Custom Indicators (IOCs)
Understanding Indicator Types
Custom indicators support multiple types:- domain: Domain names
- ipv4, ipv6: IP addresses
- md5, sha256: File hashes
- registry: Registry keys
- username: User account names
Create Custom Indicators
Indicator Actions
1
no_action
Generate a detection but take no preventive action
2
detect
Generate a detection event
3
prevent
Block execution and generate detection
4
allow
Allowlist the indicator (overrides detections)
Search and Manage Indicators
Host Group Scoping
Retroactive Detections
Threat Intelligence Reports
Search Intelligence Reports
Download Intelligence Reports
Threat Actors
Search for Actors
MITRE ATT&CK Mapping
Indicators from Intelligence
Search Intelligence Indicators
Import Intelligence Indicators as Custom IOCs
Malware Families
Vulnerabilities (CVEs)
Detection Rules
Search Snort/Suricata Rules
YARA Rules
Practical Threat Hunting Workflow
1
Research Threat Actor
2
Identify TTPs
3
Gather Indicators
4
Create Custom IOCs
5
Download Intelligence Reports
6
Hunt for Activity
Automated Intelligence Import
Indicator Management Best Practices
- Tag indicators by campaign, threat actor, or incident for tracking
- Use expiration dates to automatically disable time-limited indicators
- Set appropriate actions (detect vs prevent) based on confidence level
- Apply retrodetect selectively to avoid alert fatigue
- Document sources in the description field
- Use host group scoping for testing before global deployment
Next Steps
Managing Policies
Configure prevention policies based on threat intelligence
Cloud Security
Extend threat intelligence to cloud environments