Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Basics: What is Threat Modeling?

Written byKarin Kelley
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Updated onAugust 21, 2024

Cybersecurity is in massive demand today because of the increasing rate of cyberattacks and their sophisticated nature. Businesses can only prepare by anticipating and planning suitable protection mechanisms, and threat modeling plays an important part in this.

Threat modeling is a comprehensive method that includes the human perspective on how creative a cyber threat could be. You chart various scenarios for every component and propose a suitable threat model to develop your cybersecurity system.

This guide will explore the key aspects of threat modeling, its process, benefits, and best practices. You will get a glimpse of the popular threat modeling tools and frameworks. Finally, we will discuss how an industry-recognized cybersecurity bootcamp can train you to employ threat modeling optimally.

What is Threat Modeling?

Cybersecurity threat modeling is a practice for designing network security to provide optimum protection. It entails identifying inefficiencies and vulnerabilities, defining goals of network security, devising strategies, and implementing them to protect against cyberattacks. An efficient threat modeling is determined by considering the nature of the networks and systems, the possible threats, available historical data about cyberattacks, and the major requirements.

Threat modeling is typically performed at the beginning of the project so that it can be smoothly integrated into the systems during their installation. However, if an organization finds its security countermeasures lacking, it can implement threat modeling at any suitable time. But is it truly necessary for an organization to devote time and resources to this exercise?

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Why is Threat Modeling Necessary?

Prevention is better than cure. Threat modeling works like an immunity booster for the security system by planning for the potential risks from malicious elements. In April 2024, the application Discord suffered a data breach of more than four billion public messages. Threat modeling would anticipate such risks and place suitable countermeasures to avoid them.

It has become even more critical in today’s digital scenario, where people use multiple devices for personal and professional reasons. Hence, organizations need to consider the host of devices their employees use to access organizational data and account for it in threat modeling.

Additionally, the sophistication and use of AI for tricking vulnerable people have increased. Hence, organizations must opt for threat modeling, which goes beyond a standard incident response plan and works toward identifying threat possibilities with upcoming technologies.

How Does Threat Modeling Work?

Threat modeling is a logical process based on isolating every possible threat agent that can damage a system. To do the maximum damage, you must think like a hacker and find the smallest entry point into the system.

Thus, threat modeling entails a detailed organization structure analysis, including data transmission channels and network access given to customers, suppliers, and other third parties. You must be careful when covering every aspect of this analysis, as a missed area means an opportunity for malicious elements.

Threat modeling then uses intense documentation, planning, understanding, and designing to frame a workable threat model. You will normally use software to bring all this data in one place to keep the model active and with options to update it continuously.

Also Read: Decoding the Digital Shadows: Exploring Types of Hackers and Their Impact on Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Threat Modeling Process

Here are the typical steps in the threat modeling process.

Establish objectives and scope of the threat modeling exercise.
Identify the components, systems, and networks within the scope.
Identify and obtain the resources required for this exercise.
Plan the stages of the process.
Begin visualizing the systems on a board and identify the interdependencies.
Isolate the risks for each component as well as for combinations of systems.
Brainstorm and enlist all the possible threats and add them to the diagram.
Once all the fundamental information is available, transfer the ideation to a suitable software and ensure all team members can access it.
Keep the stakeholders informed about the progress.
Use the capabilities of the software to devise suitable measures for the systems.
Build a threat model with the help of the software features.
Develop a methodology to implement and integrate the model into the cybersecurity measures in the organization.
Document the implementation and perform robust testing to check the suitability of the threat model.

Threat Modeling Frameworks and Methodologies

Only when you select the correct software can you create a great threat model. Here is a quick list of the popular frameworks and methodologies.

Attack Tree: This is a formal diagrammatic method for presenting the various ways in which a system can be attacked. It uses nodes, such as roots and leaves, to indicate relationships and steps.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: CVSS is a ranking method to prioritize risks by assigning scores from 1 to 10 and ranking them based on severity.
STRIDE: STRIDE is a methodology created by Microsoft to counter threats such as spoofing (S), tampering (T), repudiation (R), information disclosure (I), denial of service (D), and elevation of privilege (E).
LINDDUN: LINDDUN is a framework for analyzing threats for categories such as linkability, identifiability, non-repudiation, detectability, disclosure of information, unawareness, and non-compliance.
P.A.S.T.A: The Process for Attack Simulation and Threat Analysis is a methodology consisting of seven steps for identifying, enumerating, and scoring the threats.

Also Read: Cybersecurity vs. Data Science: Navigating the Digital Future

What is Threat Modeling, and What are its Benefits?

Threat modeling offers several benefits for a robust cybersecurity system. Let’s look at some of them.

Threat modeling can help you gain a bird’ s-eye view of your organization’s network and systems’ security vulnerabilities.
Threat modeling further lets you analyze each threat in detail and assess its severity and interdependencies.
Your organization can document the study and use it as a reference for upgrading systems in the future or tackling any security threat at a moment’s notice.
A lucid visualization of the threat model helps chart logical countermeasures and the exact processes to implement them, which is helpful for everyone involved in the long run.
Threat modeling is especially useful in the software development life cycle (SDLC) when it is applied early to track the potential risks at each stage and prevent avoidable failures.
It focuses on only the security risks, which may not be detected using conventional testing procedures.
It allows you to think outside the box and arrive at an atypical threat.
You can further use threat models to narrow down the exact requirements and optimize the testing budgets.

Despite these benefits, some professionals are reluctant to adopt threat modeling. Let us see why.

Misconceptions About Cybersecurity Threat Modeling

The idea of threat modeling has been riddled with misconceptions that have hampered its adoption in several critical areas. A classic example is that certain professionals believe the existing security measures in their organizations are working well, and threat modeling is just an additional and repetitive effort. Actually, if done correctly, threat modeling can also highlight inefficiencies in the existing security systems.

Further, threat modeling is seen as too complex and time-consuming. This misconception deters some developers who do not wish to add to their mountain of tasks. They fail to see that threat modeling is a logical ‘algorithmic’ process that can be broken down into manageable assignments.

Certain groups disagree on the time to adopt threat modeling. While it is a good practice to implement it early in the process, several organizations take the traditional route and use it at the end. As a result, several overlooked security flaws in the installed systems come to the fore, warranting additional investment in re-designing and re-installation.

Threat modeling requires human creativity. Hence, while it is often paired with automated testing in the SDLC, it actually requires human foresight to anticipate and root out every vulnerability.

Also Read: Cybersecurity vs. Software Engineering

Does Threat Modeling Require Special Software?

Threat modeling requires equal parts of human and machine capabilities. You can perform the initial ideation and brainstorming using a simple board, chalk, and sticky notes. As your project gets more complex with additional details, you may need to begin using specialized software to keep track of the process and automate certain aspects of the modeling.

For example, large organizations have multiple departments, servers, and systems. Some may also have internal and external networks. Hence, custom software offers frameworks where you can feed the data and add or change it as you proceed to the next steps. It also ensures easy access to the team members, automatic backups, and version control. Some software is capable of analyzing the data and providing vulnerability assessment and recommendations.

What is Threat Modeling, and What are its Best Practices?

Threat modeling, while a standard methodology, works even better when the best practices developed by experienced professionals are integrated into the process. Here are some of the best practices you can follow.

Establish clear objectives and the scope of the analysis and modeling.
Ensure the team members are aware of the scope and depth of the project so that they do not fall into a rabbit hole of detailed, albeit unnecessary, analysis
Visualization works every time. Use idea boards, charts, flow diagrams, and pictures of components, and mark the critical aspects for each part. This gives freedom to the team to think and provide inputs for everyone to see.
Use this diagram as a blueprint to add further details about threat agents, locations, software assets, and security controls. Mark the risks as per their severity using color coding.
Enlist all possible attacks and their modus operandi using existing threat models. Delve into the attacker’s psyche and document answers to the ‘why’, ‘how’, ‘ when’, and ‘where’ of the potential attacks.
Design a traceability matrix that includes the aims of the attacker and the information gained from the brainstorming conducted, as mentioned in the previous point. Add the possible security measures and checks for each of the aims.

Also Read: Cybersecurity Best Practices

Learn Threat Modeling and Other Essential Skills for a Bright Cybersecurity Career

A cybersecurity system is only as good as its weakest flaw. Threat modeling is the number one technique used to identify this flaw and take action to remove or avoid it. Hence, every good cybersecurity professional must be aware of threat modeling to create impenetrable cybersecurity systems.

Our cybersecurity bootcamp trains you in honing a security mentality, virtualization technologies, threat modeling, and emerging security concerns.

This program will teach you key technical skills such as Burp Suite, Nmap, and Wireshark. Working on red, blue, or purple teams in Capstone projects will give you hands-on training and help you apply the core concepts to real-world scenarios.

Enroll today to start your journey toward a rewarding and thriving cybersecurity career!