In cybersecurity, we’re often drowning in data. We have logs, alerts, IPs, user behaviors, threat intel feeds and more. It’s a firehose. And while traditional tools help us sift through it, they often fall short when it comes to understanding the relationships between all those data points. That’s where graphs come in.
Graphs aren’t just for math geeks or social networks. They’re one of the most powerful tools we have for making sense of complex, interconnected systems. Like a companies’ technology footprint.
John Lambert, a distinguished researcher at Microsoft, is known for saying, “Defenders think in lists. Attackers think in graphs.” Let’s talk about what that means to you.
What is a graph? At its core, a graph is just a way to represent relationships. You’ve got nodes (things like users, devices, files, or IPs) and edges (the connections between them—like logins, file transfers, or network traffic). It’s like a map of your environment, but instead of roads and cities, you’re mapping behaviors and interactions.
Why graphs are a game-changer
1. They Reveal Hidden Patterns
Graphs help us spot anomalies that would be nearly impossible to see in a list. For example, if a user account suddenly starts accessing systems it’s never touched before, that stands out in a graph. It’s like seeing a new road appear overnight on your map—something’s up.
2. They Make Threat Hunting Smarter
Threat hunters can use graph queries to trace the path of an attack. They help you follow the breadcrumbs from initial access to lateral movement to data exfiltration. It’s not just about finding the needle in the haystack. It’s about understanding how the needle got there in the first place.
3. They Power Better Detection
Machine learning models built on graph data can detect suspicious behavior based on how entities interact, not just what they do in isolation. That’s a big leap from signature-based detection.
4. They Help Us Think Like Attackers
Graphs let us model our environments the same way, helping us anticipate how an attacker might move through our systems and where we can cut them off.
Real-World Use Cases
Identity and Access Management: Visualize who has access to what, and how that access is being used.
Insider Threat Detection: Spot unusual patterns of behavior across users and systems.
Incident Response: Quickly map out the scope of a breach and identify affected assets.
Zero Trust Architecture: Understand and enforce least privilege by mapping trust relationships.
Graphs aren’t just another tool in the toolbox. In a world where attackers are constantly evolving, we need to evolve how we understand our environments. Graphs help us do that. Not only do they show us what’s happening, but we can see how everything is connected.
Nice article!