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Introduction to Threat Hunting & Hunting With Elastic

mini-module tag Mini-Module

This module initially lays the groundwork for understanding Threat Hunting, ranging from its basic definition, to the structure of a threat hunting team. The module also dives into the threat hunting process, highlighting the interrelationships between threat hunting, risk assessment, and incident handling. Furthermore, the module elucidates the fundamentals of Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI). It expands on the different types of threat intelligence and offers guidance on effectively interpreting a threat intelligence report. Finally, the module puts theory into practice, showcasing how to conduct threat hunting using the Elastic stack. This practical segment uses real-world logs to provide learners with hands-on experience.

4.61

Created by Slavi Parpulev
Co-Authors: digitr33

Medium Defensive

Summary

The module provides a comprehensive overview of Threat Hunting, covering its definition, team structure, and process. It emphasizes the relationships between threat hunting, risk assessment, and incident handling. The fundamentals of Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) are explained, including different types of threat intelligence and effective interpretation of threat intelligence reports. The module also offers a practical segment where learners can conduct threat hunting using the Elastic stack. Real-world threat intelligence reports and logs from various sources are utilized to provide hands-on experience.


This module is broken into sections with accompanying hands-on exercises to practice the techniques we cover. The module ends with a practical hands-on skills assessment to gauge your understanding of the various topic areas.

As you work through the module, you will see detection examples for the topics introduced. It is worth reproducing as many of these examples as possible to reinforce further the concepts presented in each section. You can do this in the target host provided in the interactive sections or your virtual machine.

You can start and stop the module anytime and pick up where you left off. There is no time limit or "grading," but you must complete all of the exercises and the skills assessment to receive the maximum number of cubes and have this module marked as complete in any paths you have chosen.

The module is classified as "medium" and assumes basic knowledge of how Windows operate and common attack principles.

A firm grasp of the following modules can be considered prerequisites for successful completion of this module:

  • Penetration Testing Process
  • Incident Handling Process
  • Security Monitoring & SIEM Fundamentals
  • Windows Event Logs & Finding Evil

Threat Hunting Fundamentals


Threat Hunting Definition

The median duration between an actual security breach and its detection, otherwise termed "dwell time", is usually several weeks, if not months. This implies a potential adversarial presence within a network for a span approaching three weeks, a duration that can be significantly impactful.

This alarming fact underscores the growing inefficacy of traditional, defense-oriented cybersecurity tactics. In response, we advocate for a paradigm shift towards a proactive, offensive strategy – the initiation of threat hunting.

Threat hunting is an active, human-led, and often hypothesis-driven practice that systematically combs through network data to identify stealthy, advanced threats that evade existing security solutions. This strategic evolution from a conventionally reactive posture allows us to uncover insidious threats that automated detection systems or external entities such as law enforcement might not discern.

The principal objective of threat hunting is to substantially reduce dwell time by recognizing malicious entities at the earliest stage of the cyber kill chain. This proactive stance has the potential to prevent threat actors from entrenching themselves deeply within our infrastructure and to swiftly neutralize them.

The threat hunting process commences with the identification of assets – systems or data – that could be high-value targets for threat actors. Next, we analyze the TTPs (Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures) these adversaries are likely to employ, based on current threat intelligence. We subsequently strive to proactively detect, isolate, and validate any artifacts related to the abovementioned TTPs and any anomalous activity that deviates from established baseline norms.

During the hunting endeavor, we regularly employ Threat Intelligence, a vital component that aids in formulating effective hunting hypotheses, developing counter-tactics, and executing protective measures to prevent system compromise.

Key facets of threat hunting include:

  • An offensive, proactive strategy that prioritizes threat anticipation over reaction, based on hypotheses, attacker TTPs, and intelligence.
  • An offensive, reactive response that searches across the network for artifacts related to a verified incident, based on evidence and intelligence.
  • A solid, practical comprehension of threat landscape, cyber threats, adversarial TTPs, and the cyber kill chain.
  • Cognitive empathy with the attacker, fostering an understanding of the adversarial mindset.
  • A profound knowledge of the organization's IT environment, network topology, digital assets, and normal activity.
  • Utilization of high-fidelity data and tactical analytics, and leveraging advanced threat hunting tools and platforms.

The Relationship Between Incident Handling & Threat Hunting

So, how does threat hunting intersect with the various phases of Incident Handling?

  • In the Preparation phase of incident handling, a threat hunting team must set up robust, clear rules of engagement. Operational protocols must be established, outlining when and how to intervene, the course of action in specific scenarios, and so forth. Organizations may choose to weave threat hunting into their existing incident handling policies and procedures, obviating the need for separate threat hunting policies and procedures.

  • During the Detection & Analysis phase of incident handling, a threat hunter’s acumen is indispensable. They can augment investigations, ascertain whether the observed indicators of compromise (IoCs) truly signify an incident, and further, their adversarial mindset can help uncover additional artifacts or IoCs that might have been missed initially.

  • In the Containment, Eradication, and Recovery phase of incident handling, the role of a hunter can be diverse. Some organizations might expect hunters to perform tasks within the Containment, Eradication, and Recovery stages. However, this is not a universally accepted practice. The specific roles and responsibilities of the hunting team will be stipulated in the procedural documents and security policies.

  • Regarding the Post-Incident Activity phase of incident handling, hunters, with their extensive expertise spanning various IT domains and IT Security, can contribute significantly. They can proffer recommendations to fortify the organization's overall security posture.

We tried to shed light on the symbiotic relationship between incident handling and threat hunting. Whether these processes should be integrated or function independently is a strategic decision, contingent upon each organization's unique threat landscape, risk, etc.


A Threat Hunting Team's Structure

The construction of a threat hunting team is a strategic and meticulously planned process that requires a diverse range of skills, expertise, and perspectives. It is crucial that each member of the team offers a unique set of competencies that, when combined, provide a holistic and comprehensive approach to identifying, mitigating, and eliminating threats.

The ideal threat hunting team composition typically includes the following roles:

  • Threat Hunter: The core role within the team, threat hunters are cybersecurity professionals with a deep understanding of the threat landscape, cyber adversaries' Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs), and sophisticated threat detection methodologies. They proactively search for Indicators of Compromise (IoCs) and are proficient in using a variety of threat hunting tools and platforms.

  • Threat Intelligence Analyst: These individuals are responsible for gathering and analyzing data from a variety of sources, including open-source intelligence, dark web intelligence, industry reports, and threat feeds. Their job is to understand the current threat landscape and predict future trends, providing valuable insights to threat hunters.

  • Incident Responders: When threat hunters identify potential threats, incident responders step in to manage the situation. They investigate the incident thoroughly and they are also responsible for containment, eradication, and recovery actions, and they ensure that the organization can quickly resume normal operations.

  • Forensics Experts: These are the team members who delve deep into the technical details of an incident. They are proficient in digital forensics and incident response (DFIR), capable of analyzing malware, reverse engineering attacks, and providing detailed incident reports.

  • Data Analysts/Scientists: They play a pivotal role in examining large datasets, using statistical models, machine learning algorithms, and data mining techniques to uncover patterns, correlations, and trends that can lead to actionable insights for threat hunters.

  • Security Engineers/Architects: Security engineers are responsible for the overall design of the organization's security infrastructure. They ensure that all systems, applications, and networks are designed with security in mind, and they often work closely with threat hunters to implement tools and techniques that facilitate threat hunting, as well as kill-chain defenses.

  • Network Security Analyst: These professionals specialize in network behavior and traffic patterns. They understand the normal ebb and flow of network activity and can quickly identify anomalies indicative of a potential security breach.

  • SOC Manager: The Security Operations Center (SOC) manager oversees the operations of the threat hunting team, ensuring smooth coordination among team members and effective communication with the rest of the organization.


When Should We Hunt?

In the realm of cybersecurity, threat hunting should not be seen as a sporadic or reactionary practice, but rather as a sustained, forward-thinking activity. Nevertheless, there are specific instances that call for an immediate and intense threat hunting operation. Here's a more intricate breakdown of these instances:

  • When New Information on an Adversary or Vulnerability Comes to Light: The cybersecurity landscape is always evolving, with fresh intel on potential threats and system vulnerabilities being uncovered regularly. If there's a newly discovered adversary or a vulnerability associated with an application that our network utilizes, this calls for an immediate threat hunting session. It's imperative to decipher the adversary's modus operandi and scrutinize the vulnerability to evaluate the possible risk to our systems. For instance, if we stumble upon a previously unknown vulnerability in a widely utilized application, we'd promptly kickstart a threat hunting initiative to seek out any signs of exploitation.

  • When New Indicators are Associated with a Known Adversary: Often, cybersecurity intelligence sources release new Indicators of Compromise (IoCs) tied to specific adversaries. If these indicators are associated with an adversary known for targeting networks akin to ours or if we've been a past target of the same adversary, we need to launch a threat hunting initiative. This aids in detecting any traces of the adversary's activities within our system, allowing us to ward off potential breaches.

  • When Multiple Network Anomalies are Detected: Network anomalies might sometimes be harmless, caused by system glitches or valid alterations. However, several anomalies appearing concurrently or within a short period might hint at a systemic issue or an orchestrated attack. In such cases, it's crucial to carry out threat hunting to pinpoint the root cause of these anomalies and address any possible threats. For instance, if we observe odd network traffic behavior or unexpected system activities, we'd initiate threat hunting to probe these anomalies.

  • During an Incident Response Activity: Upon the detection of a confirmed security incident, our Incident Response (IR) team will concentrate on containment, eradication, and recovery. Yet, while the IR process is in motion, it's vital to simultaneously conduct threat hunting across the network. This enables us to expose any connected threats that might not be readily visible, understand the full extent of the compromise, and avert further harm. For example, during a confirmed malware infiltration, while the IR team is dealing with the infected system, threat hunting can assist in identifying other potentially compromised systems.

  • Periodic Proactive Actions: Beyond the scenarios mentioned above, it's crucial to note that threat hunting should not be simply a reactive task. Regular, proactive threat hunting exercises are key to discovering latent threats that may have slipped past our security defenses. This guarantees a continual monitoring strategy, bolstering our overall security stance and minimizing the prospective impact of an attack.

In a nutshell, the ideal time for threat hunting is always the present. A proactive stance on threat hunting lets us detect and neutralize threats before they can inflict substantial damage.


The Relationship Between Risk Assessment & Threat Hunting

Risk assessment, as an essential facet of cybersecurity, enables a comprehensive understanding of the potential vulnerabilities and threat vectors within an organization. In the context of threat hunting, risk assessment serves as a key enabler, allowing us to prioritize our hunting activities and focus our efforts on the areas of greatest potential impact.

To begin with, risk assessment entails a systematic process of identifying and evaluating risks based on potential threat sources, existing vulnerabilities, and the potential impact should these vulnerabilities be exploited. It involves a series of steps including asset identification, threat identification, vulnerability identification, risk determination, and finally, risk mitigation strategy formulation.

In the threat hunting process, the information gleaned from a thorough risk assessment can guide our activities in several ways:

  • Prioritizing Hunting Efforts: By recognizing the most critical assets (often referred to as 'crown jewels') and their associated risks, we can prioritize our threat hunting efforts on these areas. Assets could include sensitive data repositories, mission-critical applications, or key network infrastructure.

  • Understanding Threat Landscape: The threat identification step of the risk assessment allows us to understand the threat landscape better, including the Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) used by potential threat actors. This understanding assists us in developing our hunting hypotheses, which are essential for proactive threat hunting.

  • Highlighting Vulnerabilities: Risk assessment helps to highlight vulnerabilities in our systems, applications, and processes. Knowing these weaknesses enables us to look for exploitation indicators in these areas. For instance, if we know a particular application has a vulnerability that allows for privilege escalation, we can look for anomalies in user privilege levels.

  • Informing the Use of Threat Intelligence: Threat intelligence is often used in threat hunting to identify patterns of malicious behavior. Risk assessment helps inform the application of threat intelligence by identifying the most likely threat actors and their preferred methods of attack.

  • Refining Incident Response Plans: Risk assessment also plays a critical role in refining Incident Response (IR) plans. Understanding the likely risks helps us anticipate and plan for potential breaches, ensuring a swift and effective response.

  • Enhancing Cybersecurity Controls: Lastly, the risk mitigation strategies derived from risk assessment can directly feed into enhancing existing cybersecurity controls and defenses, further strengthening the organization’s security posture.

The technicalities of employing risk assessment for threat hunting include the use of advanced tools and techniques. These range from automated vulnerability scanners and penetration testing tools to sophisticated threat intelligence platforms. For instance, SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) systems can be used to aggregate and correlate events from various sources, providing a holistic view of the organization's security status and aiding in threat hunting.

In essence, risk assessment and threat hunting are deeply intertwined, each augmenting the other to create a more robust and resilient cybersecurity posture. By regularly conducting comprehensive risk assessments, we can better focus our threat hunting activities, thereby reducing dwell time, mitigating potential damage, and enhancing our overall cybersecurity defense.

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Especialista de Riesgos de Ingenieria

Plan de capacitación gestión 2024

Medium Path Sections 654 Sections
Required: 6920
Reward: +1480
Path Modules
Fundamental
Path Sections 20 Sections
Reward: +10
The learning process is one of the essential and most important components that is often overlooked. This module does not teach you techniques to learn but describes the process of learning adapted to the field of information security. You will learn to understand how and when we learn best and increase and improve your learning efficiency greatly.
Fundamental
Path Sections 8 Sections
Reward: +10
Your first stop in Hack The Box Academy to become acquainted with the platform, its features, and its learning process.
Fundamental
Path Sections 23 Sections
Reward: +10
This module covers the fundamentals of penetration testing and an introduction to Hack The Box.
Fundamental
Path Sections 9 Sections
Reward: +10
This module covers topics that will help us be better prepared before conducting penetration tests. Preparations before a penetration test can often take a lot of time and effort, and this module shows how to prepare efficiently.
Fundamental
Path Sections 21 Sections
Reward: +10
As an information security professional, a firm grasp of networking fundamentals and the required components is necessary. Without a strong foundation in networking, it will be tough to progress in any area of information security. Understanding how a network is structured and how the communication between the individual hosts and servers takes place using the various protocols allows us to understand the entire network structure and its network traffic in detail and how different communication standards are handled. This knowledge is essential to create our tools and to interact with the protocols.
Fundamental
Path Sections 30 Sections
Reward: +10
This module covers the fundamentals required to work comfortably with the Linux operating system and shell.
Fundamental
Path Sections 14 Sections
Reward: +10
This module covers the fundamentals required to work comfortably with the Windows operating system.
Fundamental
Path Sections 16 Sections
Reward: +10
Active Directory (AD) is present in the majority of corporate environments. Due to its many features and complexity, it presents a vast attack surface. To be successful as penetration testers and information security professionals, we must have a firm understanding of Active Directory fundamentals, AD structures, functionality, common AD flaws, misconfigurations, and defensive measures.
Fundamental
Path Sections 11 Sections
Reward: +10
This module covers the fundamentals required to work comfortably within the macOS operating system and shell.
Medium
Path Sections 13 Sections
Reward: +10
Buffer overflows are common vulnerabilities in software applications that can be exploited to achieve remote code execution (RCE) or perform a Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack. These vulnerabilities are caused by insecure coding, resulting in an attacker being able to overrun a program's buffer and overwrite adjacent memory locations, changing the program's execution path and resulting in unintended actions.
Medium
Path Sections 11 Sections
Reward: +10
This module is your first step into Windows Binary Exploitation, and it will teach you how to exploit local and remote buffer overflow vulnerabilities on Windows machines.
Medium
Path Sections 15 Sections
Reward: +10
Network traffic analysis is used by security teams to monitor network activity and look for anomalies that could indicate security and operational issues. Offensive security practitioners can use network traffic analysis to search for sensitive data such as credentials, hidden applications, reachable network segments, or other potentially sensitive information "on the wire." Network traffic analysis has many uses for attackers and defenders alike.
Easy
Path Sections 12 Sections
Reward: +10
Nmap is one of the most used networking mapping and discovery tools because of its accurate results and efficiency. The tool is widely used by both offensive and defensive security practitioners. This module covers fundamentals that will be needed to use the Nmap tool for performing effective network enumeration.
Easy
Path Sections 21 Sections
Reward: +10
Introduction to C# aims to provide a solid foundation to understand and work with C# code. Covering the crucial foundations and more intricate concepts, providing a comprehensive depth of knowledge in C#.
Easy
Path Sections 14 Sections
Reward: +10
Automating tedious or otherwise impossible tasks is highly valued during both penetration testing engagements and everyday life. Introduction to Python 3 aims to introduce the student to the world of scripting with Python 3 and covers the essential building blocks needed for a beginner to understand programming. Some advanced topics are also covered for the more experienced student. In a guided fashion and starting soft, the final goal of this module is to equip the reader with enough know-how to be able to implement simple yet useful pieces of software.
Medium
Path Sections 17 Sections
Reward: +10
Gain the knowledge and skills to identify and use shells & payloads to establish a foothold on vulnerable Windows & Linux systems. This module utilizes a fictitious scenario where the learner will place themselves in the perspective of a sysadmin trying out for a position on CAT5 Security's network penetration testing team.
Easy
Path Sections 10 Sections
Reward: +10
This module covers the basics needed for working with Bash scripts to automate tasks on Linux systems. A strong grasp of Bash is a fundamental skill for anyone working in a technical information security role. Through the power of automation, we can unlock the Linux operating system's full potential and efficiently perform habitual tasks.
Medium
Path Sections 11 Sections
Reward: +10
As a penetration tester or red teamer, it is imperative that we understand the tools that we use inside and out and also have the ability to write out own, even simple, tools if we are on an assessment with certain constraints such as no internet or the requirement to use a customer provided host as our "attack box." A strong understanding of DNS as well as the various ways to interact with fundamental when performing any security assessment.
Medium
Path Sections 22 Sections
Reward: +10
Passwords are still the primary method of authentication in corporate networks. If strong password policies are not in place, users will often opt for weak, easy-to-remember passwords that can often be cracked offline and used to further our access. We will encounter passwords in many forms during our assessments. We must understand the various ways they are stored, how they can be retrieved, methods to crack weak passwords, ways to use hashes that cannot be cracked, and hunting for weak/default password usage.
Easy
Path Sections 6 Sections
Reward: +10
Bug bounty programs encourage security researchers to identify bugs and submit vulnerability reports. Getting into the world of bug bounty hunting without any prior experience can be a daunting task, though. This module covers the bug bounty hunting process to help you start bug bounty hunting in an organized and well-structured way. It's all about effectiveness and professionally communicating your findings.
Medium
Path Sections 8 Sections
Reward: +20
Dive into Windows digital forensics with Hack The Box Academy's "Introduction to Digital Forensics" module. Gain mastery over core forensic concepts and tools such as FTK Imager, KAPE, Velociraptor, and Volatility. Dive deep into memory forensics, disk image analysis, and rapid triaging procedures. Learn to construct timelines from MFT, USN Journals, and Windows event logs while getting hands-on with key artifacts like MFT, USN Journal, Registry Hives, Prefetch Files, ShimCache, Amcache, BAM, and SRUM data.
Medium
Path Sections 6 Sections
Reward: +20
This module initially lays the groundwork for understanding Threat Hunting, ranging from its basic definition, to the structure of a threat hunting team. The module also dives into the threat hunting process, highlighting the interrelationships between threat hunting, risk assessment, and incident handling. Furthermore, the module elucidates the fundamentals of Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI). It expands on the different types of threat intelligence and offers guidance on effectively interpreting a threat intelligence report. Finally, the module puts theory into practice, showcasing how to conduct threat hunting using the Elastic stack. This practical segment uses real-world logs to provide learners with hands-on experience.
Hard
Path Sections 9 Sections
Reward: +20
This module offers an exploration of malware analysis, specifically targeting Windows-based threats. The module covers Static Analysis utilizing Linux and Windows tools, Malware Unpacking, Dynamic Analysis (including malware traffic analysis), Reverse Engineering for Code Analysis, and Debugging using x64dbg. Real-world malware examples such as WannaCry, DoomJuice, Brbbot, Dharma, and Meterpreter are analyzed to provide practical experience.
Medium
Path Sections 6 Sections
Reward: +20
This module provides a comprehensive introduction to Splunk, focusing on its architecture and the creation of effective detection-related SPL (Search Processing Language) searches. We will learn to investigate with Splunk as a SIEM tool and develop TTP-driven and analytics-driven SPL searches for enhanced threat detection and response. Through hands-on exercises, we will learn to identify and understand the ingested data and available fields within Splunk. We will also gain practical experience in leveraging Splunk's powerful features for security monitoring and incident investigation.
Medium
Path Sections 36 Sections
Reward: +20
Active Directory (AD) is the leading enterprise domain management suite, providing identity and access management, centralized domain administration, authentication, and much more. Due to the many features and complexity of AD, it presents a large attack surface that is difficult to secure properly. To be successful as infosec professionals, we must understand AD architectures and how to secure our enterprise environments. As Penetration testers, having a firm grasp of what tools, techniques, and procedures are available to us for enumerating and attacking AD environments and commonly seen AD misconfigurations is a must.
Easy
Path Sections 11 Sections
Reward: +20
Learn how to brute force logins for various types of services and create custom wordlists based on your target.
Medium
Path Sections 14 Sections
Reward: +20
This module covers the fundamentals of password cracking using the Hashcat tool.
Medium
Path Sections 19 Sections
Reward: +20
Organizations regularly use a standard set of services for different purposes. It is vital to conduct penetration testing activities on each service internally and externally to ensure that they are not introducing security threats. This module will cover how to enumerate each service and test it against known vulnerabilities and exploits with a standard set of tools.
Medium
Path Sections 19 Sections
Reward: +20 NEW
A backend that handles user-supplied input insecurely can lead to devastating security vulnerabilities such as sensitive information disclosure and remote code execution. This module covers how to identify and exploit server-side bugs, including Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF), Server-Side Template Injection (SSTI), and Server-Side Includes (SSI) injection attacks.
Medium
Path Sections 18 Sections
Reward: +20
Once a foothold is gained during an assessment, it may be in scope to move laterally and vertically within a target network. Using one compromised machine to access another is called pivoting and allows us to access networks and resources that are not directly accessible to us through the compromised host. Port forwarding accepts the traffic on a given IP address and port and redirects it to a different IP address and port combination. Tunneling is a technique that allows us to encapsulate traffic within another protocol so that it looks like a benign traffic stream.
Medium
Path Sections 11 Sections
Reward: +20
This module offers an in-depth exploration of Suricata, Snort, and Zeek, covering both rule development and intrusion detection. We'll guide you through signature-based and analytics-based rule development, and you'll learn to tackle encrypted traffic. The module features numerous hands-on examples, focusing on the detection of prevalent malware such as PowerShell Empire, Covenant, Sliver, Cerber, Dridex, Ursnif, and Patchwork. We also dive into detecting attacking techniques like DNS exfiltration, TLS/HTTP Exfiltration, PsExec lateral movement, and beaconing through IDS/IPS.
Easy
Path Sections 11 Sections
Reward: +20
This module provides a concise yet comprehensive overview of Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and the Elastic Stack. It demystifies the essential workings of a Security Operation Center (SOC), explores the application of the MITRE ATT&CK framework within SOCs, and introduces SIEM (KQL) query development. With a focus on practical skills, students will learn how to develop SIEM use cases and visualizations using the Elastic Stack.
Medium
Path Sections 6 Sections
Reward: +20
This module covers the exploration of Windows Event Logs and their significance in uncovering suspicious activities. Throughout the course, we delve into the anatomy of Windows Event Logs and highlight the logs that hold the most valuable information for investigations. The module also focuses on utilizing Sysmon and Event Logs for detecting and analyzing malicious behavior. Additionally, we delve into Event Tracing for Windows (ETW), explaining its architecture and components, and provide ETW-based detection examples. To streamline the analysis process, we introduce the powerful Get-WinEvent cmdlet.
Easy
Path Sections 11 Sections
Reward: +20
This Hack The Box Academy module covers how to create YARA rules both manually and automatically and apply them to hunt threats on disk, live processes, memory, and online databases. Then, the module switches gears to Sigma rules covering how to build Sigma rules, translate them into SIEM queries using "sigmac", and hunt threats in both event logs and SIEM solutions. It's all hands-on, using real-world malware and techniques.
Hard
Path Sections 23 Sections
Reward: +100
Kerberos is an authentication protocol that allows users to authenticate and access services on a potentially insecure network. Due to its prevalence throughout an Active Directory environment, it presents us with a significant attack surface when assessing internal networks. This module will explain how Kerberos works thoroughly and examines several scenarios to practice the most common attacks against it from multiple perspectives.
Medium
Path Sections 27 Sections
Reward: +100
Active Directory presents a vast attack surface and often requires us to use many different tools during an assessment. The CrackMapExec tool, known as a "Swiss Army Knife" for testing networks, facilitates enumeration, attacks, and post-exploitation that can be leveraged against most any domain using multiple network protocols. It is a versatile and highly customizable tool that should be in any penetration tester's toolbox.
Medium
Path Sections 14 Sections
Reward: +100
This module covers AD enumeration focusing on the BloodHound tool. We will cover various techniques for enumerating key AD objects that will inform our attacks in later modules.
Medium
Path Sections 20 Sections
Reward: +100
Authentication plays an essential role in almost every web application. If a vulnerability arises in the application's authentication mechanism, it could result in unauthorized access, data loss, or potentially even remote code execution, depending on the application's functionality. This module will provide an overview of various access control methods, such as JWT, OAuth, and SAML, and potential attacks against each.
Hard
Path Sections 15 Sections
Reward: +100
This module explores several web vulnerabilities from a whitebox approach: Prototype Pollution, Timing Attacks & Race Conditions, and those arising from Type Juggling. We will discuss how to identify, exploit, and prevent each vulnerability.
Medium
Path Sections 20 Sections
Reward: +100
This module serves as a follow-up to the Game Hacking Fundamentals module. You will learn how to persist Cheat Engine Scripts by scanning for byte arrays, editing game assemblies, utilising runtime hooking to modify games, and tampering with game network traffic using Burp.
DACL Attacks I
mini module tag Mini-Module
Hard
Path Sections 7 Sections
Reward: +100
Discretionary Access Control Lists (DACLs), found within security descriptors, are a fundamental component of the security model of Windows and Active Directory, defining and enforcing access to the various system resources. This mini-module will cover enumerating and attacking common DACL misconfigurations, allowing us to escalate our privileges horizontally and vertically and move laterally across an Active Directory network.
Hard
Path Sections 18 Sections
Reward: +100
This module provides a detailed overview of Supply Chain Attacks, covering hardware and software aspects. It explores the impact of supply chains, the lifecycle of attacks, specific vulnerabilities, and mitigation strategies.
Medium
Path Sections 9 Sections
Reward: +100
This module covers AD enumeration focusing on the PowerView and SharpView tools. We will cover various techniques for enumerating key AD objects that will inform our attacks in later modules.
Medium
Path Sections 12 Sections
Reward: +100
This module provides an overview of Active Directory (AD), introduces core AD enumeration concepts, and covers enumeration with built-in tools.

SOC Analyst - CDSA Pathway

SOC Analyst - CDSA Pathway - This is where I will be posting modules to do for the week.

Medium Path Sections 87 Sections
Required: 660
Reward: +140
Path Modules
Fundamental
Path Sections 9 Sections
Reward: +10
Security Incident handling has become a vital part of each organization's defensive strategy, as attacks constantly evolve and successful compromises are becoming a daily occurrence. In this module, we will review the process of handling an incident from the very early stage of detecting a suspicious event, to confirming a compromise and responding to it.
Easy
Path Sections 11 Sections
Reward: +20
This module provides a concise yet comprehensive overview of Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and the Elastic Stack. It demystifies the essential workings of a Security Operation Center (SOC), explores the application of the MITRE ATT&CK framework within SOCs, and introduces SIEM (KQL) query development. With a focus on practical skills, students will learn how to develop SIEM use cases and visualizations using the Elastic Stack.
Medium
Path Sections 6 Sections
Reward: +20
This module covers the exploration of Windows Event Logs and their significance in uncovering suspicious activities. Throughout the course, we delve into the anatomy of Windows Event Logs and highlight the logs that hold the most valuable information for investigations. The module also focuses on utilizing Sysmon and Event Logs for detecting and analyzing malicious behavior. Additionally, we delve into Event Tracing for Windows (ETW), explaining its architecture and components, and provide ETW-based detection examples. To streamline the analysis process, we introduce the powerful Get-WinEvent cmdlet.
Medium
Path Sections 6 Sections
Reward: +20
This module initially lays the groundwork for understanding Threat Hunting, ranging from its basic definition, to the structure of a threat hunting team. The module also dives into the threat hunting process, highlighting the interrelationships between threat hunting, risk assessment, and incident handling. Furthermore, the module elucidates the fundamentals of Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI). It expands on the different types of threat intelligence and offers guidance on effectively interpreting a threat intelligence report. Finally, the module puts theory into practice, showcasing how to conduct threat hunting using the Elastic stack. This practical segment uses real-world logs to provide learners with hands-on experience.
Medium
Path Sections 6 Sections
Reward: +20
This module provides a comprehensive introduction to Splunk, focusing on its architecture and the creation of effective detection-related SPL (Search Processing Language) searches. We will learn to investigate with Splunk as a SIEM tool and develop TTP-driven and analytics-driven SPL searches for enhanced threat detection and response. Through hands-on exercises, we will learn to identify and understand the ingested data and available fields within Splunk. We will also gain practical experience in leveraging Splunk's powerful features for security monitoring and incident investigation.
Medium
Path Sections 16 Sections
Reward: +20
Microsoft Active Directory (AD) has been, for the past 20+ years, the leading enterprise domain management suite, providing identity and access management, centralized domain administration, authentication, and much more. Throughout those years, the more integrated our applications and data have become with AD, the more exposed to a large-scale compromise we have become. In this module, we will walk through the most commonly abused and fruitful attacks against Active Directory environments that allow threat actors to perform horizontal and vertical privilege escalations in addition to lateral movement. One of the module's core goals is to showcase prevention and detection methods against the covered Active Directory attacks.
Medium
Path Sections 15 Sections
Reward: +10
Network traffic analysis is used by security teams to monitor network activity and look for anomalies that could indicate security and operational issues. Offensive security practitioners can use network traffic analysis to search for sensitive data such as credentials, hidden applications, reachable network segments, or other potentially sensitive information "on the wire." Network traffic analysis has many uses for attackers and defenders alike.
Easy
Path Sections 18 Sections
Reward: +20
Through network traffic analysis, this module sharpens skills in detecting link layer attacks such as ARP anomalies and rogue access points, identifying network abnormalities like IP spoofing and TCP handshake irregularities, and uncovering application layer threats from web-based vulnerabilities to peculiar DNS activities.

OAB Soc Analyst

Custom Learning path for OAB SOC Team.

Medium Path Sections 235 Sections
Required: 980
Reward: +260
Path Modules
Fundamental
Path Sections 8 Sections
Reward: +10
Your first stop in Hack The Box Academy to become acquainted with the platform, its features, and its learning process.
Fundamental
Path Sections 20 Sections
Reward: +10
The learning process is one of the essential and most important components that is often overlooked. This module does not teach you techniques to learn but describes the process of learning adapted to the field of information security. You will learn to understand how and when we learn best and increase and improve your learning efficiency greatly.
Fundamental
Path Sections 30 Sections
Reward: +10
This module covers the fundamentals required to work comfortably with the Linux operating system and shell.
Fundamental
Path Sections 21 Sections
Reward: +10
As an information security professional, a firm grasp of networking fundamentals and the required components is necessary. Without a strong foundation in networking, it will be tough to progress in any area of information security. Understanding how a network is structured and how the communication between the individual hosts and servers takes place using the various protocols allows us to understand the entire network structure and its network traffic in detail and how different communication standards are handled. This knowledge is essential to create our tools and to interact with the protocols.
Fundamental
Path Sections 8 Sections
Reward: +10
This module introduces the topic of HTTP web requests and how different web applications utilize them to communicate with their backends.
Medium
Path Sections 15 Sections
Reward: +10
Network traffic analysis is used by security teams to monitor network activity and look for anomalies that could indicate security and operational issues. Offensive security practitioners can use network traffic analysis to search for sensitive data such as credentials, hidden applications, reachable network segments, or other potentially sensitive information "on the wire." Network traffic analysis has many uses for attackers and defenders alike.
Fundamental
Path Sections 23 Sections
Reward: +10
This module covers the fundamentals of penetration testing and an introduction to Hack The Box.
Fundamental
Path Sections 9 Sections
Reward: +10
This module covers topics that will help us be better prepared before conducting penetration tests. Preparations before a penetration test can often take a lot of time and effort, and this module shows how to prepare efficiently.
Easy
Path Sections 11 Sections
Reward: +20
This module provides a concise yet comprehensive overview of Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and the Elastic Stack. It demystifies the essential workings of a Security Operation Center (SOC), explores the application of the MITRE ATT&CK framework within SOCs, and introduces SIEM (KQL) query development. With a focus on practical skills, students will learn how to develop SIEM use cases and visualizations using the Elastic Stack.
Medium
Path Sections 6 Sections
Reward: +20
This module initially lays the groundwork for understanding Threat Hunting, ranging from its basic definition, to the structure of a threat hunting team. The module also dives into the threat hunting process, highlighting the interrelationships between threat hunting, risk assessment, and incident handling. Furthermore, the module elucidates the fundamentals of Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI). It expands on the different types of threat intelligence and offers guidance on effectively interpreting a threat intelligence report. Finally, the module puts theory into practice, showcasing how to conduct threat hunting using the Elastic stack. This practical segment uses real-world logs to provide learners with hands-on experience.
Medium
Path Sections 6 Sections
Reward: +20
This module covers the exploration of Windows Event Logs and their significance in uncovering suspicious activities. Throughout the course, we delve into the anatomy of Windows Event Logs and highlight the logs that hold the most valuable information for investigations. The module also focuses on utilizing Sysmon and Event Logs for detecting and analyzing malicious behavior. Additionally, we delve into Event Tracing for Windows (ETW), explaining its architecture and components, and provide ETW-based detection examples. To streamline the analysis process, we introduce the powerful Get-WinEvent cmdlet.
Medium
Path Sections 6 Sections
Reward: +20
This module provides a comprehensive introduction to Splunk, focusing on its architecture and the creation of effective detection-related SPL (Search Processing Language) searches. We will learn to investigate with Splunk as a SIEM tool and develop TTP-driven and analytics-driven SPL searches for enhanced threat detection and response. Through hands-on exercises, we will learn to identify and understand the ingested data and available fields within Splunk. We will also gain practical experience in leveraging Splunk's powerful features for security monitoring and incident investigation.
Medium
Path Sections 11 Sections
Reward: +20
This module offers an in-depth exploration of Suricata, Snort, and Zeek, covering both rule development and intrusion detection. We'll guide you through signature-based and analytics-based rule development, and you'll learn to tackle encrypted traffic. The module features numerous hands-on examples, focusing on the detection of prevalent malware such as PowerShell Empire, Covenant, Sliver, Cerber, Dridex, Ursnif, and Patchwork. We also dive into detecting attacking techniques like DNS exfiltration, TLS/HTTP Exfiltration, PsExec lateral movement, and beaconing through IDS/IPS.
Hard
Path Sections 9 Sections
Reward: +20
This module offers an exploration of malware analysis, specifically targeting Windows-based threats. The module covers Static Analysis utilizing Linux and Windows tools, Malware Unpacking, Dynamic Analysis (including malware traffic analysis), Reverse Engineering for Code Analysis, and Debugging using x64dbg. Real-world malware examples such as WannaCry, DoomJuice, Brbbot, Dharma, and Meterpreter are analyzed to provide practical experience.
Easy
Path Sections 18 Sections
Reward: +20
Through network traffic analysis, this module sharpens skills in detecting link layer attacks such as ARP anomalies and rogue access points, identifying network abnormalities like IP spoofing and TCP handshake irregularities, and uncovering application layer threats from web-based vulnerabilities to peculiar DNS activities.
Medium
Path Sections 23 Sections
Reward: +20
This Hack The Box Academy module is focused on pinpointing attacks on Windows and Active Directory. Utilizing Splunk as the cornerstone for investigation, this training will arm participants with the expertise to adeptly identify Windows-based threats leveraging Windows Event Logs and Zeek network logs. Furthermore, participants will benefit from actual PCAP files associated with the discussed Windows and Active Directory attacks, enhancing their understanding of the respective attack patterns and techniques.
Easy
Path Sections 11 Sections
Reward: +20
This Hack The Box Academy module covers how to create YARA rules both manually and automatically and apply them to hunt threats on disk, live processes, memory, and online databases. Then, the module switches gears to Sigma rules covering how to build Sigma rules, translate them into SIEM queries using "sigmac", and hunt threats in both event logs and SIEM solutions. It's all hands-on, using real-world malware and techniques.