For security leaders, staying vigilant and prepared is like wielding a well-crafted spellbook. OWASP, MITRE ATT&CK, and threat research are the critical chapters in this spellbook that leaders need to leverage to anticipate and counter emerging threats effectively, because you can’t afford for your organization to be ensnared by threats that could have been foreseen. Yet, the challenges are many and constantly shifting, as new forms of risk appear with each new wave of technology added to an organization’s technology stack. Think of the transformative shifts when microservices became widespread: APIs and web services took center stage. Or, more recently, when enterprise-enabled GenAI services were stitched into our existing enterprise workflows.
Today, it feels as though there’s a new incantation from the Dark Arts of Exploitation every day, with adversaries inventing clever twists on even the most familiar technologies. As these tactics evolve, threat intelligence teams work tirelessly to decode them, staying at pace to give security teams the insights they need. It’s a relentless battle, but with the right guidance, tools, and foresight, CISOs can summon the strategies required to secure their digital realm.
Facing emerging threats can feel like stepping into an unknown realm of ever-updating spells in rules files. Luckily, CISOs aren’t venturing out alone — they’re backed by an invaluable alliance of organizations like MITRE and OWASP, who act as wise mages guiding the way forward.
OWASP: The CISO’s mage for handling risky magic
OWASP’s evolution from the “Open Web Application Security Project” to the “Open Worldwide Application Security Project” reflects its broadened focus to cover not only web applications but a vast array of security challenges in today’s interconnected world. The OWASP Application Security Verification Standard (ASVS), for instance, remains a foundational guide for developers intent on embedding secure practices into application development. But the expanded scope, from “Web” to “Worldwide,” acknowledges the diverse and intricate security requirements that CISOs must now address across both development and runtime environments.
OWASP is particularly renowned for its “Top 10” projects, which spotlight the most critical vulnerabilities within specific technology areas, ensuring that security teams prioritize the most pressing risks. For today’s CISOs, these lists should serve as trusted sections of their grimoires, ensuring no essential protections of well-documented risks are overlooked. Here are some of the latest OWASP resources that provide guidance for today’s complex ecosystem:
CISOs can leverage these and other OWASP resources to validate if their current security practices are tooled to mitigate these risks. The OWASP community has expanded upon the Top 10 advice to also provide newer resources, such as the LLM AI Cybersecurity & Governance Checklist.
MITRE ATT&CK: The CISO’s sage for mastering adversarial arts
In addition to OWASP, security leaders should be using another wise guide in their security journey — the MITRE ATT&CK Framework, a Sage-like resource in the realm of adversarial understanding. MITRE ATT&CK delves deeply into the attacker’s kill chain, categorizing each phase with clarity and precision. From initial reconnaissance and resource development to lateral movement, command and control, exfiltration, and impact, this framework offers an extensive taxonomy of attackers’ tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). By providing a structured map and detailed descriptions of these adversarial moves, MITRE ATT&CK equips security leaders and their teams with the ability to assess whether their defenses are primed to take action on almost any form of malicious activity.
Much like OWASP, MITRE brings a treasure trove of resources to CISOs and security teams. Key among them is MITRE Engage (the successor to MITRE Shield), which complements the ATT&CK framework by offering actionable, defensive guidance. Engage provides prescriptive measures aligned with the ATT&CK tactics, helping security teams understand potential attack paths and appropriately respond.
Together, the wisdom from OWASP and MITRE serves as the bedrock of modern security programs, guiding CISOs in sustaining situational awareness and readiness. With MITRE and OWASP in their arsenal, CISOs ensure their organizations are well-prepared to counter documented adversarial tactics. By encouraging their teams to stay up-to-date on OWASP’s prioritized risks and ATT&CK’s nuanced insights into adversarial behavior, security leaders can confidently advance their security postures. Both OWASP and MITRE empower CISOs to stay ahead, effectively moving the needle forward.
Threat research: The CISO’s wand for wielding defensive magic
One invaluable but often underappreciated resource at a CISO’s disposal is threat research. Like a finely tuned wand, Sysdig’s Threat Research Team amplifies a security leader’s capacity to respond proactively to emerging risks. This resource works in harmony with frameworks like OWASP and MITRE, as threat researchers are often the first to spot and analyze the TTPs that attackers use to compromise environments. These skilled practitioners bring a unique expertise to the table, detecting and sharing insights on new attacks as they emerge, and rapidly feed this intelligence back into detection rules to improve security coverage.
A pivotal insight from Sysdig’s Threat Research Team highlights just how swiftly adversaries can compromise cloud resources. This evidence was instrumental in developing the 555 Benchmark — five seconds to detect, five minutes to correlate, and five minutes to respond. Sysdig TRT’s research proved that vulnerable cloud environments can be breached within minutes, underscoring the urgency of detection and response capabilities. These time-sensitive insights demand that CISOs reevaluate their security practices and ensure that their telemetry is tuned for the agility needed in a cloud-first world.
While security leaders may feel as if it is a daunting task, trying to stay ahead of the ever-evolving and maturing threat landscape, they have access to force multipliers that make situational awareness achievable. By incorporating the actionable guidance of organizations like OWASP and MITRE, security leaders can ensure that their programs are rooted in established best practices. Paired with cutting-edge threat research, such as the Sysdig Global Threat Year-in-Review, CISOs are better positioned to defend against both familiar and emerging threats, like the weaponization of open source tools and LLMjacking. While cybersecurity challenges appear tough and endless, the solution doesn’t require magic. Structured frameworks and vigilant threat research offer reproducible, practical guidance to help stay ahead of adversaries.