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What Is the MITRE Framework?

The MITRE Framework, more formally known as MITRE ATT&CK, is a globally accessible knowledge base of cyber adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) based on real-world observations. It was developed by the MITRE Corporation, a U.S.-based nonprofit that operates federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs). 

The framework helps cybersecurity professionals understand how attackers behave, enabling them to build better detection, defense, and response strategies. 

What Does "ATT&CK" Stand For?

ATT&CK stands for: 

Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge 

  • Tactics: The goals or objectives of an attacker (e.g., gaining initial access, stealing data). 
  • Techniques: The methods used to achieve those goals (e.g., phishing, credential dumping). 
  • Common Knowledge: Real-world examples and documented procedures of how these techniques are used. 

Core Components of the MITRE Framework

Component Description
Tactics
Categories representing why an attacker performs an action (e.g., Persistence, Execution)
Techniques
Specific ways attackers achieve their objectives (e.g., T1059 – Command and Scripting Interpreter)
Sub-techniques
More granular forms of techniques (e.g., PowerShell under Command and Scripting)
Mitigations
Recommendations to prevent or reduce the impact of techniques
Detections
Guidance on how to detect each technique using logs, telemetry, or analytics

Why Use the MITRE Framework?

The MITRE ATT&CK Framework is used to: 

  • Understand attacker behavior across the cyber kill chain 
  • Map incidents to known techniques for better response 
  • Enhance detection capabilities using behavioral patterns 
  • Guide threat hunting activities with a structured approach 
  • Evaluate and improve SOC coverage 
  • Assess and test security tools using red team techniques 

Types of ATT&CK Matrices

MITRE ATT&CK is available for different environments: 
Matrix Description
Enterprise
Covers Windows, Linux, macOS, cloud, SaaS, and mobile environments
Mobile
Focused on attacks against mobile devices (Android, iOS)
ICS
For Industrial Control Systems, including OT networks
The Enterprise Matrix is the most widely used and is often the default when referring to MITRE ATT&CK.

How the MITRE Framework Supports Defense

MITRE ATT&CK enables Threat-Informed Defense, aligning your security practices with the actual behaviors of known adversaries. 

Organizations use it to: 

  • Identify gaps in detection or prevention 
  • Build alerting rules and analytics 
  • Drive red/blue/purple team exercises 
  • Support SOC playbooks and incident response workflows 
  • Benchmark security tool performance (e.g., using MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations) 

MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations

Each year, MITRE conducts ATT&CK Evaluations of commercial security tools (like EDR and XDR platforms) to test how well they detect real-world adversary behaviors (e.g., APT29, FIN7). 

These evaluations are: 

  • Open and transparent 
  • Based on real attacker emulations 
  • Focused on behavioral detection, not just signature matching 

Summary: Why the MITRE Framework Matters

Benefit Description
Real-World Focus
Based on actual attacks, not theoretical models
Behavior-Centric
Focuses on what attackers do, not just tools used
Standardized
Provides a common language for security teams worldwide
Comprehensive
Covers entire attack lifecycle: from reconnaissance to impact
Defender-Friendly
Includes mitigation and detection guidance for every technique

Bonus: Relationship with Other Security Technologies

  • SIEM/XDR: Detection rules are often mapped to ATT&CK techniques. 
  • NDR: Maps observed network behaviors to ATT&CK for visibility into lateral movement, C2, and exfiltration. 
  • SOAR: Playbooks often use ATT&CK IDs for automated response.
  • Threat Intelligence: Many threats report reference ATT&CK techniques used by specific threat groups. 

How MITRE ATT&CK and NDR Work Together

While MITRE ATT&CK provides a framework for understanding attacker behavior, NDR is the technology that observes and detects that behavior within your network. Here’s how they connect: 

MITRE ATT&CK NDR's Role
Techniques & Tactics
NDR maps observed network behaviors (e.g., unusual lateral movement, DNS tunneling) to ATT&CK techniques (e.g., T1021.002 – SMB lateral movement, T1071.004 – DNS C2).
Procedure Identification
NDR tools detect the specific ways attackers behave in the network, helping security teams match real-world procedures to ATT&CK.
Threat Hunting
SOC analysts use ATT&CK as a guide to proactively search NDR data for signs of specific TTPs.
Detection Engineering
NDR alerts can be tagged with ATT&CK techniques, improving rule creation, alert triage, and contextual investigation.
Gap Analysis
Organizations can use ATT&CK matrices with NDR tools to visualize detection coverage and identify blind spots in network-level visibility.

Example: Using NDR to Detect ATT&CK Techniques

Let’s walk through a real-world example of how NDR detects ATT&CK-based behavior.

Scenario: Internal Lateral Movement After Phishing

MITRE ATT&CK NDR's Role NDR's Role

Execution

T1059.001 – PowerShell

T1059.001 – PowerShell

Lateral Movement  

T1021.002 – SMB/Windows Admin Shares

NDR sees unusual internal SMB traffic between peers

Lateral Movement

T1021.002 – SMB/Windows Admin Shares

NDR sees unusual internal SMB traffic between peers

Command & Control

T1071.004 – DNS

NDR identifies DNS tunneling or beaconing to rare domains

Exfiltration

T1041 – Exfiltration over C2 Channel

NDR catches large encrypted outbound data flow to unusual IPs

These network behaviors are matched to MITRE ATT&CK techniques, helping analysts know what part of the attack lifecycle they are observing.

Key Benefits of Integrating ATT&CK with NDR

  1. Behavior-Centric Detection
    1. NDR tools focus on how attackers behave, not just what signatures they leave.
    2. This aligns naturally with ATT&CK’s approach to TTP.
  2. Better Alert Contextualization
    1. When an NDR alert includes an ATT&CK technique (e.g., T1486 – Data Encrypted for Impact), analysts intuitively know what is happening and what to investigate next.
  3. Threat Hunting Framework
    1. Use ATT&CK as a map to explore NDR telemetry for suspicious behavior tied to known techniques (e.g., finding lateral movement paths or beaconing patterns).
  4. SOC Maturity Assessment
    1. Tools like the MITRE ATT&CK Navigator let SOC teams overlay their NDR detection capabilities onto the matrix to identify coverage gaps.
  5. Faster and More Focused Response
    1. Understanding the ATT&CK stage of an attack helps the SOC team prioritize responses and deploy playbooks accordingly.

Final Thoughts

  1. The MITRE ATT&CK Framework is a meaningful change in cybersecurity, providing a detailed, structured, and evolving map of adversary behavior. Whether you are hunting threats, detecting intrusions, or designing resilient architectures, ATT&CK gives defenders the upper hand by helping them think like an attacker. 

Contact us for a live demo and discover how Vehere NDR can strengthen your network security posture and give your team the edge it needs.

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