Question 1

What are Indicators of Compromise?

Accepted Answer

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) are forensic artifacts indicating potential security breach. Types: IP addresses (C2 servers), domains (phishing sites), URLs (malware downloads), file hashes (malware samples), email addresses (attackers), file paths, registry keys, mutexes. Used in: threat intelligence sharing (STIX/TAXII), SIEM rules, IDS/IPS signatures, threat hunting. Extract IOCs from: security logs, incident reports, malware analysis, threat feeds.

Question 2

How to extract IOCs from text?

Accepted Answer

Use regex patterns or specialized tools to identify IOCs in unstructured text. Common patterns: IPv4 (192.0.2.1), IPv6, domains (example.com), URLs, MD5/SHA hashes, email addresses. Challenges: defanged IOCs (hxxp://example[.]com), false positives (version numbers as IPs), context. Our tool: automatically detects patterns, handles defanged format, removes duplicates, exports to CSV/JSON. Use for: parsing threat reports, analyzing logs, enriching SIEM data.

Question 3

What are defanged IOCs?

Accepted Answer

Defanged IOCs are intentionally modified to prevent accidental clicks or DNS lookups. Common modifications: hxxp:// (instead of http://), example[.]com (brackets), 192[.]0[.]2[.]1 (brackets), @ replaced with [at]. Used in: threat reports, email communication, documentation. Prevents: accidental malware execution, DNS queries to C2 servers, analyst mistakes. Refanging: convert back to original format for analysis. Our tool automatically detects and refangs IOCs.

Question 4

How to validate extracted IOCs?

Accepted Answer

Validation prevents false positives. Steps: 1) Check format (valid IP ranges, domain TLDs, hash lengths). 2) Remove private IPs (10.x, 172.16-31.x, 192.168.x). 3) Exclude loopback (127.x). 4) Verify hash algorithms (MD5=32 chars, SHA-1=40, SHA-256=64). 5) Check domain reputation (VirusTotal, AbuseIPDB). 6) Context analysis (log timestamps, related IOCs). 7) Remove CDN/legitimate services (cloudflare, google). Use threat intelligence platforms for enrichment.

Question 5

What IOC formats are supported?

Accepted Answer

Common formats: IPv4 (192.0.2.1), IPv6 (2001:db8::1), domains (example.com, sub.example.co.uk), URLs (https://example.com/path), MD5 hashes (32 hex), SHA-1 (40 hex), SHA-256 (64 hex), email addresses (user@domain.com), CVE IDs (CVE-2024-1234). Defanged variants: hxxp://, example[.]com, 192[.]0[.]2[.]1. Output: CSV (spreadsheet analysis), JSON (SIEM integration), STIX (threat sharing), OpenIOC (standardized). Our tool auto-detects all common formats.

Question 6

How to use IOCs for threat hunting?

Accepted Answer

IOC-based hunting workflow: 1) Collect IOCs from threat intel feeds, reports, sandboxes. 2) Enrich with context (malware family, campaign, TTP). 3) Search SIEM/EDR logs for matches (firewall blocks, DNS queries, file hashes). 4) Investigate matches (timeline analysis, lateral movement, data exfiltration). 5) Expand IOCs (pivot to related artifacts). 6) Update detection rules. Tools: Splunk, ELK, Sentinel, CrowdStrike. Limitation: IOC-based detection misses zero-days.

Question 7

What are IOC false positives?

Accepted Answer

False positives occur when legitimate indicators misidentified as malicious. Common causes: public DNS servers (8.8.8.8), CDN IPs (Cloudflare, Akamai), popular domains (google.com in logs), version numbers as IPs (10.0.1.2 in software), test/example domains. Reduce false positives: whitelist known-good IOCs, check reputation scores, require multiple IOC matches, add context (user behavior, timeline), validate with threat intel. Balance sensitivity vs accuracy.

Question 8

How to share IOCs securely?

Accepted Answer

Share IOCs using standardized formats: STIX/TAXII (structured threat intelligence), MISP (sharing platform), OpenIOC (open format), CSV/JSON (simple). Best practices: 1) Defang before sharing (prevent accidental access). 2) Include context (malware family, confidence score, source). 3) Use TLP (Traffic Light Protocol) for sensitivity: TLP:CLEAR (public), TLP:GREEN (community), TLP:AMBER (limited), TLP:RED (eyes only). 4) Anonymize victim data. 5) Verify accuracy before sharing.

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