Secure Score in Threat Hunting
Overview
Microsoft Secure Score can be a valuable tool to identify potential weak points in an organization's security posture and prioritize threat-hunting activities. Here’s how it could be tailored to enhance threat hunting efforts:
1. Identifying Security Gaps
The secure score provides a clear overview of an organization's security weaknesses by listing unimplemented or underutilized security features. Threat hunters can focus on areas with lower scores, as these might be the weakest links in the security chain. For example, if the score shows that MFA isn’t widely deployed or Conditional Access policies are lax, it could indicate that attackers may exploit these gaps, prompting focused investigation in these areas.
2. Prioritizing Threat Hunting Based on Risk
The secure score assigns a weight to each recommendation, helping a threat hunter prioritize high-risk configurations or behaviors that might expose the organization to attacks. For instance, if the score shows that certain risky user behaviors (like weak passwords or high access privileges) aren't being addressed, threat hunters can prioritize investigations into potential account compromises or privilege escalation attempts.
3. Tracking Security Changes Over Time
A threat hunter can monitor changes in the secure score over time, which can signal potential security improvements or newly introduced vulnerabilities. For example, if a score drops, it may indicate a misconfiguration or a newly added security risk, such as disabled security features or unaddressed vulnerabilities. This can help guide hunting efforts toward recent security missteps.
4. Correlating Secure Score with Incident Data
Threat hunters can correlate findings from Microsoft Secure Score with data from security incidents. For example, if the score indicates a lack of security controls in a certain area (like limited logging for SharePoint), this could direct a threat hunter to investigate incidents related to file sharing or access control in SharePoint Online. By focusing on areas where security is weakest, they may uncover evidence of malicious activity or overlooked incidents.
5. Hunting for Unmonitored Areas
Some Secure Score recommendations are tied to services or areas that may not be monitored well. For instance, if Exchange Online has poor configuration scores around mail flow rules, a threat hunter might explore email-based threats such as phishing, business email compromise (BEC), or malicious attachments, using this knowledge to look for anomalies in email logs.
6. Improving Visibility for Threat Hunting
By addressing the recommendations from Microsoft Secure Score, threat hunters can enhance the visibility of key areas of the network. For example, enabling advanced logging or setting stricter Conditional Access policies provides threat hunters with richer data to detect anomalies and potential threats, allowing for more effective monitoring.
7. Leveraging Secure Score as a Continuous Feedback Mechanism
Microsoft Secure Score can act as a dynamic feedback loop for threat hunters. As they implement recommendations (like enabling logging, MFA, and data protection), the score reflects the new security posture. Threat hunters can use this to validate that the changes improve their ability to detect and respond to potential threats, ensuring that their hunting efforts are aligned with the current state of security.
8. Compliance-Based Threat Hunting
For organizations in regulated industries, maintaining compliance with security standards is critical. Secure Score is often mapped to industry frameworks like CIS or NIST. Threat hunters can use this mapping to focus on areas where non-compliance might also signal an increased threat surface. By improving compliance, hunters reduce attack vectors and enhance the organization’s resilience against advanced threats.
Example Workflow for a Threat Hunter:
Review the Secure Score Dashboard: Identify areas where the security configuration is weak or where security best practices aren't being followed.
Prioritize Hunting Efforts: Focus on the areas that are most vulnerable based on the score’s recommendations—such as poorly configured access controls, weak MFA coverage, or low logging visibility.
Investigate User Behavior: Use Secure Score recommendations related to user behavior (e.g., risky logins, password issues) to guide hunts around potential insider threats or compromised accounts.
Cross-Reference with Threat Intelligence: Leverage external threat intelligence and correlate it with the weak points identified by the Secure Score to spot targeted attacks.
Test Security Controls: Use the identified gaps to simulate attacks (red teaming) or detect advanced persistent threats (APT) that may have already exploited weak security measures.
By aligning threat-hunting activities with Microsoft Secure Score insights, hunters can focus their efforts on areas most likely to be exploited by attackers, ensuring a proactive and data-driven approach to securing the environment.
Last updated