CCyber Security

MITRE ATT&CK Framework: Everything You Need to Know

MITRE ATT&CK Framework
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  1. Understanding the MITRE ATT&CK framework
  2. Breakdown of the MITRE ATT&CK Framework
  3. What is in the MITRE ATT&CK Matrix?
  4. How to use the MITRE ATT&CK framework matrix
  5. Use cases of the MITRE ATT&CK framework
  6. Benefits of the MITRE ATT&CK framework
  7. Recommended Articles
  8. References

MITRE ATT&CK® stands for MITRE Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge (ATT&CK). The MITRE ATT&CK framework is a curated knowledge base and model for cyber adversary behavior, reflecting the various phases of an adversary’s attack lifecycle and the platforms they are known to target. The tactics and techniques abstraction in the model provides a common taxonomy of individual adversary actions understood by both offensive and defensive sides of cybersecurity.

It also provides an appropriate level of categorization for adversary action and specific ways of defending against it.

The behavioral model presented by ATT&CK contains the following core components:

  • Tactics denoting short-term, tactical adversary goals during an attack (the columns)
  • Techniques describing how adversaries achieve tactical goals (the individual cells)
  • Documented adversary usage of techniques and other metadata (linked to techniques).

MITRE ATT&CK was created in 2013 in answer to the research question “How well are we doing at detecting documented adversary behavior?” It is a result of MITRE’s Fort Meade Experiment (FMX) where researchers emulated both adversary and defender behavior to improve post-compromise detection of threats through telemetry sensing and behavioral analysis.

Understanding the MITRE ATT&CK framework

The MITRE ATT&CK (pronounced “miter attack”) framework is a free, globally accessible framework that provides comprehensive and up-to-date cyber threat information to organizations looking to strengthen their cybersecurity strategies.

Businesses can use the framework to evaluate and test their security methods, and cybersecurity vendors can use it to vet their products and services.

The framework evaluation criteria are specific to each organization using it and focus on the details of a specific cybersecurity approach. The results of the evaluations are, therefore, noncompetitive; organizations cannot use results to gain a business advantage over other organizations that have been evaluated.

The framework and knowledge base were created and curated by Mitre, a not-for-profit security research organization. The knowledge base is an ongoing project. It contains analyses based on real-world events that organizations can reference when developing threat models and methodologies, and it grows as organizations contribute their knowledge of cyber threats to the knowledge base. The knowledge base, in turn, informs the framework.

Mitre aims to foster a stronger overall cybersecurity community with these free offerings.

Breakdown of the MITRE ATT&CK Framework

Successful and comprehensive threat detection requires understanding common adversary techniques. This includes the ones that may especially pose a threat to your organization, and how to detect and mitigate these attacks. However, the volume and breadth of attack tactics make it nearly impossible for any single organization to monitor every single attack type. This is without taking into account cataloging and translating those findings in a constructive way to anyone outside of their organization.

This was why MITRE developed the ATT&CK framework. ATT&CK, which is an acronym for Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge, is a knowledge base of adversary tactics and techniques. These techniques are indexed and broken down into detail the exact steps and methods that hackers use, making it easy for teams to understand the actions that may be used against a particular platform.

To go a step further, MITRE also incorporates cyber-threat intelligence documenting adversary group behavior profiles to document which attack groups use which techniques.

The ATT&CK matrix structure is similar to a periodic table, with column headers outlining phases in the attack chain (from Initial Access all the way to Impact). The rows below them detail specific techniques. Framework users can further explore any of the techniques to learn more about the tactics, platforms exploited, example procedures, mitigation, and detections.

What is in the MITRE ATT&CK Matrix?

The MITRE ATT&CK matrix contains a set of techniques used by adversaries to accomplish a specific objective. Those objectives are categorized as tactics in the ATT&CK Matrix.

The objectives are presented linearly from the point of reconnaissance to the final goal of exfiltration or “impact”. Looking at the broadest version of ATT&CK for Enterprise, which includes Windows, macOS, Linux, PRE, Azure AD, Office 365, Google Workspace, SaaS, IaaS, Network, and Containers, the following adversary tactics are categorized:

  • Reconnaissance. Gathering information to plan future adversary operations, i.e., information about the target organization
  • Resource Development. Establishing resources to support operations, i.e., setting up command and control infrastructure
  • Initial Access. Trying to get into your network, i.e., spear phishing
  • Execution. Trying the run malicious code, i.e., running a remote access tool
  • Persistence. Trying to maintain their foothold, i.e., changing configurations
  • Privilege Escalation. Trying to gain higher-level permissions, i.e., leveraging a vulnerability to elevate access
  • Defense Evasion. Trying to avoid being detected, i.e., using trusted processes to hide malware
  • Credential Access. Stealing account names and passwords, i.e., keylogging
  • Discovery. Trying to figure out your environment, i.e., exploring what they can control
  • Lateral Movement. Moving through your environment, i.e., using legitimate credentials to pivot through multiple systems
  • Collection. Gathering data of interest to the adversary goal, i.e., accessing data in cloud storage
  • Command and Control. Communicating with compromised systems to control them, i.e., mimicking normal web traffic to communicate with a victim network
  • Exfiltration. Stealing data, i.e., transferring data to a cloud account
  • Impact. Manipulate, interrupt, or destroy systems and data, i.e., encrypting data with ransomware

Within each tactic of the MITRE ATT&CK matrix, there are adversary techniques, which describe the actual activity carried out by the adversary. Some techniques have sub-techniques that explain how an adversary carries out a specific technique in greater detail.

The full ATT&CK Matrix for Enterprise from the MITRE ATT&CK navigator is represented below:
MITRE ATT&CK Framework
MITRE ATT&CK for Enterprise, 2021

How to use the MITRE ATT&CK framework matrix

The MITRE ATT&CK framework can help an organization in several ways. In general, the following are applicable benefits to adopting MITRE ATT&CK:

  1. Adversary Emulation. Assesses security by applying intelligence about an adversary and how it operates to emulate a threat. ATT&CK can be used to create adversary emulation scenarios to test and verify defenses.
  2. Behavioral Analytics Development. Links together suspicious activity to monitor adversary activity. ATT&CK can be used to simplify and organize patterns of suspicious activity deemed malicious.
  3. Red Teaming. Acts as an adversary to demonstrate the impact of a breach. ATT&CK can be used to create red team plans and organize operations.
  4. Defensive Gap Assessment. Determines what parts of the enterprise lack defenses and/or visibility. ATT&CK can be used to assess existing tools or test new tools before purchasing, to determine security coverage and prioritize investment.
  5. SOC Maturity Assessment. Similar to the Defensive Gap Assessment, ATT&CK can be used to determine how effective a security operations center (SOC) is at detecting, analyzing, and responding to breaches.
  6. Cyber Threat Intelligence Enrichment. Enhances information about threats and threat actors. ATT&CK allows defenders to assess whether they are able to defend against specific Advanced Persistent Threats (ATP) and common behaviors across multiple threat actors.

Implementing MITRE ATT&CK typically involves either manual mapping or integration with cybersecurity tools, the most common of which are Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), and Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB).

Use cases of the MITRE ATT&CK framework

Two broad use cases for the framework are penetration testing (pen testing) and cybersecurity service evaluation.

In pen testing, organizations designate a red team — much like MITRE did in its Fort Meade eXperiment (FMX) research project — to simulate behavior and find vulnerabilities. Pen testers can use MITRE to learn how to accurately simulate behaviors so that they can eventually develop accurate defenses.

Cybersecurity vendors can also use MITRE’s evaluations to determine the strength of their products and services. The evaluations provide objective insights into the use of specific commercial security products, offer a transparent analysis of a given product’s capabilities, and strengthen the cybersecurity community as a whole by strengthening vendors that develop products responsible for customer security across many industries.

Other use cases include cybersecurity gap assessments, security operations maturity assessments, user and entity behavior analytics, threat detection and threat intelligence. MITRE ATT&CK use cases continue to evolve and emerge.

Benefits of the MITRE ATT&CK framework

The broad benefits of the framework include the following:

  • A more concrete account of adversarial behaviors.
  • An account of not just threat indicators, but threat groups as well. Businesses can use Mitre to not only detect behaviors but also make educated guesses about who is performing them and track behaviors across different attacker groups. Its attack page features group-based info.
  • Widely used and trusted across many industries, with sector-specific threat information.
  • Takes a communal approach to threat reporting that ensures info is up to date and checked by the public, as well as Mitre.

Using the framework, a business can do the following:

  • associate attack behavior to different groups;
  • pen test its network;
  • find vulnerabilities in its network and map ATT&CK methodologies to threats;
  • discover network misconfigurations;
  • share its cybersecurity knowledge with the broader community; and
  • standardize disparate security tools and techniques to create a more cohesive security strategy.

References

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Jimmy generally lives his life by one dogma: steady improvement. This has taken him on a relentless pursuit of knowledge in diverse fields such as business, tech, insurance, health and many others. With a background in content creation and digital marketing plus over ten years of writing and research experience, he implements an expert's view to help his audiences gain valuable insight. He is also an avid reader, gamer, drummer, full-blown metalhead, and all-round fun gi.

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