Hey there! You may have heard about the Cyber Kill Chain – it revolutionized cyber defense when it was first published. But over 10 years later, is this tried-and-tested model still effective? Let‘s find out.
I‘ll provide context first on what the Cyber Kill Chain aims to achieve. Then we‘ll assess some of its limitations in light of current threats. Finally, I‘ll suggest some alternate frameworks that may complement the Cyber Kill Chain.
The Cyber Kill Chain Framework – A Primer
So what exactly is the Cyber Kill Chain? Here‘s a quick overview.
The Cyber Kill Chain seeks to model the anatomy of a cyberattack. It defines the phases an attacker progresses through to achieve their objectives.
By codifying the tactical stages involved, it gives defenders clarity into the adversary mindset.
Understanding how attackers operate allows organizations to better predict ongoing intrusions and disrupt them quicker. Back in 2011 when Lockheed Martin published this, it represented a novel, proactive posture for security teams.
Initially, the framework proved hugely popular – with over 50% of security teams reporting it helped strengthen their breach response capabilities.
However, the infosec landscape has radically transformed over the last decade. Let‘s look at why the conventional Cyber Kill Chain is now struggling to keep pace.
Why The Cyber Kill Chain is Proving Inadequate
Sophisticated cyber campaigns have become the norm today. Unfortunately, the linear Cyber Kill Chain framework is unable to cope with the complexity of modern attacks.
Blind Spot Around Insider Threats
The Cyber Kill Chain predominantly looks at external threats. But insider risks are equally dangerous – be it through malicious misuse of access or accidental activities.
Insider threats account for nearly 30% of breaches, causing over $8.76 billion in losses a year.
Yet, the Cyber Kill Chain completely overlooks monitoring authorized users and internal actions. This glaring blindness around insider risk makes the framework highly vulnerable.
Restricted Detection Abilities
When designed originally, the Cyber Kill Chain centered on combating malware and payload-based intrusions.
But attack vectors today expand well beyond just malware. Web app attacks, DDoS, password attacks and social engineering are all capable of causing breaches without introducing any malicious code.
The static Cyber Kill Chain misses the agility to address these varied threats that don‘t follow the expected stage-by-stage progression.
Limited Coverage
The Cyber Kill Chain predominantly looks at securing the network perimeter. But new paradigms like cloud and mobility have completely dissolved the conventional network perimeter.
93% of enterprises now have a multi-cloud strategy, with 72% adopting a hybrid model. Remote access is also ubiquitous.
But this framework is still focused on safeguarding an outdated trust boundary. This myopic visibility on just one area blinds it to risks introduced across decentralized environments.
Evolved Alternatives Worth Considering
Given its limitations around current attack methodologies, the Cyber Kill Chain model requires some reinforcement. Two evolved frameworks that improve upon it are:
MITRE ATT&CK
The MITRE ATT&CK framework documents the entire spectrum of known adversarial techniques, tools and procedures in its extensive knowledge base.
It offers comprehensive guidance consolidating tactics used by threat actors during targeting, intrusion, privilege escalation, exfiltration and impact stages.
This exhaustive catalog of over 350+ techniques provides unmatched visibility making MITRE ATT&CK a superior alternative.
The NIST Cybersecurity Framework
The NIST Cybersecurity framework published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology adopts a holistic risk management approach.
Built around 5 core functions – Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond and Recover, it looks at managing risks across the entire security life cycle. This end-to-end viewpoint allows strengthened resilience.
It also emphasizes continuous, metrics-driven improvement of defenses. This inherent agility to evolve alongside threats keeps controls relevant protecting against emerging techniques.
Reinforcing The Cyber Kill Chain
Rather than completely replacing the Cyber Kill Chain, integrating some of these newer frameworks and tools to address its weaknesses would be prudent.
Modern security strategies require adaptive, analytics-driven controls. Augmenting existing models using threat intelligence and simulations also allows testing defenses against realistic attacks.
As threats continue advancing at breakneck speed, cyber resilience demands a progressive, ever-learning posture to stay secure both today and beyond.
Hope this provided some useful pointers on defending against sophisticated modern attacks! Do share your thoughts or queries in the comments below.
