What are Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs)?

Tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) encompass the diverse methods that cybercriminals and state-sponsored actors employ to infiltrate, manipulate, and compromise digital environments. In an era where cyber threats evolve with unsettling speed and sophistication, gaining a thorough understanding of the TTPs becomes a critical aspect of strengthening your organization's cybersecurity defenses.

It is essential to leverage the latest TTPs cyber threat intelligence to mitigate cyber risks, prevent operational downtime, and build a resilient security program.

2024 Threat Report

From Initial Access to Ransomware Deployment: Deep Dive into the Modern Threat Actor’s Playbook

Download our 2024 Threat Report for critical insights into the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) threat actors use to gain initial access, achieve intrusion actions, and accomplish objectives.

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Understanding Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) in Cybersecurity

Defining Tactics

Tactics refer to the overarching goals that threat actors have to conduct their attacks, such as unauthorized data access or system disruption. According to the MITRE definition, the tactic represents the “adversary’s tactical goal: the reason for performing an action”. There are 14 enterprise tactics that adversaries may have:

• Reconnaissance: The adversary is trying to gather information they can use to plan future operations.
• Resource Development: The adversary is trying to establish resources they can use to support operations.
• Initial Access: The adversary is trying to get into your network.
• Execution: The adversary is trying to run malicious code.
• Persistence: The adversary is trying to maintain their foothold.
• Privilege Escalation: The adversary is trying to gain higher-level permissions.
• Defense Evasion: The adversary is trying to avoid being detected.
• Credential Access: The adversary is trying to steal account names and passwords.
• Discovery: The adversary is trying to figure out your environment.
• Lateral Movement: The adversary is trying to move through your environment.
• Collection: The adversary is trying to gather data of interest to their goal.
• Command and Control: The adversary is trying to communicate with compromised systems to control them.
• Exfiltration: The adversary is trying to steal data.
• Impact: The adversary is trying to manipulate, interrupt, or destroy your systems and data.

Defining Techniques

Techniques describe the attackers' specific methods or approaches to meet their tactical objectives. This includes actions like brute force attacks, SQL injections, or using malware to compromise systems. Each technique may involve various sub-techniques for the attack execution. For enterprises, there are 202 total techniques and 435 sub-techniques.

Defining Procedures

Procedures are the exact steps and tools cybercriminals use to implement their techniques. These detailed descriptions include the sequence of actions, and the types of tools or malware used, offering a granular view of how threats are executed.

Importance of Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) in Cybersecurity and Threat Intelligence

Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) as Indicators of Attack

Tactics, techniques, and procedures serve as critical indicators of potential cyberattacks. They provide valuable insights into attackers' intentions and methods, allowing security teams to prepare and respond more effectively. By analyzing these indicators, professionals can detect anomalies that may signify a breach and implement strategies to counteract them swiftly.

Analyzing Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) for Defense

Understanding and analyzing tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) is crucial for cybersecurity teams to defend against cyber threats effectively. By leveraging frameworks like the MITRE ATT&CK® Framework, security professionals can identify and address TTPs, enhancing their ability to detect and mitigate potential attacks before they escalate. This proactive approach helps recognize the early signs of intrusion but also aids in understanding adversaries' behavioral patterns.

Using Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) for Cyber Threat Intelligence

Cyber threat intelligence leverages data to improve security by operationalizing information to anticipate incoming threats. Through threat intelligence, organizations gain visibility into adversaries' tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), enhancing proactive response capabilities.

Additionally, cyber threat intelligence sources like the MITRE ATT&CK framework provide a structured knowledge base of adversary behaviors observed globally, making it a crucial tool for understanding and preparing against cyber threats.

How the Mitre ATT&CK Framework Uses Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs)

The MITRE ATT&CK framework is a globally accessible knowledge base of tactics and techniques based on real-world observations and activity. It contains hundreds of techniques and sub-techniques organized across 14 tactics that provide a foundational guide to help organizations “know thy enemy”.

It provides a foundation for developing threat models and methodologies. This framework is instrumental in helping organizations identify and address TTPs employed by attackers, thus improving their defensive strategies.

Operationalizing TTPs from frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK involves translating insights into actionable security controls and detection mechanisms. This process enables security teams to prepare defenses better and respond more effectively to cyber threats.

By integrating TTP analysis into security operations, organizations can detect and mitigate attacks more efficiently, ensuring a proactive stance against potential security breaches.

Enhance Your Risk-based Approach to Cybersecurity with the MITRE ATT&CK Framework

The MITRE ATT&CK framework is challenging for many security leaders to integrate into their broader risk-based strategies. Bridge the gap with our MITRE ATT&CK tool and get practical insights to inform your security posture and identify where to improve your cybersecurity defenses.

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Practical Applications of Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs)

Detecting Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) with Behavioral Analytics

Behavioral analytics transforms the detection of TTPs by monitoring and analyzing behavior patterns within a network to identify anomalies that may indicate cyber threats. Enhanced by machine learning and artificial intelligence, this method provides deeper insights and more accurate predictions, crucial for safeguarding digital assets.

Tools like extended detection and response (XDR) platforms leverage behavioral analytics to detect unusual TTP activities, such as atypical login times or high data traffic during odd hours, which can be used as potential indicators of a security breach.

Using Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) for Vulnerability Management

Vulnerability management benefits significantly from the integration of TTP analysis. By understanding attackers' tactics and techniques, organizations can prioritize vulnerabilities more effectively, ensuring that those posing the most significant risk are addressed promptly.

This systematic approach involves the detection, assessment, prioritization, and remediation of vulnerabilities, helping to minimize the attack surface and prevent potential breaches.

2024 Threat Report on Current Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs)

As we continue to advocate for enhanced cybersecurity measures, integrating advanced TTPs into our defensive strategies will be pivotal in safeguarding against the complex challenges that lie ahead. Security professionals must equip themselves with an intricate understanding of how threat actors gain unauthorized access and progress through their malicious objectives.

Explore the essential insights and full findings by downloading the eSentire’s 2024 threat report “From Initial Access to Ransomware Deployment: A Deep Dive into the Modern Threat Actors’ Playbook,” to help equip your organization against the sophisticated tactics of tomorrow's threat actors.

Security Services to Help Protect Against Attacker Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs)

Given the lack of skilled in-house cybersecurity experts, not all security teams can protect against attacker tactics, techniques and procedures alone. We recommend engaging a trusted, multi-signal Managed Detection and Response (MDR) provider that not only offers 24/7 protection with SOC Cyber Analysts and Elite Threat Hunters, but who understand the latest TTPs and are able to proactively and rapidly investigate, contain, and manually neutralize cyber threats before they can disrupt your operations.

Contact us to learn more about how eSentire MDR helps protect against the latest cyberattacker Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs).