The MITRE ATTACK® framework is a curated knowledge base and model for cyber adversary behavior. It is designed to be used by cybersecurity teams to strengthen their organization’s security posture.. The MITRE ATT&CK framework reflects 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:
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:
Focuses on adversarial behavior in Windows, Mac, Linux, and cloud environments.
Focuses on adversarial behavior on iOS and Android operating systems.
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:
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:
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.
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:
Initial Access
Uses stolen credentials to create a new account
Persistence
Adversary spear-phishes the victim, gaining credentials to AWS
Privilege Escalation
Uses valid account to change access permissions
Defense Evasion
Creates a new VM instance to bypass firewall rules
Credential Access
Steals access token to a database
Discovery
Locates target database
Lateral Movement
Uses application access token to access database
Collection
Mines information from the database
Exfiltration
Exfiltrates to adversary account in AWS
You can see the entire ATT&CK for Cloud matrix in Figure 2 below. It shows a subset of the ATT&CK for Enterprise matrix tactics and techniques.
The Lockheed Martin Cyber Kill Chain® is another well-known framework for understanding adversary behavior in a cyber attack. The Kill Chain model contains the following stages, presented in sequence:
Lockheed Martin provides more detail on their Cyber Kill Chain framework in Figure 3.
There are two primary differences between MITRE ATT&CK and the Cyber Kill Chain.
The MITRE ATT&CK framework can help an organization in several ways. In general, the following are applicable benefits to adopting MITRE ATT&CK:
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.