This breakdown of Mitre's model for cyberattacks and defense can help organizations understand the stages of attack events and, ultimately, build better security.

When talk turns to rigorous analysis of attacks and threats, the conversation often includes the Mitre ATT&CK model. Originally developed to support Mitre's cyberdefense work, ATT&CK is both an enormous knowledge base of cyberattack technology and tactics and a model for understanding how those elements are used together to penetrate a target's defenses.

ATT&CK, which stands for Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge, continues to evolve as more data is added to the knowledge base and model. The model is presented as a matrix, with the stage of event across one axis and the mechanism for that stage across the other. By following the matrix, red team members can design an integrated campaign to probe any aspect of an organization's defense, and blue team members can analyze malicious behavior and technology to understand where it fits within an overall attack campaign.

Mitre has defined five matrices under the ATT&CK model. The enterprise matrix, which this article will explore, includes techniques that span a variety of platforms. Four specific platforms — Windows, Mac, Linux, and mobile — each have their own matrix.

The four individual platform matrices echo the horizontal axis of the enterprise matrix with the exception of the mobile matrix, which divides the first stage, initial access, into six separate possibilities because of the nature of mobile devices and networks.

While the Mitre ATT&CK matrix is useful and frequently referenced in the security industry, it is not the only attack model in use. Many organizations, for example, reference the Lockheed Martin "Cyber Kill Chain" in their security planning. Dark Reading will take a closer look at the Cyber Kill Chain in the future.

Do you or your organizations use the ATT&CK matrix or model in your security work? If so, tell us how you use it and whether you find it effective. If there's another model that you find even more useful, we'd like to hear about it, too. Let us know in the comments, below.

(Image: EVorona)

About the Author(s)

Curtis Franklin, Principal Analyst, Omdia

Curtis Franklin Jr. is Principal Analyst at Omdia, focusing on enterprise security management. Previously, he was senior editor of Dark Reading, editor of Light Reading's Security Now, and executive editor, technology, at InformationWeek, where he was also executive producer of InformationWeek's online radio and podcast episodes

Curtis has been writing about technologies and products in computing and networking since the early 1980s. He has been on staff and contributed to technology-industry publications including BYTE, ComputerWorld, CEO, Enterprise Efficiency, ChannelWeb, Network Computing, InfoWorld, PCWorld, Dark Reading, and ITWorld.com on subjects ranging from mobile enterprise computing to enterprise security and wireless networking.

Curtis is the author of thousands of articles, the co-author of five books, and has been a frequent speaker at computer and networking industry conferences across North America and Europe. His most recent books, Cloud Computing: Technologies and Strategies of the Ubiquitous Data Center, and Securing the Cloud: Security Strategies for the Ubiquitous Data Center, with co-author Brian Chee, are published by Taylor and Francis.

When he's not writing, Curtis is a painter, photographer, cook, and multi-instrumentalist musician. He is active in running, amateur radio (KG4GWA), the MakerFX maker space in Orlando, FL, and is a certified Florida Master Naturalist.

Keep up with the latest cybersecurity threats, newly discovered vulnerabilities, data breach information, and emerging trends. Delivered daily or weekly right to your email inbox.

You May Also Like


More Insights