monitoring and investigation. This could lead to a more resilient national cyber defense posture, better equipped to handle emerging threats.

Beyond the Headlines

The push for improved observability and threat hunting highlights the evolving nature of cyber threats and the need for organizations to adapt their security strategies. As cyber threats become more sophisticated, traditional security measures may no longer suffice, necessitating a shift towards more proactive and comprehensive approaches. This development also underscores the importance of collaboration between organizations and tech vendors to build systems that can effectively monitor and respond to threats. The focus on tactics, techniques, and procedures reflects a broader trend in cybersecurity towards understanding the behavior of attackers, which can lead to more effective threat detection and response.