Don’t Wait for a Breach—Fortify Your Cyber Defenses Today!

In today’s digital world, cyber threats are growing rapidly, making businesses more vulnerable than ever. From ransomware attacks and phishing scams to insider threats, companies of all sizes face serious security risks. Without strong cybersecurity measures, businesses can suffer financial losses, reputational damage, and legal trouble. This blog covers the biggest cyber threats businesses face today and practical ways to protect against them.

The MITRE Framework outlines common attack techniques that cybercriminals use to target organizations. To reduce the risks these threats pose, businesses need a clear plan with strong security measures to detect, prevent, and respond to attacks effectively.

Here’s how TOP 25 techniques which contribute to different attack stages:

Initial Access & Execution

1. Phishing (T1566) – Attackers trick users into executing malicious payloads via emails or fake websites.

2. Valid Accounts (T1078) – Use of stolen credentials to gain unauthorized access.

3. User Execution (T1204) – Malicious files or scripts requiring user interaction for execution.

4. Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059) – Running malicious commands via PowerShell, Bash, or scripting languages.

5. Ingress Tool Transfer (T1105) – Downloading and executing malicious payloads into the victim’s system.

   
   

Privilege Escalation & Credential Access

6. Process Injection (T1055) – Injecting code into legitimate processes to evade detection.

7. Credentials from Password Stores (T1555) – Extracting stored credentials from browsers, password managers, or system utilities.

8. Credential Dumping (T1003) – Harvesting credentials from memory (LSASS) or SAM databases.

9. Access Token Manipulation (T1134) – Impersonating user accounts to escalate privileges.

Persistence & Defense Evasion

10. Scheduled Task/Job (T1053) – Maintaining persistence by scheduling malicious tasks.

11. Modify Registry (T1112) – Altering registry keys for persistence and evasion.

12. Obfuscated Files or Information (T1027) – Encrypting or encoding malicious payloads to bypass security solutions.

13. Windows Management Instrumentation (T1047) – Using WMI to execute commands stealthily.

14. System Binary Proxy Execution (T1218) – Using legitimate Windows utilities (LOLbins) for malicious execution.

Discovery & Lateral Movement

15. Account Discovery (T1087) – Identifying users and roles within the environment.

16. Account Manipulation (T1098) – Modifying user accounts for privilege escalation.

17. System Network Configuration Discovery (T1016) – Gathering network information for lateral movement.

18. Remote Services (T1021) – Exploiting RDP, SSH, or SMB for remote access.

Impact & Data Exfiltration

19. Endpoint Denial of Service (T1499) – Overloading systems to disrupt operations.

20. Application Layer Protocol (T1071) – Using common protocols like HTTP/S, DNS, or FTP for communication and exfiltration.

21. Input Capture (T1056) – Keylogging or capturing user inputs.

22. Screen Capture (T1113) – Taking screenshots of sensitive information.

23. Data Obfuscation (T1001) – Encrypting or disguising stolen data to avoid detection.

24. Indicator Removal on Host (T1070) – Clearing logs and evidence of compromise.

25. Inhibit System Recovery (T1490) – Disabling recovery options to prevent remediation.

Strategy for Implementing Mitigation Measures

This is now essential to draft strategy for implementing bare minimum mitigation measures to address the risk is key factor. Providing this mapping, which can help an organization to implement or customize it further according to their requirements or needs:

Rank	Technique ID	MITRE ATT&CK Technique	Tactic	Mapped CIS Control	CIS Benchmark Reference ID	Rationale	CIS Impact
1	T1055	Process Injection	Defense Evasion	CIS Control 6: Access Control Management	2.9, 2.19	Prevents unauthorized code execution within legitimate processes	Reduces risk of stealthy malware execution and privilege escalation
2	T1059	Command and Scripting Interpreter	Execution	CIS Control 8: Audit Log Management	2.18	Detects malicious script execution	Improves visibility into potential execution-based attacks
3	T1555	Credentials from Password Stores	Credential Access	CIS Control 5: Account Management	2.10, 2.23	Prevents unauthorized access to stored credentials	Limits exposure to credential theft and unauthorized access
4	T1003	Credential Dumping	Credential Access	CIS Control 6: Access Control Management	2.9, 2.19	Prevents unauthorized credential harvesting	Reduces risk of privilege escalation and unauthorized access
5	T1566	Phishing	Initial Access	CIS Control 9: Email and Web Browser Protections	2.2	Reduces risk of email-based threats and malicious links	Prevents social engineering attacks and malware infection
6	T1078	Valid Accounts	Defense Evasion	CIS Control 5: Account Management	2.10, 2.23	Ensures only authorized accounts are used	Limits exposure to compromised or misused credentials
7	T1027	Obfuscated Files or Information	Defense Evasion	CIS Control 13: Network Monitoring and Defense	2.22	Detects obfuscated malware and hidden payloads	Enhances threat detection and response capabilities
8	T1204	User Execution	Execution	CIS Control 14: Security Awareness and Skills Training	2.14, 2.15	Trains users to recognize and avoid malicious content	Reduces risk of user-driven compromises and social engineering
9	T1105	Ingress Tool Transfer	Command and Control	CIS Control 12: Network Infrastructure Management	2.11, 2.12	Prevents unauthorized file transfers	Limits malware distribution and unauthorized tool deployment
10	T1087	Account Discovery	Discovery	CIS Control 6: Access Control Management	2.9	Restricts attacker reconnaissance efforts	Prevents unauthorized enumeration of user accounts
11	T1098	Account Manipulation	Persistence	CIS Control 5: Account Management	2.10, 2.23	Prevents attackers from modifying accounts	Reduces risk of persistent unauthorized access
12	T1499	Endpoint Denial of Service	Impact	CIS Control 13: Network Monitoring and Defense	2.24	Ensures detection of DoS attempts	Enhances availability and resilience against service disruptions
13	T1047	Windows Management Instrumentation	Execution	CIS Control 8: Audit Log Management	2.18	Detects misuse of WMI for malicious purposes	Improves detection of lateral movement and remote execution attempts
14	T1218	System Binary Proxy Execution	Defense Evasion	CIS Control 6: Access Control Management	2.9, 2.19	Prevents misuse of trusted system binaries for malicious execution	Reduces risk of defense evasion through trusted processes
15	T1053	Scheduled Task/Job	Persistence	CIS Control 5: Account Management	2.10, 2.23	Detects unauthorized task scheduling for persistence	Limits adversaries' ability to maintain persistent access
16	T1112	Modify Registry	Defense Evasion	CIS Control 8: Audit Log Management	2.18	Detects unauthorized registry modifications	Prevents persistence and defense evasion through registry alterations
17	T1071	Application Layer Protocol	Command and Control	CIS Control 12: Network Infrastructure Management	2.11, 2.12	Monitors use of common protocols for malicious communication	Enhances detection of covert command and control channels
18	T1056	Input Capture	Credential Access	CIS Control 9: Email and Web Browser Protections	2.2	Prevents unauthorized capture of user input	Reduces risk of credential theft through keylogging or input sniffing
19	T1134	Access Token Manipulation	Defense Evasion	CIS Control 6: Access Control Management	2.9, 2.19	Prevents misuse of access tokens for unauthorized actions	Reduces risk of privilege escalation and unauthorized resource access
20	T1016	System Network Configuration Discovery	Discovery	CIS Control 13: Network Monitoring and Defense	2.22	Detects unauthorized network configuration discovery	Limits attackers' understanding of network topology and defenses
21	T1490	Inhibit System Recovery	Impact	CIS Control 8: Audit Log Management	2.18	Prevents disabling of system recovery features	Ensures availability of recovery options after an attack
22	T1070	Indicator Removal on Host	Defense Evasion	CIS Control 8: Audit Log Management	2.18	Detects attempts to erase forensic evidence	Enhances ability to investigate and respond to security incidents
23	T1021	Remote Services	Lateral Movement	CIS Control 12: Network Infrastructure Management	2.11, 2.12	Monitors use of remote services for lateral movement	Limits adversaries' ability to move laterally within the network
24	T1113	Screen Capture	Collection	CIS Control 9: Email and Web Browser Protections	2.2	Prevents unauthorized screen capturing	Protects sensitive information from being captured and exfiltrated
25	T1001	Data Obfuscation	Command and Control	CIS Control 13: Network Monitoring and Defense	2.22	Detects attempts to disguise malicious communication	Improves detection of covert data exfiltration and stealthy malware