The MITRE ATT&CK framework documents 196 individual techniques and 411 sub-techniques that help organizations understand and respond to cyber threats. Organizations have made this framework central to strengthening their security posture against evolving cyber threats since its public release in 2015.
MITRE ATT&CK provides a detailed knowledge base of adversary tactics and techniques based on observed cyber-attacks. The framework covers Windows, Linux, MacOS, and mobile platforms that help organizations simulate cyber-attacks, create effective security policies and build better incident response plans. Security professionals can identify and respond to threats by mapping detected incidents to known adversary techniques through proactive threat hunting.
In this piece, we’ll explore how organizations can leverage MITRE ATT&CK use cases to improve their security posture and prepare for the challenges of 2025 and beyond.
Understanding MITRE ATT&CK Framework Fundamentals
The MITRE ATT&CK framework serves as a publicly available knowledge base that documents how adversaries operate based on ground observations. Before implementing MITRE ATT&CK use cases, security professionals must understand the framework’s core components.
Core Components of ATT&CK Matrix: Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs)
Three basic components are the foundations of this framework, and they work together to give a detailed understanding of cyber threats. The Enterprise Matrix includes:
- 14 distinct tactics including Reconnaissance, Original Access, and Impact
- 201 individual techniques
- 424 sub-techniques to model attacks in detail
Adversaries’ strategic goals are represented by tactics, while their specific methods to achieve these goals show up in techniques. Each technique can line up with multiple tactics. Process Injection shows this well – it helps both with Defense Evasion and Privilege Escalation.
Progress of ATT&CK Framework for 2025
The framework’s scope grew significantly in 2024-2025 to tackle new threats. Recent updates added non-technical deceptive practices and social engineering techniques. The framework now includes structured detections and better defensive mechanisms that focus on:
- Better Linux and macOS coverage
- Live analytics implementation
- Advanced mobile threat detection abilities
Coverage across different platforms (Enterprise, Mobile, ICS)
Three main matrices make up the framework’s coverage, each designed for specific operational environments. Windows, macOS, Linux, cloud platforms, and network infrastructures fall under the Enterprise matrix. The Mobile matrix now covers specialized threat vectors like smishing, quishing, and vishing.
The framework added over a dozen new assets that represent the main functional components for Industrial Control Systems (ICS). Control servers, human-machine interfaces (HMI), and programmable logic controllers (PLC) are part of these additions. This expansion makes inter-sector communication and risk assessment better.
Fidelis Elevate® XDR solution’s design lines up naturally with these matrices. It provides detailed visibility across all platforms and uses the MITRE ATT&CK framework to boost threat detection and response capabilities.
Key MITRE ATT&CK Use Cases in Modern Security Operations
Security teams today need sophisticated ways to detect and respond to threats. The MITRE ATT&CK framework helps organizations strengthen their security posture through several key strategies.
Threat Intelligence and Attack Surface Mapping
The framework gives analysts a well-laid-out way to understand and classify how attackers behave. Security teams can map potential attack surfaces and spot threats unique to their setup using ATT&CK’s detailed knowledge base. Our Fidelis Elevate® XDR solution boosts this ability by linking threat intelligence with network activity in real time.
Security Gap Assessment and Coverage Analysis
Security teams can spot defensive gaps by mapping their current controls against the ATT&CK framework. This process includes:
- Evaluating existing security measures
- Spotting gaps in defense mechanisms
- Prioritizing security investments based on risk
- Setting up targeted security controls
Security Operations Center (SOC) Enhancement
The framework boosts security operations center (SOC) capabilities with its structured approach to threat detection and response. SOC teams that use ATT&CK can catch attacks early and take steps to reduce potential damage. The framework also helps different SOC teams communicate better, which leads to faster threat response.
Red Team/Blue Team Exercises
Red teams use ATT&CK to create realistic attack scenarios based on known attacker behaviors. The blue team watches for signs of red team activities and uses security tools to detect, break down, and contain simulated cyber attacks. This helps organizations test their defenses against ground attack patterns.
Incident Response and Forensics
The framework speeds up incident response by helping teams quickly identify attack patterns. Security teams can link suspicious activities to known techniques, which leads to faster decisions during incidents. Organizations can contain and reduce threats better while keeping detailed forensic records.
Compliance and Risk Management
ATT&CK helps with compliance by providing a structured way to implement security controls. Organizations can map their security controls to compliance requirements to ensure they meet regulatory rules. Fidelis Elevate® XDR works with these requirements and offers automated compliance reporting and risk assessment features.
Measuring Success with MITRE ATT&CK
Security teams need a well-laid-out approach to metrics and evaluation to measure how well their defenses work through the MITRE ATT&CK framework. A clear set of indicators helps organizations evaluate their defensive capabilities and find weak spots.
Key performance indicators
The MITRE ATT&CK framework gives organizations several ways to measure their security posture. The Situated Scoring Methodology for Cyber Resiliency (SSM-CR) offers a flexible scoring system that shows relative cyber resilience. This system creates individual scores for objectives and detailed assessments of specific activities.
These performance indicators look at:
- How accurate and contextual the detection is
- How well protections work against simulated threats
- Speed and success of responses
- How well false positives are reduced
- Speed of containing incidents
Detection coverage metrics
Security teams have moved beyond basic heat maps to measure detection coverage with deeper security layer analysis. Simple counting of detections tied to specific techniques wasn’t enough for MITRE ATT&CK coverage metrics. A better method emerged that measures coverage through multiple security layers.
“Detection-in-depth” now looks at many parts of the attack surface. This includes endpoint, network, email, IAM, cloud, and containers. Security teams can spot blind spots near critical assets and sensitive data with this layered approach.
Fidelis Elevate® XDR boosts these capabilities by showing everything across all security layers. This ensures complete coverage mapping against the MITRE ATT&CK framework. Organizations can track how their detection capabilities improve throughout their infrastructure.
Response effectiveness measurement
Teams measure response effectiveness by looking at immediate threat containment and long-term incident handling. The MITRE ATT&CK Evaluation puts detection effectiveness into five categories based on what end users learn from alerts.
Response effectiveness metrics look at:
- 1. How fast teams detect and stop threats
- 2. How well they identify threats
- 3. Quality of responses
- 4. Business disruption levels
- 5. How well teams learn from incidents
The evaluation process now focuses on practical results and accuracy of security measures. Organizations using Fidelis Elevate® XDR can watch these metrics live and make their security operations better.
Security teams now analyze detection coverage through security layers instead of just looking at technique-based metrics. This gives a better picture of an organization’s security by looking at how deep and wide the protection goes across different parts of the infrastructure.
The framework adds special analytics to measure detection posture. Teams can filter coverage based on what matters most to their organization and specific risks. This refined approach helps teams make smart decisions about security investments based on analytical insights.
Boost your defense with ATT&CK-aligned XDR. Learn how to:
- Map threats to ATT&CK tactics
- Real-world defense strategies
- Automate security workflows
Implementation Best Practices
A strategic approach that lines up with security goals is crucial to successfully implement the MITRE ATT&CK framework. Recent MITRE assessment data by Forbes shows organizations following implementation best practices detect sophisticated attacks 35% better1. A strategic approach that aligns with security goals is crucial to successfully implement MITRE ATT&CK use cases within an organization’s security infrastructure.
Starting with high-priority techniques
Security teams can create custom lists of critical techniques for their specific environment using the Top ATT&CK Techniques Calculator. The selection of high-priority techniques should consider:
- Technique prevalence in your industry sector
- Common attack choke points
- Useful defensive measures
- Organizational risk assessment outcomes
- Infrastructure-specific vulnerabilities
Building detection and response playbooks
Detection and response playbooks are the foundations of effective MITRE ATT&CK implementation. Our Fidelis Elevate® platform includes automated playbooks that map to MITRE ATT&CK techniques and help teams respond quickly to security incidents. These playbooks should focus on containment activities. CISA suggests implementing quick mitigations to isolate threat actors and stop additional damage.
Continuous evaluation and improvement
The MITRE ATT&CK framework requires ongoing assessment and refinement. The original implementation creates a strong foundation, but teams must adapt to emerging threats through continuous evaluation. Multiple smaller emulations now help assess defensive capabilities more effectively.
Teams should set up baseline systems before incidents happen. This helps defenders spot unusual activity patterns. Fidelis Elevate® helps by providing smooth network visibility and better endpoint defense through cloud sandbox analytics and direct endpoint connectivity.
Making use of Fidelis Elevate for automated implementation
Fidelis Elevate® provides complete implementation support with several key features. The platform detects risks where adversaries typically hide. The platform delivers:
- 1. Immediate network visibility
- 2. Better cloud sandbox analytics
- 3. Direct endpoint connectivity
- 4. Automated threat detection mapping
- 5. Custom deception capabilities
Training Security Teams
Complete training programs help teams make the best use of the framework’s features. The ATT&CK team offers specialized courses such as:
- ATT&CK Cyber Threat Intelligence
- Purple Teaming Fundamentals
- ATT&CK Detection Engineering
- SOC Assessments
Security teams must understand both defensive and offensive viewpoints as threats evolve. Regular drills and exercises test how well the implementation works and show where improvements are needed. Organizations can run automated risk simulations through Fidelis Elevate®, which lets teams practice response strategies safely without affecting operations.
Conclusion
MITRE ATT&CK framework serves as the life-blood of modern cybersecurity strategies and gives organizations a well-laid-out approach to curb evolving threats. NIST’s 2023 report shows organizations using this framework detect threats 42% faster than those using traditional security approaches.
Fidelis Elevate® XDR solution enhances these capabilities with detailed visibility across enterprise environments. The platform merges with MITRE ATT&CK and helps security teams detect, analyze, and respond to threats while maintaining complete operational visibility. Research from Gartner predicts 65% of enterprises will adopt XDR solutions by 2025, which shows the rising importance of integrated security platforms.
Security teams get the best results through strategic implementation, continuous evaluation, and proper training. Fidelis Elevate® XDR backs these efforts with automated threat detection, custom deception capabilities, and immediate network monitoring. You can learn more about reshaping your security operations by downloading our detailed whitepaper on proactive cyber defense with XDR.
MITRE ATT&CK implementation succeeds when organizations select high-priority techniques, build effective response playbooks, and maintain continuous improvement cycles. Fidelis Elevate® XDR provides organizations with tools to execute these strategies while being proactive about emerging threats. This blend of framework knowledge and innovative technology builds a resilient defense against modern cyber threats.
See how Fidelis Elevate® XDR:
- Maps threats to MITRE ATT&CK in real-time
- Automates response to evolving attacks
- Strengthens defenses with deep visibility
