MITRE ATT&CK Framework: Aligned Assessments, Management and Reporting

Author: Shaun Peapell, VP of Global Threat Services, Rootshell Security

Rootshell have developed a reporting capability aligned to ‘The MITRE ATT&CK framework’, delivered within the Rootshell Platform.

Overview of the Types of Reporting:

This type of reporting and identification of Threat Lead attack journeys is highly beneficial when delivering Red Team Assessments for several reasons.

Other types of mature cyber assessments can also be leveraged via the aligned reporting capability, such as:

• ‘Purple Team Assessments’
• ‘Adversary Emulation Assessments’
• ‘Simulated Attacks’.

By aligning to ‘The MITRE ATT&CK framework’, the Rootshell Platform harnesses a number of benefits, these being:

Standardized Methodology

By aligning to the MITRE ATT&CK Framework, the Rootshell Platform helps provide a standardised framework for understanding attacker behaviour and techniques across different stages of an attack lifecycle. This allows Red Teams to structure their assessments more effectively, ensuring comprehensive coverage and consistency in approach.

Comprehensive Coverage

The ATT&CK Framework covers a wide range of tactics and techniques used by real-world attackers, spanning:

• Initial access
• Execution
• Persistence
• Privilege escalation
• Defence evasion
• Credential access
• Discovery
• Lateral movement
• Collection
• Exfiltration
• Impact

To name a few.

The Rootshell Platform aligns to the MITRE ATT&CK Framework allowing comprehensive coverage and ensuring that Red Teams assess an organisation’s security posture from multiple angles, mimicking real-world threat scenarios.

Risk Prioritisation

By mapping the reporting Red Team activities in the Platform aligned to the MITRE ATT&CK Framework, organisations can prioritise security investments based on the most relevant and prevalent techniques used by adversaries. This enables organisations to focus resources on mitigating the highest priority risks, thereby improving overall security posture more efficiently.

Enhanced Detection and Response

Red Team assessments aligned with the MITRE ATT&CK Framework, help organisations evaluate the effectiveness of their detection and response capabilities against specific adversary tactics and techniques. By simulating realistic attack scenarios, Red Teams can identify gaps in detection and response mechanisms, enabling organisations to refine their security controls and incident response processes.

Benchmarking and Improvement

By aligning Platform reporting to the MITRE ATT&CK Framework, a common language is in place for discussing and analysing cyber threats and defence strategies. Red Team assessments following this framework allow organisations to benchmark their security posture against industry norms and best practices. This facilitates continuous improvement by identifying areas for enhancement and adaptation in response to evolving threats.

Cross-Team Collaboration

By aligning the Rootshell Platform to the MITRE ATT&CK Framework, it encourages collaboration between Red Teams, Blue Teams, and other security stakeholders within an organisation. By using a common framework, different teams can communicate effectively, share insights, and align their efforts towards a common goal of improving security posture and resilience.

Threat Intelligence Integration

The MITRE ATT&CK Framework is regularly updated with insights from real-world incidents and threat intelligence sources. Red Teams can leverage this information to emulate the latest tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) employed by sophisticated adversaries, providing organisations with a more realistic assessment of their security defences.

By aligning to the MITRE ATT&CK framework when delivering Red Team Assessments, the Rootshell Platform enhances the effectiveness, relevance, and value of Red Team Assessments by providing:

• Structured approach
• Comprehensive coverage
• Risk prioritisation
• Enhanced Detection and Response Capabilities
• Benchmarking for Improvement
• Cross-team Collaboration
• Integration with threat intelligence and Rootshell’s Thelma AI

Discover the future of Red Team assessments with the Rootshell Security platform. Contact us today to learn how you can harness the power of MITRE ATT&CK integration for your organisation.