Threat Detection

What is threat detection and response?

Threat detection and response is an important aspect of cybersecurity and risk management. It describes the practice of identifying and mitigating any malicious activity that could harm and compromise computer systems, networks, applications, and data. Its primary goal is to protect the digital assets of an organization from cyber threats and attacks.

How threat detection works

Threat detection involves a number of tools, processes, and a lot of human expertise in order to effectively identify and mitigate potential cyber threats. The key components of threat detection and response include –

Threat Detection

Threat detection involves –

• continuous monitoring of various system’s activities to identify anomalous behaviours and patterns, which could indicate a potential threat
• looking for abnormal network activity such as spikes in traffic or deviations in user behaviour, which could indicate a security breach
• using known patterns or signatures of familiar threats as a sign to match similar activities

Threat Intelligence

Threat intelligence involves –

• recognizing and confirming that an incident has occurred
• taking immediate action to limit the impact of the incident and prevent it from spreading further
• identifying the cause and removing any traces of malicious activity
• recovering and restoring systems and data that have been impacted
• evaluating to improve future responses

Automation and Orchestration

Automation and oOrchestration involves using tools and processes to quickly respond to known threats or low-risk incidents – in an automated fashion, as well as combining various tools and technologies to work together seamlessly for improved threat response.

Threat Hunting

Threat hunting refers to the process of actively searching for potential threats that might have breached security measures that are already in place, as well as collecting and analyzing data related to incidents to better understand the given attack and prevent it from happening in the future.

Protect your organization with superior threat detection

As cyber threats become more sophisticated and ubiquitous, organizations must rely on superior threat detection to protect data, employees and reputation. And because the vast majority of cyber crime begins with a phishing or spear-phishing email, any effective threat detection solution must center on your email system.

To combat ever-evolving attacks, you'll need threat detection services that provide a multi-layered approach to cyber security. No single threat detection tool can stop every kind of cybersecurity attack.

While some attacks use malicious URLs and weaponized attachments, others use advanced social engineering techniques that won't show up in all threat detection solutions.

For comprehensive cybersecurity tools that combine a variety of defenses and threat detection techniques, consider the comprehensive cybersecurity services available from Mimecast.

Threat detection and response challenges

When it comes to threat detection and response, here are some of the most common challenges –

• the ever-changing threat landscape and the continuously evolving cyber attack techniques
• the increasing attack surface – businesses are adopting various technologies, such as cloud computing, remote / hybrid working, numerous mobile devices and collaboration tools, as well as solutions to optimize productivity; these have great benefits for businesses around the world, however there is also a drawback to this rapid expansion of the digital environment – it results in an  exponential increase in the potential attack surface for cybercriminals, making it difficult for organizsations to monitor, detect, and respond to threats in a timely manner
• budget constrains and lack of skilled personnel

Key features of threat detection and response solutions

Threat detection and response solutions should include the following features: Malicious URL Detection – scans links in email in real-time to detect, block, or rewrite URLs when links are determined to be malicious or suspicious.

Weaponized Attachment Detection – performs deep inspection analytics on attachments and blocks, rewrites, or sandboxes suspicious files.

Impersonation Prevention – scans inbound email to detect domain similarity, header anomalies, and other tell-tale signs of an impersonation attack.

Insider Threat Detection – scans attachments and URLs in internal email to identify malicious links, malware, and other threats as well as potential leaks, both inadvertent and malicious.

Virus, Malware and Spam Protection – uses sophisticated, multi-layered detection engines to stop these threats at the gateway.

Threat detection from Mimecast

Mimecast provides cloud-based solutions for email security, archiving and continuity in a single, integrated subscription service. By providing threat detection tools to ensure security as well as continuity and archiving tools to ensure availability, Mimecast helps to achieve cyber resiliency for your email system.

Mimecast's threat detection services scan incoming and outgoing email to quickly and effectively identify and remediate threats. Mimecast's multi-layered detection engines and sophisticated threat intelligence help to block a wide number of threats, including viruses, spam, malware, data leaks and advanced threats like spear-phishing.

Mimecast's comprehensive threat detection technology

Mimecast's detection solutions include a suite of Targeted Threat Protection technologies.

• URL Protect. This service scans URLs in both incoming and archived emails on every click, preventing users from accessing websites deemed to be suspicious or dangerous.
• Attachment Protect. Mimecast's threat detection engines scan all attachments for malware, either sandboxing suspicious attachments or rewriting attachments to a safe format for immediate delivery to recipients.
• Internal Email Protect. Mimecast prevents damage from insider threats by scanning internal and outgoing email for malware, malicious URLs, and inadvertent or malicious leaks.
• Impersonation Protect. Mimecast scans all inbound emails for anomalies and indications of an impersonation attack, blocking or tagging emails before they are sent to the recipient.

Additional threat detection services from Mimecast include a sophisticated Content Control & DLP services and Secure Messaging services that can help to prevent inadvertent loss of financial data, intellectual property and other sensitive information.

Learn more about threat detection with Mimecast.

Threat detection and response FAQs

How to implement a threat detection and response program?

To build a threat detection and response program, organizations need to gain full visibility into their environment and users, utilizing and connecting various data points to detect potential indicators of compromise. Achieving a balance between having enough data to work with and avoiding information overload is crucial. Next, building detection capabilities and response processes is essential, involving identifying anomalies and known attacker techniques through user and attacker behavior analytics. Finally, organizations should regularly test their incident response plan and ensure preparedness for handling security incidents. By following these steps, organizations can strengthen their security posture and better defend against cyber threats.

What cyber threats are the focus of threat detection and response?

Threat detection and response programs aim to address as many different cyber threats as possible that can potentially harm an organization, however key cyber threats that are the focus of threat detection and response programs –

• Phishing Attacks
• Malware
• Ransomware
• DDoS Attacks

Generally, highly evasive attacks are the ones that threat detection and response efforts focus on the most.

What are some methods and best practices for threat detection?

Threat detection and response involves various methods and best practices to ensure that potential security threats are being identified effectively.

It involves continuous monitoring, user behaviour, network, and traffic analysis, as well as proactive threat hunting, incident response planning, regular security training, and awareness amongst others.

A holistic approach that combines these techniques enables organizations to respond swiftly to evolving cyber threats.