Climbing The Pyramid Of Pain: The Story Behind Threat Intelligence

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Cyber defenders are constantly overwhelmed by a flood of indicators – IP addresses, file hashes, domains – all demanding swift action. But real resilience doesn’t come from reacting to digital breadcrumbs. It comes from understanding adversary behavior.

Enter the Pyramid of Pain, a threat intelligence model that shifts the focus from artifacts to adversaries. In this blog, we follow the story of Aisha, a security analyst responding to a real-world attack, to show how climbing this pyramid transforms detection into disruption. Whether you’re new to threat intel or embedded deep in SOC operations, this journey will reshape how you see cyber defense.

A Day in the Life of a Defender

It’s 2:00 AM. Aisha, a SOC analyst at a financial firm, stares at her glowing monitor. Another phishing alert, the third this week. Same tactics, just a new domain.

She’s tired of the cycle. Tired of reacting. Tonight, she decides to break the pattern. This time, she climbs the Pyramid of Pain.

This isn’t just Aisha’s story. It’s the story of modern defenders, operating in a world where attackers pivot faster than playbooks can keep up.

The Pyramid of Pain: Explained

Created by David J. Bianco, the Pyramid of Pain organizes indicators based on how difficult it is for attackers when defenders detect them. The higher up the pyramid, the more disruption we cause.

Layman’s Analogy:

Think of attackers like burglars. Some leave behind fingerprints. Others use the same crowbar every time. Some strike only when it rains. The Pyramid of Pain shows which of these clues hurt the attackers the most when you catch on.

For example, when Aisha blocked the attacker’s IP, they returned with a new one. She blocked their domain, they registered another. But once she uncovered their tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), she could finally get ahead.

Why the Pyramid Matters in Cyber Defense

Climbing the pyramid isn’t just about smarter detection, it’s about changing the game.

Example: A Fictional Threat Campaign

• Group: ShadowPhish
• Objective: Steal executive credentials through phishing
• Tools: Malicious Office macros, domains like officeloginsupport[.]com
• TTPs: Target executives during payroll week using fake documents titled “Important Updates”

Aisha’s response:

• Detected file hashes → attackers recompiled
• Blocked IPs → they switched servers
• Blacklisted domains → new ones surfaced
• Identified tactic: macro-based phishing → she implemented company-wide macro restrictions

Result:

ShadowPhish’s campaign was disrupted before their next attack could begin.

Applying the Pyramid in Day-to-Day SOC Operations

Security teams like Aisha’s use the pyramid to go beyond surface-level defenses:

• Ingest Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) and correlate with logs
• Hunt threats using tools like ELK, Splunk, or Sentinel
• Map attacker behaviors to MITRE ATT&CK
• Manage intelligence using Threat Intel Platforms (TIPs) like MISP or OpenCTI

Aisha’s Tool Stack Includes:

• MISP (Malware Information Sharing Platform)
• VirusTotal
• Elastic SIEM
• MITRE ATT&CK Navigator
• TRAM

The Real Value: Why Climbing the Pyramid Works

Blocking hashes is like swatting flies. Detecting behaviors is like draining the swamp.

Benefits of High-Level Detection:

• Stops attackers from reusing playbook tactics
• Disrupts entire campaigns, not just one-off alerts
• Reduces alert fatigue by eliminating repetitive IOCs
• Enables proactive hunting rather than reactive firefighting

Climb Your Own Pyramid – A Call to Action

To take your threat defense to the next level:

• Use MITRE ATT&CK to understand and anticipate adversary behavior
• Train your SOC team to spot TTPs, not just IOCs
• Build a threat hunting program rooted in behavioral analysis
• Educate across the organization on what behavioral indicators look like

Final Thoughts

The Pyramid of Pain isn’t just a model, it’s a mindset shift.

Climbing it takes effort. But at the top is where defenders win, not by chasing indicators, but by crippling adversary operations.

So don’t just block the noise. Understand the method behind it. And when you do, you don’t just respond to attacks, you stop them from happening again.

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