iOCO Application Management, OpenText Premier Partner, notes that today’s world of constant engagement with online platforms—whether for work, entertainment or just ordering groceries—is convenient, but also has negative repercussions. “There is no question it has led to the vast increase in the number of offenders involved in cybercriminal activities and their capacity for collaboration to achieve their ill-gotten gains,” says Paul Meyer, iOCO Security Solutions Executive.
In July, the South African Public Works and Infrastructure Minister announced that cyber criminals stole at least R300 million from the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) over a ten-year period. More astonishingly, this is regarded as a conservative estimate.
Various media sources reported on this and noted the latest incident took place in May, when cyber attackers stole R24 million from the department. They quoted the Minister as saying, “I cannot discount the possibility of collusion between officials and criminals in this prolonged period of theft.” This damage to the national fiscus—if it is perpetrated across ministries and departments—is catastrophic, to say the least. In circumstances like this, the ’threat hunters’ must be at the top of their game.
Cybersecurity is a rapidly changing landscape. OpenText poses the important question of how threat hunters stay informed and collaborate. “In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, threat hunters play a crucial role in proactively detecting and mitigating security threats,” says Meyer.
A recent study by The CHISEL Group at the University of Victoria in Canada sheds light on threat hunters' collaboration and information-sharing practices. OpenText shares some of the key findings from the report that can help threat hunters and their managers enhance their strategies.
Collaboration in threat hunting is diverse.
“A diverse collaboration network helps threat hunters to stay abreast of new threat trends, as well as defence tactics and best practices to improve security both internally and externally. Internally, they work closely with teams such as the security operations centre (SOC), data science, and threat intelligence. Externally, they collaborate with clients, cybersecurity insurance companies, and supply chain vendors, and other connections in the industry. Effective communication is also vital for success, but can be difficult with today’s geographic dispersion of teams, which can pose challenges. A breakdown of communication can lead to missed threats and vulnerable systems so it is important to plan how communication will be handled,” he says.
Meyer adds that synchronous communication allows for immediate interaction and quick decision-making. “Tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom are essential for facilitating this real-time communication. Regular meetings—whether daily stand-ups, threat intelligence briefings, or ad-hoc problem-solving sessions—ensure that team members can discuss issues, share updates, and align on objectives promptly. Establishing clear communication standards is recommended, which includes setting expectations for response times during working hours, agreeing on communication protocols for different types of information, and using shared documents or dashboards to keep everyone on the same page.”
Asynchronous communication is key when working across different time zones or when immediate responses are not necessary. “Managing handovers effectively is crucial in this context. For instance, when one team member finishes their shift, they can leave detailed notes and action items in shared tools. This ensures the next person picking up the task has all the information they need to continue the work seamlessly.”
He notes that many communication tools also offer features that support asynchronous collaboration. Documenting decisions, logging key actions, and tagging relevant team members can help keep everyone informed without needing real-time interaction. By blending synchronous and asynchronous methods, teams can maintain momentum and ensure that critical information is communicated effectively, regardless of when or where team members work.
Recommendations for improvement
The report recommends that if collaboration challenges are to be conquered, report generation needs to be automated, the number of meetings must be reduced, and formal handover protocols introduced. These actions can streamline processes and enhance efficiency, allowing threat hunters to focus more on core tasks.
Core skills and learning strategies
“A blend of technical and non-technical skills is required. Technical skills include knowledge of operating systems, networking, programming, and cybersecurity basics. Non-technical skills such as communication, problem-solving, and analytical ability are equally important,” says Meyer.
Information resources
He emphasises that some resources have limitations, such as unreliability of information and paywalls. “Finding high-quality data on emerging threats often takes time, slowing down the response time. Integrating key resources into threat-hunting tools and verifying the trustworthiness of information sources can help mitigate these limitations.”
“To improve information resources, threat hunters suggest better integrating resources into their main tools and developing ways to verify the trustworthiness of information. This can enhance the reliability and accessibility of critical information, enabling threat hunters to stay ahead of emerging threats. While the industry works on new and better ways to integrate threat intelligence, threat hunters can and should continue to engage with industry knowledge sharing and communication to keep informed.”
In conclusion, the OpenText cybersecurity portfolio supported by iOCO offers threat hunters and security analysts 360-degree visibility across endpoints and network traffic to proactively identify, triage, and investigate anomalous and malicious behaviour.
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