What type of data can threat hunting help identify in a network?

Threat hunting is a proactive cybersecurity practice that involves looking for signs of malicious activity and potential threats within a network. It allows security teams to search for indicators of compromise (IOCs), which are artifacts or pieces of data that suggest a breach or malicious activity has occurred or is in progress. These indicators can include unusual network traffic patterns, anomalous user behavior, unauthorized access attempts, and specific signatures that are known to be associated with malware or rampant exploits.

By actively hunting for IOCs, security teams can identify potential threats before they escalate into significant incidents, thereby protecting the network and its data. This differs from monitoring for expired software licenses, analyzing network speed issues, or evaluating employee productivity levels, as those activities do not focus explicitly on identifying security threats or malicious activity within the network. Instead, they serve different functions such as compliance or performance management.