Corelight's Investigator NDR Platform Enhances SOC Efficiency with AI-Powered Threat Hunting

As network attacks grow increasingly sophisticated, Security Operations Centers (SOCs) require deeper visibility into traffic patterns and attacker behaviors. Corelight's Open NDR Platform, specifically its Investigator software, addresses this need by combining comprehensive network monitoring with AI-assisted threat hunting workflows. This hands-on assessment demonstrates how modern NDR solutions accelerate incident response while integrating with existing security infrastructure.

The Evolving Role of NDR in Security Operations

NDR systems have become indispensable for mid-to-advanced security teams, providing critical capabilities beyond traditional endpoint detection. According to security practitioner David Strom, "NDR is a key part of incident response and threat hunting workflows, providing deep visibility across networks while detecting intrusions and anomalies." This visibility extends beyond attack detection to uncover misconfigurations and vulnerabilities that could lead to breaches.

The true power emerges through integration. When NDR platforms like Corelight's Investigator feed enriched network data into SIEMs, EDR solutions like CrowdStrike Falcon, and firewalls such as Palo Alto Networks, analysts gain correlated insights across security layers. This proves particularly valuable against advanced threats that deliberately evade endpoint-focused defenses.

Hands-On Investigation Workflow

Upon launching Investigator, analysts encounter a risk-prioritized dashboard highlighting suspicious IP addresses and activity patterns. Each alert includes MITRE ATT&CK framework mappings, providing immediate context about potential attacker tactics. Strom notes, "Rather than having to figure out network traffic patterns and their meaning, Investigator's dashboard explained this for me."

The platform's AI-assisted investigation feature accelerates analysis through contextual guidance. When examining alerts like NMAP reconnaissance or reverse shell activity, pre-built prompts such as "What type of attack is associated with this alert?" generate step-by-step investigation paths:

1. Identify communication with external command-and-control servers
2. Check for malware payload transfers
3. Detect lateral movement patterns
4. Correlate events across timeline and log sources

"These bulleted items were not just some dry features mentioned in marketing materials but actual elements of my threat hunting," Strom observed. The AI recommendations appear contextually within the analyst's workflow without requiring data sharing for model training—a critical privacy consideration.

Beyond Alerts: Specialized Analysis Capabilities

Investigator extends beyond basic alert triage through specialized modules:

• Anomaly Detection Dashboards: Three interconnected views showing anomaly summaries, detailed forensic data, and novel network behaviors
• Command-Line Interface: Enables advanced hunting using Zeek query language with reusable syntax from Corelight's Threat Hunting Guide
• Integration Hub: Over 50 connectors for tools including Suricata, Yara, and Palo Alto Networks Dynamic Address Groups

Critical Advantages Over Traditional Approaches

NDR platforms deliver two transformative benefits according to hands-on testing:

1. Contextual Enrichment: Every network connection is analyzed against baseline behavior, eliminating the need for analysts to manually recall protocol specifics (e.g., why port 123 activity might be suspicious).
2. Automated Correlation: Suspicious events automatically link to related infrastructure like rogue DNS servers, unexpected cloud data transfers, or compromised internal hosts.

These capabilities prove essential against modern multi-vector attacks. Strom highlights a case where "malware moved across multiple threat domains using a burner email account, compromised South African router, phishing-as-a-service package, and infrastructure spanning Russia, the US, and Croatia." Without NDR's ability to visualize these connections, such complex attacks easily evade detection.

Implementation Considerations

Security teams should note these operational aspects:

• Integration Simplicity: Blocking malicious IPs takes minutes by adding them to Palo Alto's External Dynamic Lists via cryptographic key exchange
• Scalable Analysis: Specialized dashboards help distinguish true threats from false positives caused by misconfigurations
• Skill Development: Command-line queries and AI guidance serve as continuous training tools for junior analysts

"Think of Investigator as a force multiplier for your SOC's middle-level staff, saving them time and providing more resources to figure out threats and mitigations," Strom concludes. As network threats evolve, NDR platforms that combine deep packet inspection with intelligent workflow integration will remain essential for modern defense.

For implementation guidance:

• Explore Corelight's Open NDR Platform at corelight.com
• Review elite SOC use cases at corelight.com/elitedefense