What Is the MITRE ATT&CK Framework?

History of the MITRE ATT&CK framework

MITRE ATT&CK was created in 2013 as a result of MITRE's Fort Meade Experiment (FMX). Researchers emulated both adversary and defender behavior in an effort to improve post-compromise detection of threats through telemetry sensing and behavior analytics.

The key question for the researchers was, "How well are we detecting documented adversary behavior?" To answer that question, the researchers developed ATT&CK, which is used as a tool to categorize adversary behavior. ATT&CK stands for adversarial tactics, techniques, and common knowledge.

Here are three iterations of MITRE ATT&CK:

ATT&CK for Enterprise

Focuses on adversarial behavior in Windows, Mac, Linux, and cloud environments.

ATT&CK for Mobile

Focuses on adversarial behavior on iOS and Android operating systems.

ATT&CK for ICS

Focuses on describing the actions an adversary may take while operating within an industrial control system (ICS) network.

MITRE ATT&CK is used worldwide across multiple disciplines including:

• Intrusion detection
• Threat hunting
• Security engineering
• Threat intelligence
• Red teaming
• Risk management [2]

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. These 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."

The broadest version of ATT&CK is ATT&CK for Enterprise. It includes Windows, macOS, Linux, PRE, Azure AD, Office 365, Google Workspace, SaaS, IaaS, network, and containers.

ATT&CK for Enterprise categorizes the following adversary tactics and techniques:

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

Within each tactic of the MITRE ATT&CK matrix there are adversary techniques. These describe the actual activity carried out by the adversary.

Some techniques have subtechniques 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 in Figure 1.

What is different about the MITRE ATT&CK for Cloud Matrix?

Within the MITRE ATT&CK for Enterprise matrix you will find a subsection, the MITRE ATT&CK for Cloud matrix. This contains a subset of the tactics and techniques from the broader ATT&CK Enterprise matrix.

The MITRE ATT&CK Cloud matrix is different from the rest of the Enterprise Matrix. This is because adversary behavior and the techniques used in a cloud attack do not follow the same playbook as attacks on Windows, macOS, Linux, or other enterprise environments.

MITRE ATT&CK techniques in Windows, macOS, Linux, and other related environments typically involve malware and entering a network that is owned and operated by the target organization.

MITRE ATT&CK techniques in AWS, Azure, Office 365, and other related environments do not typically involve malware. This is because the target environment is owned and operated by a third-party cloud service provider like Microsoft or Amazon.

Without the ability to enter the victim's environment, the adversary will most often leverage native features of the cloud service provider to enter the target victim's account, escalate privileges, move laterally, and exfiltrate data. An example of adversary behavior using the ATT&CK for Cloud framework is illustrated in the following example techniques:

How do you use the MITRE ATT&CK 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 they operate to emulate a threat. ATT&CK can be used to create adversary emulation scenarios to test and verify defenses.
2. 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.
3. Behavior 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.
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 prior to purchasing, to determine security coverage and prioritize investment.
5. SOC Maturity Assessment: Similar to 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 tools are security information and event management (SIEM), endpoint detection and response (EDR), and cloud access security broker (CASB).

Using MITRE ATT&CK with a SIEM involves aggregating log data from endpoints, networks, and cloud services, identifying threats, and mapping them to MITRE ATT&CK. Changes to security posture are then conducted in the security tools providing their log data such as EDR or CASB.

Using MITRE ATT&CK with EDR involves mapping events observed by the endpoint agent, which allows defenders to determine the phases of a threat event, assess associated risk, and prioritize response.