RA 10 Threat Hunting

---
name: "RA-10_threat-hunting"
description: "Establish and maintain a cyber threat hunting capability to: Search for indicators of compromise in organizational systems; and Detect, track, and dis"
category: "information-gathering"
version: "5.2.0"
author: "cyberstrike-official"
tags:
  - nist
  - sp800-53
  - rev5
  - ra-10
  - ra
tech_stack:
  - any
cwe_ids: []
chains_with:
  - CA-2
  - CA-7
  - CA-8
  - RA-3
  - RA-5
  - RA-6
  - SI-4
prerequisites: []
severity_boost:
  CA-2: "Chain with CA-2 for comprehensive security coverage"
  CA-7: "Chain with CA-7 for comprehensive security coverage"
  CA-8: "Chain with CA-8 for comprehensive security coverage"
---

# RA-10 Threat Hunting

## High-Level Description

**Family:** Risk Assessment (RA)
**Framework:** NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

Threat hunting is an active means of cyber defense in contrast to traditional protection measures, such as firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, quarantining malicious code in sandboxes, and Security Information and Event Management technologies and systems. Cyber threat hunting involves proactively searching organizational systems, networks, and infrastructure for advanced threats. The objective is to track and disrupt cyber adversaries as early as possible in the attack sequence and to measurably improve the speed and accuracy of organizational responses. Indications of compromise include unusual network traffic, unusual file changes, and the presence of malicious code. Threat hunting teams leverage existing threat intelligence and may create new threat intelligence, which is shared with peer organizations, Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations (ISAO), Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISAC), and relevant government departments and agencies.

## What to Check

- [ ] Verify RA-10 Threat Hunting is documented in SSP
- [ ] Validate all 3 control requirements are implemented
- [ ] Confirm control is operating effectively
- [ ] Review evidence of continuous monitoring for RA-10

## How to Test

### Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for RA-10 implementation details. Verify the organization has documented how this control is satisfied.

### Step 2: Validate Implementation

```
# For cloud environments, use cloud-audit-mcp tools
# For on-premises, review system configurations directly

# Example: Check if account management policies exist
grep -r "account.management\|access.control" /etc/security/ 2>/dev/null
```

### Step 3: Test Operating Effectiveness

Verify the control is actively functioning, not just documented. Check logs, configurations, and operational evidence.

## Tools

| Tool          | Purpose                           | Usage |
| ------------- | --------------------------------- | ----- |
| Manual Review | Documentation and interview-based | N/A   |

## Remediation Guide

### Control Statement

Establish and maintain a cyber threat hunting capability to:
Search for indicators of compromise in organizational systems; and
Detect, track, and disrupt threats that evade existing controls; and
Employ the threat hunting capability [organization-defined].

### Implementation Guidance

Threat hunting is an active means of cyber defense in contrast to traditional protection measures, such as firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, quarantining malicious code in sandboxes, and Security Information and Event Management technologies and systems. Cyber threat hunting involves proactively searching organizational systems, networks, and infrastructure for advanced threats. The objective is to track and disrupt cyber adversaries as early as possible in the attack sequence and to measurably improve the speed and accuracy of organizational responses. Indications of compromise include unusual network traffic, unusual file changes, and the presence of malicious code. Threat hunting teams leverage existing threat intelligence and may create new threat intelligence, which is shared with peer organizations, Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations (ISAO), Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISAC), and relevant government departments and agencies.

## Risk Assessment

| Finding                              | Severity | Impact                     |
| ------------------------------------ | -------- | -------------------------- |
| RA-10 Threat Hunting not implemented | Medium   | Risk Assessment            |
| RA-10 partially implemented          | Low      | Incomplete Risk Assessment |

## CWE Categories

| CWE ID | Title                 |
| ------ | --------------------- |
| N/A    | No direct CWE mapping |

## References

- [NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 - RA-10](https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/cprt/catalog#/cprt/framework/version/SP_800_53_5_1_1/home?element=ra-10)
- [NIST SP 800-53A Rev 5 (Assessment Procedures)](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/53/a/r5/final)
- [NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 Full Catalog](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/53/r5/upd1/final)

## Checklist

- [ ] Control documented in SSP
- [ ] Implementation evidence collected
- [ ] Operating effectiveness validated
- [ ] Continuous monitoring in place
- [ ] Related controls (CA-2, CA-7, CA-8, RA-3, RA-5) reviewed