Individual skill
hunting-for-beaconing-with-frequency-analysis
Identify command-and-control beaconing patterns in network traffic by applying statistical frequency analysis, jitter calculation, and coefficient of variation scoring to detect periodic callbacks from compromised endpoints.
internal/tools/skills/data/threat-hunting/hunting-for-beaconing-with-frequency-analysis/SKILL.md
Source commit d42f381ad34843e71a42658e5c57290c713e85af
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- Last checked
- Nov 7, 2026
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- Repository last updated
- Nov 7, 2026
- License
- Apache-2.0
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- cybersecurity Repository topic
- security Repository topic
- bug-bounty Repository topic
- automation Repository topic
- autonomous-pentesting Repository topic
- ai-agent Repository topic
- ai-security Repository topic
- ethical-hacking Repository topic
- golang Repository topic
- penetration-testing Repository topic
- threat-hunting Declared skill tag
- beaconing Declared skill tag
- c2-detection Declared skill tag
- frequency-analysis Declared skill tag
- network-traffic Declared skill tag
- rita Declared skill tag
- jitter-detection Declared skill tag
- mitre-t1071 Declared skill tag
- security Derived category
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# Hunting for Beaconing with Frequency Analysis
## When to Use
- When proactively searching for compromised endpoints calling back to C2 infrastructure
- After threat intelligence reports indicate active C2 frameworks targeting your sector
- When network logs show periodic outbound connections to unfamiliar destinations
- During purple team exercises validating C2 detection capabilities
- When investigating a potential breach and need to identify active C2 channels
## Detection Gaps & Validation
- **High jitter defeats CV thresholds:** a `CV < 0.20` rule misses beacons configured with large jitter (Cobalt Strike `jitter 50`, or Sunburst's minutes-scale randomization) — widen the window, score on data-size consistency, and use FFT/autocorrelation rather than CV alone for jittered beacons.
- **Long sleep / dormancy:** beacons sleeping hours-to-days produce too few connections in a 24h window to be significant — extend the lookback to 7–14 days and lower the `min connections` floor for rare destinations.