CIS Community Defense Model v3.0 Maps Threat Intelligence to Prioritized Safeguards
Summary
CIS says its Community Defense Model v3.0 maps real-world attack data to prioritized CIS Controls Safeguards, finding that foundational cyber hygiene can protect against many prevalent attack techniques.
Key points
- CDM v3.0 draws on threat intelligence, breach data, Verizon DBIR findings, VERIS data, and MITRE ATT&CK mappings to connect attack activity with CIS safeguards.
- The model estimates CIS Controls Implementation Group 1 safeguards cover 84%–89% of techniques in each of five analyzed attack categories.
- CIS Safeguard 4.1, which establishes and maintains a secure configuration process, was the most effective safeguard across all five categories.
- The model says AI may increase attack speed, scale, and sophistication, while many AI-enabled threats still fit familiar attack categories.
- A new Active Defense Lifecycle maps safeguards across five stages of attacker activity to help organizations identify defensive strengths and gaps.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Publication of data-driven cybersecurity defense guidance
- Impact
- The model reports that implementing IG1 Safeguards can protect against 89% of System Intrusion techniques, 86% of Social Engineering techniques, 88% of Basic Web Application Attack techniques, 84% of Privilege Misuse techniques, and 88% of Denial of Service techniques analyzed. Safeguard 4.1, Establish and Maintain a Secure Configuration Process, was identified as the most effective safeguard across all five categories. A new defender-focused lifecycle maps safeguards to five stages of attacker activity to support prioritization and defense-in-depth planning.