MITRE ATT@CK

MITRE ATT&CK® (Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge). 

• BLUF: It's a globally accessible knowledge base developed by the MITRE Corporation that serves as a reference for cyber adversary behavior https://attack.mitre.org/. This website provides the latest ATT&CK knowledge base, including matrices, detailed descriptions of tactics and techniques, and additional resources.

• A curated knowledge base and model that maps cyber adversary tactics and techniques across various attack phases and targeted platforms.

• Provides a common language for understanding attacker behavior, allowing better communication and collaboration between cybersecurity professionals.

How to Implement MITRE ATT&CK: (4-Processes)

MITRE ATT&CK itself isn't a tool you implement, but a resource that informs your cybersecurity strategy. 

1. Threat Modeling (6 Steps): Threat modeling involves a systematic process to identify, analyze, and mitigate potential security threats to your systems and data. Here's a breakdown of the steps to identify tactics and techniques most relevant to your organization based on industry, attack surface, and risk tolerance -- NOTE (2): (1) Involve stakeholders from different departments (IT, Security, Business) during the threat modeling process to gain a well-rounded perspective. (2) Regularly review and update your threat model as your organization evolves and the threat landscape changes (aka "Matuer Assessment Plan")

   1. Step 1: Define Security Objectives and Assets

      • Security Objectives: Identify what you want to protect. This could be data confidentiality, system integrity, or availability.

      • Assets: List all the critical assets that hold your valuable data or functionality. This could include servers, applications, databases, or user accounts.

   2. Step 2: Understand Your Industry Threats

      • Research common cyber threats faced by your specific industry. Industry reports, news articles, and security advisories can be helpful resources.

      • Look for targeted attacks or techniques specific to your industry.

   3. Step 3: Identify Your Attack Surface

      • These are all the ways an attacker could potentially gain access to your systems and data.

      • Consider external-facing applications, network connections, APIs, user access points, and any physical security measures.

   4. Step 4: Risk Assessment

      • Evaluate the likelihood and impact of each potential attack based on your identified assets and attack surface.

      • Techniques like STRIDE (Spoofing, Tampering, Repudiation, Information Disclosure, Denial of Service, Elevation of Privilege) can help categorize potential threats.

   5. Step 5: Mapping Threats to MITRE ATT&CK

      • Use the MITRE ATT&CK matrix to identify tactics and techniques that align with the threats you identified.

      • Filter the ATT&CK matrix by industry, platform, and data types relevant to your organization.

   6. Step 6: Prioritize Threats Based on Risk

      • Considering the risk assessment from step 4, prioritize the tactics and techniques that pose the biggest threat to your organization.

2. Security Control Selection (5 Steps): Choose security controls that address the identified tactics and techniques in ATT&CK. -- NOTE (3) -- (1) Use a layered approach: Implement a combination of preventive, detective, and corrective controls to address ATT&CK techniques. (2) Consider resource constraints: Be realistic about the resources available for implementing security controls. (3) Stay updated: The ATT&CK framework is constantly evolving. Regularly review the latest techniques and update your security controls accordingly.

   1. Identify ATT&CK Techniques:

      • Start by understanding the specific ATT&CK techniques your organization is vulnerable to. This can be achieved through penetration testing, threat modeling, or analyzing past security incidents. MITRE ATT&CK provides a matrix (https://attack.mitre.org/matrices/enterprise/) that details various adversary tactics and techniques.

   2. Map Techniques to Controls:

      • Once you have identified the ATT&CK techniques, map them to relevant security controls. Several resources can help with this mapping, such as the MITRE ATT&CK matrix itself, which often suggests potential controls for each technique. Security control frameworks like NIST CSF (https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework) can also provide a mapping between controls and threats.

   3. Evaluate Control Effectiveness:

      • Not all controls are equally effective against all techniques. Consider the maturity and capabilities of your existing controls. Are they preventive, detective, or corrective? Can they realistically mitigate the identified ATT&CK techniques?

   4. Prioritize and Select Controls:

      • Prioritize the identified controls based on factors like risk level, ease of implementation, and cost. Focus on controls that address the most critical ATT&CK techniques and have a high likelihood of success.

   5. Implement and Monitor Controls:

      • Once you've chosen the security controls, implement them effectively. This may involve updating security policies, configuring security tools, or providing security awareness training to employees. Continuously monitor the effectiveness of the implemented controls and adapt your strategy as needed.

3. Detection and Response (5 Steps): Use ATT&CK to inform your detection and response strategies by understanding how attackers might move through your systems. -- NOTE: By incorporating ATT&CK into your DR strategy, you gain a deeper understanding of how attackers might move through your system. This allows for more targeted detection methods, proactive threat hunting, and a more efficient incident response process.

   1. Map ATT&CK Tactics to Detection Points:

      • Analyze the ATT&CK matrix (https://attack.mitre.org/matrices/enterprise/), focusing on tactics relevant to your industry and threats.

      • For each tactic (e.g., Initial Access, Persistence), identify potential points in your system where an attacker might utilize corresponding techniques (e.g., phishing emails, exploiting vulnerabilities).

   2. Tailor Detection Strategies:

      • Based on the identified points, tailor detection strategies to look for evidence of those specific ATT&CK techniques.

      • This could involve (3): (1) Log monitoring: Analyze system logs for suspicious activities aligned with ATT&CK techniques (e.g., unusual login attempts, unauthorized file access). (2) Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR): Leverage EDR tools to detect malicious behavior on endpoints, like lateral movement attempts or suspicious file execution (techniques like Defense Evasion or Execution). (3) Network Traffic Analysis (NTA): Monitor network traffic for anomalies that might indicate attacker movement (e.g., data exfiltration techniques like Exfiltration Over C2 Channel).

   3. Develop Threat Hunting Scenarios:

      • Use ATT&CK as a blueprint for threat-hunting scenarios. Simulate attacker behavior based on specific tactics and techniques to proactively identify potential intrusions.

      • This proactive approach helps uncover hidden threats that might bypass traditional detection methods.

   4. Incident Response with ATT&CK:

      • During a security incident, map observed indicators of compromise (IOCs) to ATT&CK techniques. This helps identify the attacker's potential goals and stages of their intrusion.

      • Understanding the attacker's tactics through ATT&CK allows for a more targeted and efficient response, focusing on containing the damage and eradicating the attacker's presence.

   5. Continuous Improvement:

      • Regularly review incident data and update your detection and response strategies based on the encountered ATT&CK techniques.

      • This iterative process ensures your DR strategy remains effective against evolving attacker tactics.

4. Gap Analysis (6 Steps): Identify any gaps in your defenses by comparing your security posture to the ATT&CK knowledge base. -- NOTE: By following these steps and leveraging the ATT&CK knowledge base, you can effectively identify weaknesses in your security defenses and prioritize improvements to fortify your organization's security posture.

   1. Define Scope and Objectives:

      • Target Systems: Determine which systems or environments you'll be analyzing. This could be your entire network, specific applications, or critical infrastructure.

      • Focus Areas: Decide if you want a broad analysis or want to focus on specific ATT&CK matrices (e.g., Enterprise Attack, Mobile Matrix).

      • Desired Outcome: Clearly define what you aim to achieve. Is it identifying high-risk techniques, prioritizing control improvements, or informing threat-hunting strategies?

   2. Gather Security Control Information:

      • Inventory Controls: Document all the security controls currently in place. This could include firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS), endpoint security tools, access control mechanisms, and security policies.

   3. Understand ATT&CK Techniques:

      • Review Matrix: Familiarize yourself with the ATT&CK matrix relevant to your chosen scope (e.g., Enterprise Attack for most organizations). Understand the different tactics (phases of an attack) and techniques (specific methods used) employed by adversaries.

   4. Map Controls to Techniques:

      • Technique Coverage: For each ATT&CK technique, evaluate if your existing security controls can effectively detect, prevent, or mitigate it. Resources like the ATT&CK matrix itself or additional MITRE materials might suggest potential control mappings.

   5. Identify Gaps and Prioritize:

      • Gap Analysis: Based on the mapping, identify techniques where your controls are lacking or inadequate. This highlights potential vulnerabilities in your security posture.

      • Risk Assessment: Prioritize the identified gaps based on factors like:

        1. Likelihood of the technique being used by attackers in your threat landscape.

        2. Potential impact of a successful attack using that technique (data breach, system outage, etc.).

        3. Feasibility of implementing effective controls to address the gap.

   6. Develop Remediation Plan:

      • Close the Gaps: Based on the prioritized list, develop a plan to address the identified gaps in your security controls. This might involve implementing new security tools, strengthening existing configurations, or improving security policies and procedures.

Additional Tips:

• Use ATT&CK Navigator: Consider using the MITRE ATT&CK Navigator tool (https://mitre-attack.github.io/attack-navigator/) to streamline the gap analysis process. It allows you to filter techniques based on your environment and controls, aiding in identifying gaps.

• Involve Stakeholders: Include relevant stakeholders from security, IT, and business units throughout the process. This ensures a comprehensive understanding of your security posture and facilitates buy-in for implementing remediation plans.

• Continuous Improvement: Remember, security is an ongoing process. Regularly revisit your gap analysis as your threat landscape evolves, update your ATT&CK understanding, and refine your security controls to maintain a strong defensive posture.