Data Quality Surpasses Staffing as Top Threat Hunting Barrier
Event summary
- 50% of threat hunters now cite data quality or quantity as their primary barrier, overtaking staffing (45%) for the first time.
- Cloud infrastructure is the toughest environment to hunt in, with 32% of respondents highlighting it as the most challenging area.
- Only 40% of threat hunting programs formally measure their effectiveness, down from 64% in 2024.
- Living-off-the-land techniques are the dominant method used by nation-state actors (73%) and organized crime (63%).
- AI/ML incorporation plans have decreased to 39% from 48% in 2025, indicating more grounded expectations.
The big picture
The shift from staffing to data quality as the primary barrier in threat hunting reflects broader industry trends towards data-centric security strategies. As organizations increasingly move to cloud infrastructure, the ability to manage and analyze data effectively will be critical. The decline in formal measurement of hunt outcomes suggests potential budgetary and operational risks for threat hunting programs.
What we're watching
- Data Management
- How organizations will address data quality and quantity challenges to improve threat hunting effectiveness.
- Methodology Erosion
- Whether the decline in formally defined threat hunting methodologies will impact program success rates.
- AI Integration
- The pace at which AI/ML solutions will be effectively incorporated into threat hunting workflows.
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