| name | analyzing-cyber-kill-chain |
| description | Analyzes intrusion activity against the Lockheed Martin Cyber Kill Chain framework to identify which phases an adversary has completed, where defenses succeeded or failed, and what controls would have interrupted the attack at earlier phases. Use when conducting post-incident analysis, building prevention-focused security controls, or mapping detection gaps to kill chain phases. Activates for requests involving kill chain analysis, intrusion kill chain, attack phase mapping, or Lockheed Martin kill chain framework.
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| domain | cybersecurity |
| subdomain | threat-intelligence |
| tags | ["kill-chain","Lockheed-Martin","MITRE-ATT&CK","intrusion-analysis","defense-in-depth","NIST-CSF"] |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| author | team-cybersecurity |
| license | Apache-2.0 |
Analyzing Cyber Kill Chain
When to Use
Use this skill when:
- Conducting post-incident analysis to determine how far an adversary progressed through an attack sequence
- Designing layered defensive controls with the goal of interrupting attacks at the earliest possible phase
- Producing threat intelligence reports that communicate attack progression to non-technical stakeholders
Do not use this skill as a standalone framework — combine with MITRE ATT&CK for technique-level granularity beyond what the 7-phase kill chain provides.
Prerequisites
- Complete incident timeline with forensic artifacts mapped to specific adversary actions
- MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise matrix for technique-level mapping within each kill chain phase
- Access to threat intelligence on the suspected adversary group's typical kill chain progression
- Post-incident report or IR timeline from responding team
Workflow
Step 1: Map Observed Actions to Kill Chain Phases
The Lockheed Martin Cyber Kill Chain consists of seven phases. Map all observed adversary actions:
Phase 1 - Reconnaissance: Adversary gathers target information before attack.
- Indicators: DNS queries from adversary IP, LinkedIn scraping, job posting analysis, Shodan scans of organization infrastructure
Phase 2 - Weaponization: Adversary creates attack tool (malware + exploit).
- Indicators: Malware compilation timestamps, exploit document metadata, builder artifacts in malware samples
Phase 3 - Delivery: Adversary transmits weapon to target.
- Indicators: Phishing emails, malicious attachments, drive-by downloads, USB drops, supply chain compromise
Phase 4 - Exploitation: Adversary exploits vulnerability to execute code.
- Indicators: CVE exploitation events in application/OS logs, memory corruption artifacts, shellcode execution
Phase 5 - Installation: Adversary establishes persistence on target.
- Indicators: New scheduled tasks, registry run keys, service installation, web shells, bootkits
Phase 6 - Command & Control (C2): Adversary communicates with compromised system.
- Indicators: Beaconing traffic (regular intervals), DNS tunneling, HTTPS to uncommon domains, C2 framework signatures (Cobalt Strike, Sliver)
Phase 7 - Actions on Objectives: Adversary achieves goals.
