Why Are Global Companies Looking for Threat Hunters in Poland?

veritahr.com 2 dni temu

Visa is quietly building proactive cyber teams in Kraków and Warsaw because as managers of billions of public funds, they must also manage people’s trust. They need more than just firewalls. They need people who can spot attackers before the breach. Teams that don’t wait for alerts — that go find the threat. This is why the security priorities of Visa are shifting. And this is where Threat Hunters come in.

What Are Threat Hunters?

Threat Hunters are cybersecurity specialists who actively seek out hidden threats within a company’s networks, endpoints, and cloud environments. Unlike passive monitoring tools that wait for alerts, these experts hunt for subtle signs of attack — long before any alarm is triggered.

What are they looking for? Evidence of insider threats, credential abuse, or sophisticated malware that has slipped past firewalls and antivirus software. They investigate behavioral anomalies, analyze logs, and use threat intelligence to find and isolate intrusions before they cause damage.

In simple terms: they treat cyber defense like a hunt, not a waiting game.

Hybrid Work, Hidden Risks

Hybrid work is now standard in Poland’s finance and tech sectors, but it has also widened the attack surface. Staff use home networks, personal devices, and third-party tools like Teamtailor, Symfonia Kadry i Płace, eRecruiter — many of which fall outside corporate oversight.

That’s a dream scenario for attackers. Without real-time visibility into this expanded perimeter, malicious actors can blend in with legitimate user activity. Most attacks today don’t involve breaking in — they involve logging in with stolen credentials. The result? Threats hide in plain sight.

For HR execs, this is currently more than an IT concern — it’s a talent and business risk issue.

Threat Hunters Equals Competitive Edge

For HR leaders, building strong threat-hunting capabilities can directly support both business resilience and talent strategy.

On the security side, a mature threat-hunting program can help prevent or contain breaches before they become disasters. This is especially crucial in sectors like finance and fintech.

For instance, Statista research shows the average cost of a data breach in financial services is $6.08 million. Meanwhile, 62% of customers said they would lose confidence in a bank if their data were breached, 43% said they would cut ties entirely, according to Accenture.

In such a high-stakes environment, having dedicated Threat Hunters – and touting that capability to clients and partners – signals that the firm is serious about cybersecurity. That can be a powerful differentiator when winning business or maintaining customer trust.

But the benefits don’t stop there.

Cyber Roles That Recruit Themselves

On the talent side, advertising advanced security roles like threat hunting can help attract high-caliber tech professionals. Cybersecurity is one of the hottest fields, with an estimated 3.5 million unfilled jobs globally by 2025 and intense competition for skilled workers. Leading organizations recognize that they must sell a strong security culture to recruit and retain staff.

For example, global firms like J.P. Morgan and major asset managers have dedicated teams – openly recruiting roles such as “Threat Hunting & Incident Response Lead” to underscore their commitment to cutting-edge defense.

In Poland’s fintech and financial sector, payment processors like Poland’s ITCard, a leader in ATM and payment processing, or Backbase can similarly gain an edge by highlighting investments in advanced cybersecurity roles.

Threat Hunting Equals Good Branding

Emphasizing threat hunting and proactive security, like Visa Threat Intelligence, becomes part of employer branding. It says: “We’re ahead of threats, not behind them.” In the war for cyber talent, companies that promise real impact (catching the bad guys before they strike) will stand out. It also fosters a culture of innovation and continuous learning – factors that can improve overall employee engagement.

In short, having Threat Hunter roles in a business serves as both a security tool and a signal that the company invests in its people as well as its defenses.

HR Role in Building Threat Hunter Culture

Cybersecurity can’t operate in a vacuum. HR has a huge opportunity to embed threat hunting into broader hiring and workforce strategies, which is where Verita HR comes in. The cyber talent gap is real. For example, a BCG study notes that 2.8 million cybersecurity positions are unfilled globally, with financial services one of the hardest-hit industries.

Recruiting and retaining these specialists requires more than a payroll line.

1. Smarter Hiring

Use skills-based hiring frameworks such as NICE, for instance, to craft clearer job descriptions and career paths for security talent. To be specific — “Threat Hunter” is not interchangeable with “SOC Analyst.”

2. Upskilling Existing Teams

Offer training pathways such as CompTIA, CySA+ or MITRE ATT&CK so cybersecurity staff can evolve into Threat Hunter roles.

3. Inclusive Talent Pipelines

The best Threat Hunters aren’t always cybersecurity graduates. Look for adjacent skills — networking, psychology, open source intelligence (OSINT) — and build diverse teams that think like attackers.

4. Diversity

Cybersecurity has a diversity gap — women hold just 24% of roles, and that limits perspective. Building threat-hunting teams with varied backgrounds (network analysts, software engineers, even psychology majors) helps spot threats others miss.

5. Culture and Compliance

Make security a shared value. Integrate cyber-awareness into onboarding and hybrid work policies. Empower employees to report threats early and often.

Financial and Fintech Firms Can’t Afford to Wait

Companies like MoneyGram, XTB, or Cinkciarz.pl are part of Poland’s fintech engine. As transaction volumes and digital payment adoption grow, so does the risk landscape. These firms often operate under tight regulatory scrutiny and public trust expectations.

The fintech industry is a prime target. The BCG report found that financial services sector is a top target for cyberattacks and has one of the highest costs per breach. Hiring Threat Hunters isn’t a nice-to-have anymore — it’s a business continuity must-have.

The same goes for global names like Huawei, Deutsche Börse Group, or NASDAQ. Their distributed operations and interconnected systems make them attractive targets for advanced persistent threats (APTs).

Proactively hunting and eliminating these threats not only saves downtime — it also keeps customers, partners, and shareholders confident.

Verita HR Builds Cyber-Resilience Through People

At Verita HR, we’ve seen firsthand how threat hunters are reshaping enterprise security strategies. That’s why our Tech & Cybersecurity Desk supports hiring teams across Poland’s top fintech and financial employers — from Warsaw to Kraków and Wrocław.

We maintain an active pool of screened cyber talent, from SOC analysts to specialized Threat Hunters with backgrounds in offensive security, forensics, and behavioral analytics.