Hackers Hide for an Average of 206 Days: How NetGuardX Detects Threats from Day One

Imagine a scenario: A stranger breaks into an office building, but he doesn't steal items and run away immediately. Instead, he stays there for over 6 months, wandering through departments, inventorying every valuable asset, copying keys to executive offices, and patiently figuring out the codes to the most secret safes. 

According to IBM studies, hackers typically lurk within an enterprise's IT infrastructure for an average of 206 days before being detected. By the time their presence is revealed, the damage has usually become severe, leaving heavy financial and reputational consequences. So, how can we shorten this duration from months to just minutes? 

Time is Money: When Response Speed Determines the Extent of Damage

In information security, time is a critical factor. However, actual statistics reflect an alarming reality regarding the response capabilities of many organizations today. IBM's report indicates a typical attack lifecycle lasts an incredibly long time: 

• Dwell Time: Hackers spend an average of 206 days infiltrating deep and lying in wait. 
  
• Containment Time: Enterprises take an additional 73 days to contain and remediate the incident. 
  
• Total: An organization takes nearly 280 days (more than 9 months) to completely resolve a data breach. 

The longer this period extends, the more opportunities hackers have to escalate privileges, steal sensitive data, or deploy Ransomware on a large scale. 

The High Cost of Delay 

Limor Kessem, Executive Security Advisor at IBM Security, once noted: "When it comes to data breaches, time is money. The longer the response time, the more the organization 'bleeds'." Below is a breakdown of financial damage based on enterprise readiness: 

Long-tail Costs

The damage of a cyberattack does not stop immediately after the incident is remediated. It is like a prolonged aftershock: 

• First Year: The business only pays about 67% of the total cost. 
• Second Year: Continues to bear 22% of incurred costs. 
• Third Year onwards: The remaining 11% continues to linger, especially in highly regulated industries like finance or energy. 

The majority of cyberattack costs often hide beneath the surface and last for years after the incident.

Among these, Lost Business is the most expensive factor. The customer churn rate increases by an average of 3.9% following an incident, causing long-term revenue decline that is difficult to recover. 

For the Healthcare industry, the figures are even more catastrophic. The average cost per lost record reaches $439 USD, pushing the average total cost of a breach in this sector to $6.5 million USD. 

Why Does Hacker Dwell Time Persist for So Long?

The failure of traditional security methods stems not only from a lack of tools but also because the approach has not kept up with the unpredictable transformations of cybercrime. Hackers today do not execute direct intrusion attacks; they operate in an organized, patient, and extremely sophisticated manner to maintain a long-term presence in the system.

Instead of using malware easily identified by outdated signature-based security systems, modern hackers apply "Living off the Land" tactics. 

• Using Legitimate Admin Tools: They leverage existing system administration tools (such as PowerShell, WMI) to execute attack behaviors. This helps them hide their digital footprint, making malicious actions look like routine maintenance tasks. 
• Abusing Privileged Accounts: By hijacking high-level accounts, hackers can perfectly "blend in" with legitimate network traffic. They move laterally within the network without triggering any alerts from conventional monitoring tools, which are designed primarily to detect external threats. 

During this "dwell time," hackers do not attack immediately. They patiently execute preparatory steps to maximize damage when the time comes: 

• Data Exfiltration: Silently copying and stealing customer information, trade secrets, and valuable intellectual property. 
• Privilege Escalation: Expanding control from a single workstation to the entire core system. 
• Weaponization: Pre-installing Ransomware or destructive malware and lying dormant, waiting for the moment the organization is most vulnerable (such as holidays or when IT staffing is thinnest) to trigger it, leaving the victim unable to react and rendering the damage irreversible. 

NetGuardX: Detecting Hackers from "Day One"

To deal with hackers hiding within the system, businesses need a more proactive approach. That is exactly why NetNam developed NetGuardX – a comprehensive monitoring and incident response service. Instead of waiting for alerts, NetGuardX proactively hunts for the slightest anomalies the moment they appear. 

NetGuardX's 4 Technological Pillars:  

• Real-time Behavioral Monitoring: Advanced behavioral analysis technology continuously tracks all user and system activities. Any unauthorized access attempt or unusual data transfer behavior is immediately "flagged." 
• AI and Automation Application: The power of Artificial Intelligence analyzes millions of events per second. AI helps eliminate false positives, ensuring the operations team focuses only on real threats. According to IBM, applying security automation can optimize costs by up to 50% compared to manual handling. 
• Endpoint Monitoring & User Behavior Analytics (UBA): The Endpoint is often the weakest link. NetGuardX integrates deep monitoring of every device, ensuring every suspicious action – for example, an accountant suddenly downloading a large amount of data at midnight – is investigated promptly. 
• Instant Incident Response: When a threat is detected, the system sends real-time alerts with detailed context, helping to shorten detection time from 206 days to just a few minutes. 

Strategic Value: Optimizing Costs Through Proactivity

Early detection is not just a technical issue; it is a critical economic problem for business leadership. Shifting the mindset from "remediation" to "prevention at the source" brings clear financial benefits. Data shows that companies capable of detecting and containing breaches in under 200 days saved an average of $1.23 million USD in processing costs. 

Investing in early detection is a smart strategy to balance the financial scale and minimize risk.
 

Practical Benefits When Partnering with NetGuardX: 

1. Protect Cash Flow: Minimize legal fines, breach notification costs, and expensive "long-tail" costs. 
2. Maintain Trust: Preventing data breaches helps maintain brand reputation and retain customers and partners. 
3. Regulatory Compliance: Meet strict data security standards (such as ISO 27001, Data Law 2025), avoiding unnecessary legal troubles. 

Information security in the digital age is no longer about building thicker firewalls, but about the ability to see what is happening inside those walls. NetGuardX commits to becoming a strategic partner for businesses, turning IT infrastructure into a transparent fortress where no "thief" can hide for more than 24 hours. 

To learn more about how NetGuardX protects businesses and optimizes investment costs for cybersecurity services, contact NetNam today. 

Contact NetNam: 

• Hotline: 1900 1586
• Email: netguardx@netnam.vn
• Website: www.netnam.com
• omprehensive Cybersecurity Monitoring Service: www.netguardx.netnam.com