MITRE ATT&CK Techniques in Network Security

In the face of cyber security threats, teams that respond to security incidents need greater skill and operational efficiency. One important aspect of security threat detection is comprehensive knowledge of tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) used by cyber criminals. Even ancient philosophers, such as Sun Tzu, knew that the key to winning a war was theability to distinguish between strategies and techniques of warfare. TTPs areat the very top of the Bianco Pyramid, which presents the relationships between various IOC indicators. The higher they are in this pyramid, the higher the cost to cyber criminals. The goal of every SOC is to reach the top of this pyramid, and therefore the situation in which the Blue Team is able to observethe activities of its adversaries. The ATT&CK MITRE knowledge base is an invaluable help for an organisation to achieve this level of security maturity.

Table of Contents

What is MITRE ATT&CK?

MITRE ATT&CK stands for Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge. It is a globally recognized knowledge base of cybercriminal behavior models, tactics, and techniques. These behaviors are organized in a matrix format that provides deep insight into how adversaries operate before, during, and after an attack.

Why does MITRE ATT&CK matter?

The primary goal of the MITRE ATT&CK framework is to improve threat detection and identify gaps in security defenses. Originally developed to accelerate the detection of advanced persistent threats (APTs), the framework helps security teams understand:

How attackers infiltrate systems
What methods they use
Where an organization’s defense mechanisms may be weak

The average time to detect a targeted attack is about five months. That’s plenty of time for attackers to learn your environment and exfiltrate sensitive data.

Sycope + MITRE ATT&CK = Comprehensive Network Defense

Aligning with industry-standard frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK is a crucial benchmark for evaluating the effectiveness of security tools. Sycope’s security module leverages over 60 detection rules mapped directly to the MITRE ATT&CK framework. These rules detect a wide range of tactics and techniques including but not limited to:

Covered Tactics:

Initial
Access Execution
Persistence
Privilege Escalation
Defense Evasion
Credential Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
Command and Control
Exfiltration
Impact

Example Techniques Detected by Sycope

Below are some key techniques covered under Sycope’s rule set, mapped to relevant ATT&CK tactics:

Application Layer Protocol (T1071) – C2 using legitimate protocols

Non-Standard Port (T1571) – Unusual network behavior

Proxy Usage (T1090) – Traffic redirection for obfuscation

Brute Force (T1110) – Repeated access attempts

Adversary-in-the-Middle (T1557) – Intercepting communications

Network Service Scanning (T1046) – Discovery of open services

System Network Configuration Discovery (T1016) – Mapping networks

Data Transfer Size Limits (T1030) – Large or unusual data uploads

Endpoint Denial of Service (T1499) – Degrading network availability

Phishing (T1566) – Unusual traffic linked to phishing infrastructure

Resource Hijacking (T1496) – Cryptomining indicators

Drive-by Compromise (T1189) – Indirect infection methods

Exploitation of Remote Services (T1210) – Unusual remote access behavior

Additional Alert Types (Indicative of Techniques):

Sycope also detects threats using behavioral signatures, such as:

Botnet via DNS

DDoS Attacks (DNS Amplification, Protocol Flood)

Large Upload Traffic (e.g., to Google Drive)

Suspicious IPs (TOR, Malware, Cryptomining, Phishing)

Unauthorized Access (LDAP, RDP, DNS, LLMNR/NetBIOS)

Unusual Traffic Patterns (PPS, BPS, packet counts)

SYN Floods, APIPA Address Assignment

Unexpected Retransmissions

Unprotected Docker Daemon Exposure

Why This Coverage Matters

By integrating MITRE ATT&CK mapping directly into its detection rules and dashboards, Sycope allows security teams to:

Support compliance and risk audits

Fewer blind spots in your detection capabilities

Faster incident response due to pre-built, actionable alerts

Improved threat hunting with mapped rules and dashboards

Enhanced visibility across lateral movement, C2, and exfiltration

Support compliance and risk audits

With 95% coverage of the MITRE ATT&CK framework for network security, Sycope provides security operations centers (SOCs) with a robust and pre-configured system for detecting, analyzing, and responding to a broad spectrum of cyber threats — from lateral movement to command and control activities.

FAQ

What is MITRE ATTu0026CK?

MITRE ATTu0026CK stands for Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge. It is a globally recognized knowledge base of cybercriminal behavior models, tactics, and techniques, organized in a matrix format to provide insight into adversary operations.

Why does MITRE ATTu0026CK matter?

The primary goal of the MITRE ATTu0026CK framework is to improve threat detection and identify gaps in security defenses. It helps security teams understand attack methods and weaknesses in defenses, reducing the average time to detect targeted attacks.

How does Sycope integrate with MITRE ATTu0026CK?

Sycope's security module leverages over 60 detection rules mapped to the MITRE ATTu0026CK framework, covering tactics such as Initial Access, Persistence, and Privilege Escalation, among others, to provide comprehensive network defense.

What are some of the techniques detected by Sycope?

Techniques detected by Sycope include C2 using Application Layer Protocol (T1071), Non-Standard Port behavior (T1571), Proxy Usage for obfuscation (T1090), Brute Force attempts (T1110), and many others aligned with MITRE ATTu0026CK.

Why is MITRE ATTu0026CK coverage important for security?

Integrating MITRE ATTu0026CK mapping into detection rules enhances visibility and fast incident response, improves threat hunting, supports compliance audits, and reduces blind spots in detection capabilities.

MITRE ATT&CK Threat Detection