Beyond the Buzzwords: Why Every Business Must Understand IOCs and IOBs

Why Every Business Must Understand IOCs and IOBs

A breach isn’t a question of if, it’s a question of when. Every C-suite executive and business owner needs to understand that cybersecurity is no longer just an information technology (IT) issue, it’s a business survival issue.
One of the most overlooked game-changers in modern cyber defense is how we use IOCs (Indicators of Compromise) and IOBs (Indicators of Behaviour). These aren’t just technical terms tossed around by security analysts, they are the early warning systems that help organizations detect attacks before they make headlines.

The Smoke and the Spark: IOCs and IOBs Explained

Think of a fire. An IOC is the smoke. By the time you see it, the fire may already be burning. An IOB, however, is the spark, that is the behaviour that shows the fire is about to start.

IOCs are the evidence left behind by attackers. These are IP addresses, malware hashes, domain names, file names that are essentially the forensic breadcrumbs you can trace after or during an incident.
IOBs are patterns of suspicious activity that suggest an attack is in progress. These include unusual logins at odd hours, rapid access to sensitive files, or privilege escalation across systems.
Whereas IOCs tell you what happened, IOBs present the why and how, and more importantly, they give you a chance to stop the breach before the damage is done.

Why This Matters for Organisations

We have seen a surge in sophisticated cyber-attacks targeting finance, law, healthcare, and mid-sized enterprises. The adversaries are no longer opportunists, they are well-funded, patient, and strategic. Many of these attacks succeed not because of a lack of tools, but because organisations don’t act on the right signals at the right time.
Here's the truth: you cannot prevent what you do not detect.

If you rely only on IOCs, you're reacting too late.

If you're using IOBs, you're playing proactive defense, detecting behaviors before they manifest into compromise.
In our role at RSM, we have seen that companies investing in behavioural analytics and threat hunting based on IOBs significantly reduce breach impact, response time, and long-term costs.

How to Operationalise IOCs and IOBs in Your Business

It’s time we move beyond firewalls and antivirus as our only defense. Here's how we guide our clients and teams at RSM:

Invest in Extended Detection and Response (XDR)
Modern XDR platforms don’t just collect logs, they correlate patterns, flag IOBs, and surface threats across endpoints, networks, and cloud workloads.
Use Threat Intelligence with Context
Raw threat feeds mean nothing without business context. What IP addresses are targeting your industry? What behaviour patterns are normal for your staff? Prioritise localised and actionable intelligence.
Train Teams to Spot Behavioural Red Flags
Cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility. Your staff must be trained to spot anomalies like fake multifactor authentication (MFA) prompts, strange file movements, or unauthorized software installs, and all behavioural indicators that attackers are already inside.
Blend Automation with Human Threat Hunting
Automation can detect IOCs, but human threat hunters are still unmatched when it comes to detecting the subtle IOBs, like a user accessing human resources (HR) files at midnight or lateral movement that’s just beneath the threshold.
Create an IOB-Informed Incident Response Plan
Most incident response plans are too technical or reactive. Redesign yours around common behavioural indicators. Empower your security team to act on gut and data, not just logs.

The Business Case for Proactive Detection
According to IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report, organisations that detect and contain a breach within 200 days save an average of R9.8 million compared to those who don’t. Organisations that adopt IOB-based threat detection shorten response time by up to 36%, dramatically reducing downtime, legal liability, and reputational damage.

When I present to boards, I make it simple: if IOCs are your smoke alarm, IOBs are your fire warden. One helps you react, the other assists you to survive.

We are a team of specialists who are experienced and knowledgeable in cybersecurity and digital technology. Should you require assistance, please feel free to reach out to our key contacts.

Contributors:

Boikokobetso Makhetloane, IT & Security Manager

Lebogang Khunou, Director, Risk Advisory Services