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Integrating the 10 Top Level Cyber Threat Clusters into MITRE ATT&CK and STIX Frameworks

Introduction

The cybersecurity landscape faces a critical challenge: fragmented threat intelligence that fails to effectively connect strategic risk management with operational security execution. While frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK and STIX enable detailed threat intelligence sharing, they lack a standardized high-level threat categorization system that aligns threat intelligence with risk management and security operations.

Framework Benefits

The 10 Top Level Cyber Threat Clusters framework addresses this gap by providing a comprehensive solution that bridges threat intelligence with practical security implementation.

  1. Universal Taxonomy: Establishes a standardized system for consistent threat intelligence collection and sharing across organizations and sectors
  2. Intelligence-Vulnerability Mapping: Creates clear connections between threat intelligence indicators and generic vulnerabilities, enabling more effective risk assessment
  3. Control Implementation Methodology: Provides a structured approach for translating threat intelligence into specific control requirements and implementation guidelines
  4. Unified Communication: Establishes a common language between threat intelligence teams, risk managers, and security operations personnel

Integration Benefits

By integrating this framework with established standards like MITRE ATT&CK and STIX, organizations can transform raw threat intelligence into actionable insights that drive both strategic risk decisions and tactical security operations. This integration enables:

  1. Enhanced Threat Hunting: More effective identification and tracking of potential threats across the environment
  2. Precise Control Selection: Better alignment between identified threats and necessary security controls
  3. Comprehensive Incident Response: More thorough and effective incident response planning and execution
  4. Lifecycle Consistency: Maintained consistency across the entire threat intelligence lifecycle, from collection to action

Understanding the 10 Top Level Cyber Threat Clusters

The 10 Top Level Cyber Threat Clusters provide a high-level categorization of cyber threats, making it easier to understand and communicate about the threat landscape. These clusters are:

  1. Abuse of Functions
  2. Exploiting Server
  3. Exploiting Client
  4. Identity Theft
  5. Man in the Middle
  6. Flooding Attack
  7. Malware
  8. Physical Attack
  9. Social Engineering
  10. Supply Chain Attack

Each cluster represents a unique aspect of cyber risk based on the underlying vulnerabilities rather than on events or outcomes alone. This approach separates threats into categories like "Abuse of Functions," "Identity Theft," "Social Engineering," and "Supply Chain Attacks," providing a clear cause-oriented view that supports practical risk management.

Enhancing STIX with the 10 Top Level Cyber Threat Clusters

Current State of STIX

STIX provides a rich set of objects and relationships for describing cyber threat information, but it has limitations:

STIX Component
Purpose
Limitation
Objects (e.g., Threat Actor, Attack Pattern, Malware)
Describe individual elements of cyber threats
Lacks a standardized high-level categorization system
Relationships
Connect different STIX objects to represent complex scenarios
No standardized way to represent attack sequences or paths
Intrusion Set
Represent adversary behaviors and resources
Focuses on actor behaviors rather than threat categories or attack progressions

Proposed Enhancements

  1. Standardized Threat Categorization: Introduce the 10 Top Level Cyber Threat Clusters as a new STIX Domain Object, providing a consistent, high-level categorization system.
  2. Attack Path Representation: Implement a new STIX object type to represent attack paths as sequences of threat clusters (e.g., #9 -> #3 -> #7).
  3. Strategic Overview: Enable a more strategic view of threats and attack progressions, bridging the gap between detailed STIX data and high-level risk management.

Implementation Approach

Create a New STIX Domain Object:

Threat Cluster Object Structure:

{ "type": "threat-cluster", "id": "TC0001", "name": "Abuse of Functions", "definition": "Abuse of Functions involves manipulating the intended functionality of software or systems for malicious purposes.", "generic_vulnerability": "The scope of software and functions", "asset_type": "Software", "attacker_vector": "Abuse of functionality, not a coding issue" }

Develop a New STIX Relationship Object:

Sequence Metadata Structure:

{ "sequence_id": "SEQ001", "initial_cluster": "TC0009", "subsequent_clusters": ["TC0003", "TC0007"], "common_pattern_name": "Phishing to Malware Chain", "observed_frequency": "high" }

Extend Existing STIX Objects:

Technique Object Structure:

{ "primary_threat_cluster": "TC0001", "secondary_threat_clusters": ["TC0004", "TC0007"], "generic_vulnerability_exploitation": "Description of how this technique exploits the generic vulnerability", "attack_sequence_position": { "can_be_initial": true, "can_be_subsequent": false } }

Benefits of Integration

  1. Provides a standardized framework for high-level threat categorization: Enables consistent communication and understanding of threats across different teams and organizations.
  2. Enables representation and analysis of attack progressions: Allows for modeling and analysis of how attacks unfold, aiding in the development of defensive strategies.
  3. Facilitates better communication between technical and non-technical stakeholders: Helps in bridging the gap between detailed technical data and high-level risk management.
  4. Enhances strategic threat analysis and risk management capabilities: Provides a more comprehensive and structured approach to representing, analyzing, and communicating about cyber threats.

Enhancing MITRE ATT&CK with the 10 Top Level Cyber Threat Clusters

Current State of MITRE ATT&CK

MITRE ATT&CK excels at the operational security level, providing detailed tactics and techniques for various attack stages across different IT system types. However, it lacks a high-level strategic framework for threat categorization and overemphasizes post-compromise techniques.

Proposed Enhancements

  1. Standardized Threat Categorization: Introduce the 10 Top Level Cyber Threat Clusters as a new MITRE ATT&CK object, providing a consistent, high-level categorization system.
  2. Attack Path Representation: Implement a new MITRE ATT&CK object type to represent attack paths as sequences of threat clusters (e.g., #9 -> #3 -> #7).
  3. Strategic Overview: Enable a more strategic view of threats and attack progressions, bridging the gap between detailed MITRE ATT&CK data and high-level risk management.

Implementation Approach

Create a New MITRE ATT&CK Object:

Threat Cluster Object Structure:

{ "type": "threat-cluster", "id": "TC0001", "name": "Abuse of Functions", "definition": "Abuse of Functions involves manipulating the intended functionality of software or systems for malicious purposes.", "generic_vulnerability": "The scope of software and functions", "asset_type": "Software", "attacker_vector": "Abuse of functionality, not a coding issue" }

Develop a New MITRE ATT&CK Relationship Object:

Sequence Metadata Structure:

{ "sequence_id": "SEQ001", "initial_cluster": "TC0009", "subsequent_clusters": ["TC0003", "TC0007"], "common_pattern_name": "Phishing to Malware Chain", "observed_frequency": "high" }

Extend Existing MITRE ATT&CK Objects:

Technique Object Structure:

{ "primary_threat_cluster": "TC0001", "secondary_threat_clusters": ["TC0004", "TC0007"], "generic_vulnerability_exploitation": "Description of how this technique exploits the generic vulnerability", "attack_sequence_position": { "can_be_initial": true, "can_be_subsequent": false } }

Benefits of Integration

  1. Provides a standardized framework for high-level threat categorization: Enables consistent communication and understanding of threats across different teams and organizations.
  2. Enables representation and analysis of attack progressions: Allows for modeling and analysis of how attacks unfold, aiding in the development of defensive strategies.
  3. Facilitates better communication between technical and non-technical stakeholders: Helps in bridging the gap between detailed technical data and high-level risk management.
  4. Enhances strategic threat analysis and risk management capabilities: Provides a more comprehensive and structured approach to representing, analyzing, and communicating about cyber threats.

Conclusion

Integrating the 10 Top Level Cyber Threat Clusters into the STIX and MITRE ATT&CK frameworks offers significant benefits, including standardized threat categorization, attack path representation, and enhanced strategic threat analysis. By adopting this approach, organizations can better bridge the gap between technical threat data and high-level risk management, leading to more effective cybersecurity strategies and improved communication across all levels of the organization. This integration maintains the granularity and detail of STIX and MITRE ATT&CK while adding an essential layer of high-level structure, ultimately contributing to a more resilient cyber defense posture

PROJECT REFERENCE: Cyber Threat Clusters

EXTERNAL REFERENCE:MITRE ATT&CK - MITRE ATT&CK: Design and Philosophy - Originally Published July 2018 - Revised March 2020

No additional updates are scheduled at this time.