Proactive Threat Hunting

Mjolnir's threat hunters are seasoned incident responders and forensic analysts who have investigated hundreds of breaches. They know what adversary tradecraft looks like in telemetry data because they have seen it in real compromises. This experience allows them to spot the subtle anomalies — a service account authenticating at an unusual hour, a process running from an unexpected directory, a DNS query pattern that does not match normal behavior — that automated systems overlook.

Hypothesis-Driven Hunting

The most effective threat hunts begin with a specific, testable hypothesis informed by threat intelligence, industry trends, or knowledge of your environment. Our hunters formulate hypotheses based on the adversary groups most likely to target your organization, recent campaign intelligence from our Skuggaheimar unit, and the specific technologies and architectures in your environment.

• Threat-actor-specific hypotheses based on documented TTPs of groups targeting your sector
• Environment-specific hypotheses informed by your architecture, technology stack, and past incidents
• Campaign-driven hypotheses triggered by active threat intelligence from Skuggaheimar
• Structured hypothesis development using the PEAK (Prepare, Execute, Act, Knowledge) framework
• Documented methodology ensuring hunts are repeatable and results are verifiable

IOC & TTP-Based Hunting

When threat intelligence identifies specific indicators of compromise (IOCs) or tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) associated with active campaigns, our hunters sweep your environment for any trace of these artifacts. This approach is particularly valuable when a new threat is disclosed that may have compromised organizations before detection signatures were available.

• IOC sweeps for file hashes, IP addresses, domains, URLs, email addresses, and registry keys
• TTP-based hunting across MITRE ATT&CK techniques using log and telemetry data
• Retroactive analysis — searching historical data for indicators that predate their discovery
• Supply chain compromise investigation — hunting for artifacts of compromised software and updates
• Cross-referencing with CISA advisories, vendor disclosures, and peer intelligence sharing

Behavioral Analysis & Anomaly Detection

Advanced adversaries avoid known IOCs and modify their TTPs between engagements. Behavioral analysis hunts for deviations from established baselines — unusual authentication patterns, abnormal data flows, unexpected process execution, and irregular administrative activity that may indicate compromise even when no known IOC is present.

• Authentication anomaly analysis — unusual times, sources, and patterns across identity systems
• Process execution baselining and deviation detection on critical systems
• Network traffic analysis — unusual data volumes, new external connections, and beaconing patterns
• Privilege usage analysis — service account behavior, admin tool usage, and escalation patterns
• DNS analysis for domain generation algorithms (DGA), tunneling, and covert communication
• Lateral movement detection through SMB, WMI, WinRM, and RDP correlation

Hunt Outcomes & Operationalization

Every threat hunt produces value regardless of whether a threat is found. Hunts that discover adversary activity trigger immediate incident response. Hunts that find no threats still generate detection improvements, telemetry gap identifications, and institutional knowledge that strengthens your security posture for future defense.

• Immediate escalation and incident response coordination when threats are confirmed
• New detection rules and analytics derived from hunt findings
• Telemetry and visibility gap identification — where do you lack the data needed to hunt effectively?
• Hunt documentation for institutional knowledge and SOC analyst training
• ATT&CK coverage updates reflecting techniques validated through hunting activity
• Recommendations for log source additions and configuration changes