MITRE ATT&CK is basically the ultimate cheat sheet hackers and defenders both keep on their desks. It’s a giant, open source playbook that catalogs every slick move an attacker might pull off, from sneaking through your networks backdoor to swiping credentials. Imagine it like the strategy guide for your favorite video game, where each page breaks down exactly how the boss fights work, what patterns they follow, and which weaknesses you can exploit or defend against.

The OSINT Framework, or Open-Source Intelligence Framework, is essentially a structured approach or methodology used to gather and analyze publicly available information. It serves as a roadmap or guide for systematically collecting data from a variety of open and publicly accessible sources, such as websites, social media platforms, forums, news outlets, and public databases.

PCI DSS is a mandatory information security standard created by the PCI Security Standards Council that applies to any entity processing, storing, or transmitting payment card data. It specifies twelve requirements covering firewalls, secure system settings, strong access controls, monitoring, and organizational policies to protect cardholder data throughout its lifecycle.

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework is a voluntary, risk based guide organized into five core functions. Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover, it is broken down into 23 categories and over a hundred subcategories. It establishes a common taxonomy and maturity tiers that help organizations benchmark their current security posture, prioritize investments, and communicate risk to both technical teams and executive leadership.

ISO and IEC differ primarily in scope and structure, ISO develops broad, consensus based standards across virtually every industry to enhance quality, safety, and interoperability, while IEC specializes in detailed technical specifications for electrical and electronic technologies. ISO’s membership model grants one national body per country a vote on standards, where IEC leverages National Committees composed of industry associations, regulators, and technical experts to address rapidly evolving electrotechnical issues.

COBIT, developed by ISACA, is a comprehensive governance and management framework that aligns IT strategy with business goals. It defines domains such as Evaluate, Direct and Monitor. Align, Plan and Organize. Build, Acquire and Implement. Deliver, Service and Support and Monitor, Evaluate and Assess each containing processes, control objectives, performance metrics, and maturity models.

The CIS Controls are a prioritized, consensus driven set of 18 critical safeguards accompanied by detailed sub controls, maintained by the Center for Internet Security. Grouped into Implementation Groups for different organizational maturity levels, they offer a prescriptive, task based guide to inventory and secure assets, manage vulnerabilities, control access, and monitor systems.