@gertjanbruggink
ATT&CK ‘Metaverse’
Exploring the limitations of applying ATT&CK
Gert-Jan Bruggink
ATT&CKCON 3.0
29 & 30 March 2022
@gertjanbruggink 2
Why am I here?
§ A cyber security ‘metaverse’
§ Lessons from the limitations
§ Practitioner feedback
@gertjanbruggink 3
Who am I?
Gert-Jan Bruggink
cyber threat cartographer
&
founder Venation
10+ InfoSec.
High tech, manufacturing, financial services, governmental.
Cyber threat intelligence (CTI) based risk management.
Intelligence-led Red Teaming.
Capability building & leadership.
Strategic change through (CTI, SOC & Cyber) transformation programs.
Father x 2, Entrepreneurship, Gaming, Painting, Lego, Meme’s.
@gertjanbruggink
github.com/gertjanbruggink
/gertjanbruggink
@gertjanbruggink 4
What am I going to talk about?
ü Evolution & lessons learned
ü Adoption & lessons learned
ü Usage & lessons learned
@gertjanbruggink
Evolution
@gertjanbruggink
The terrifying ‘first look’ at ATT&CK
🌱
~2015
🧰
188 techniques,
379 sub
(Enterprise)
📈
~2022
🔨
Many supporting
tools
6
🧰
96 techniques
👨‍
Matrix
expansions
🔮
~2025?
@gertjanbruggink
Constant expansion and structuring
☁
Cloud
🏭
ICS
📱
Mobile
💕
Base set
(Enterprise)
7
📷
PRE
(*RIP* - still love you!)
@gertjanbruggink 8
Storytelling using ATT&CK
🎣
Freshness of new content
📖
Narrative
🧠
Required
comprehension of the
framework
🧩
Assumption of completeness
@gertjanbruggink
adoption
@gertjanbruggink 10
‘how-many-teams-actually-use-ATT&CK’ bias
Perceived & assumed true adoption
Perceived
true
adoption
~ Enterprise sized
companies
~ Small-medium
sized companies
Do not assume everyone is using the
framework - or uses it in the intended way
Research paper
“ABC”: 80-100%
companies use
ATT&CK
🤨
@gertjanbruggink
Where is the adoption (more-or-less)
🏦
Private sector
🤝
Vendor &
consulting
🎱
🏀
Company size
matters
🏫
Public sector
11
👩🏭
‘Business as
usual’ vs
ad-hoc
@gertjanbruggink 12
Applications outside of operations
🧱
Basics vs
details
🤯
Rethinking risk
management
🎯
Not everyone
can work with
minute details
🔬
Granular risk
management
@gertjanbruggink 13
Main motivation usecase: prioritization
🧭
Left-or-right?
🧙
Other ways of telling
the story
(ATT&CKonomics)
✅
Scoping
🚦
Navigator
@gertjanbruggink
Usage
@gertjanbruggink
Setting the scene:
example starting points
Teams new to ATT&CK
§ How does the framework help me tell a better story
to my leadership?
§ Can we use the framework to help us do basics
better?
§ Will using it save us costs along the way?
15
Teams seasoned in using ATT&CK
§ Where will the framework give better context/nuance
in attacks against similar companies?
§ What test scenarios should be prioritized when
validation controls with our capabilities (e.g. hunting,
red teaming)?
§ Can you prepare a cost-effectiveness assessment of
our controls, compared to adversaries (and
techniques) targeting our vertical?
@gertjanbruggink 16
The dreaded ‘bingo card’ visuals
🌄
Happy
little threat
landscapes
📊
ATT&CK
is
not
sexy
👨‍
First
impressions do
matter
🎨
Creative
coverage
reporting
@gertjanbruggink
Consolidation…
💩
(Dreaded) local
customizations
🧼
Staying
relevant
🍎🍐
Relationship to
other
frameworks
🧬
Maintaining
a central
data model
17
@gertjanbruggink
The ‘TTP’* discussion
🎭
Biases & logical
fallacies
🧠
General
understanding of
the ‘TTP’
concept
⌚
‘Procedure’
catch 22
🧭
Staying high-
level
18
*Tactics, Techniques and Procedures
@gertjanbruggink 19
Engineering your hypotheses
🧫
Success: lab vs
real world
💡
Creation and
prioritization
🚵
Behavioral
engineering
vs …
🧗
Context
matters!
🔊
Data sources
@gertjanbruggink
Building scenarios to provide context
🌐
ATT&CK as a
metaverse?
👾
Adversary playbooks
🕑
Timing &
timestamping
📍
Scenario
sequencing
20
🎣
Fresh
@gertjanbruggink
Validating scenarios
21
🎠
Automatically
✅
Validation
🎨
Creativity
🧤
Manually
🥇
Value of
testing
specific
techniques
📑
Reporting
added value
@gertjanbruggink
The future of ATT&CK remains the community
👬
People
(e.g. continue
expanding the
education the
‘adopting’
community)
🎢
Process
(e.g. sharing
feedback)
🦾
Technology
(e.g. vendor
ecosystem)
22
@gertjanbruggink 23
Recap & course of action
§ Don’t complain, just provide feedback.
§ Contribute == getting creds
§ The community decides ATT&CK
direction: this is widely underestimated.
If you would revisit our ATT&CK usage today:
ü What is our level of (true) adoption of the
framework?
ü How are we telling the right, nuanced,
story - from procedure- to board room?
Consider today
@gertjanbruggink
Let’s continue expanding the ATT&CK ‘metaverse’!
Gert-Jan Bruggink
gertjanbruggink@venation.digital
@gertjanbruggink
/gertjanbruggink

ATT&CK Metaverse - Exploring the Limitations of Applying ATT&CK