Virginia-based MITRE Corp., a not-for-profit research and development organization, recently introduced a cybersecurity framework designed to protect the embedded systems that power critical infrastructure and defense technologies. It was developed in collaboration with the Air Force’s Cyber Resiliency Office for Weapon Systems.
The Embedded Systems Threat Matrix (ESTM) provides tools for researchers, vendors and security professionals to identify vulnerabilities and build stronger embedded systems. It can be used in many sectors including energy, healthcare, industrial controls, transportation, and robotics. The organization encourages cybersecurity experts to contribute knowledge and experience that can be used to help improve ESTM.
“Embedded systems are the foundation of our critical infrastructure and defense capabilities, but they face complex and growing cyber risks,” Keoki Jackson, MITRE National Security senior vice president, said. “ESTM fills a key gap by giving defenders clear, actionable information to identify and stop cyber threats against these essential systems.”
ESTM is easy to add to existing security programs as it organizes tactics and techniques specific to embedded systems. It also helps organizations prepare for future risks by covering emerging threats and weaknesses.
ESTM works with the MITRE EMB3D Threat Model for secure system design. It was inspired by the MITRE ATT&CK framework and is based on MITRE’s proof-of-concept and theoretical research.