Threat Modeling and Risk Assessment
Threat modeling and risk assessment are critical activities in cybersecurity, aimed at identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing potential threats to assets. When integrated into the design and development processes of secure systems, these activities enable the early discovery of security flaws.
The benefits are significant: products and systems can be fortified with mitigations derived from threat modeling, and design decisions can be made in a risk-aware manner, guided by the insights from risk assessment.
Our Approach
Security Pattern regularly delivers and assists with threat modeling and risk assessment activities across various contexts, employing a modern approach aligned with international cybersecurity standards, guidelines, and regulations. Notable examples include the Threat Analysis and Risk Assessment (TARA) required by ISO/SAE 21434 standard for automotive cybersecurity and the Threat Model required in Practice 2 of ISA/IEC 62443-4-1 standard for industrial cybersecurity.
Given the diverse contexts in which Security Pattern's approach can be applied, multiple tools and methodologies are integrated to achieve the best possible outcomes in each case. These include, but are not limited to, the use of specialized document templates, Data Flow Diagrams (DFD) for system modeling, commonly accepted threat enumeration methodologies such as STRIDE, and industry-standard scoring criteria for threat evaluation, such as the ones adopted by the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
What are the benefits of Threat Modeling and Risk Assessment?
1
Choose the right platforms
Selecting the appropriate hardware and software platforms for your cybersecurity needs is crucial, as mistakes can be costly. Basing these choices on threat modeling and risk assessment is the best course of action.
2
Security by design
Security should not be treated as a standalone feature; rather, it should be integrated into every aspect of design, development, and testing. Threat modeling and risk assessment lay the foundation for a secure product or system by informing decisions at each stage of the development lifecycle.
3
Achieve the right security level
Following fixed requirement lists can easily lead to deviations from the optimal security level, either by overlooking necessary features or implementing unnecessary ones. Threat modeling and risk assessment enable the definition of requirements and mitigations tailored to the specific use case.
Conducting Threat Modeling and Risk Assessment Activities
The exact way we conduct the Threat Modeling and Risk Assessment activities can be adjusted based on our customer’s needs. Generally, we proceed by following these steps:
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Model - All relevant information necessary for understanding the system is collected and organized into structured lists and diagrams.
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Enumerate - The relevant cybersecurity threats are identified.
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Assess - The identified threats are analyzed and prioritized.
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Address - Technical mitigations and/or response strategies are identified for each threat.
Industries & Standards
