Threat modeling was conceived almost immediately after the invention of computer systems that allowed freely sharable data in response to the threat such a concept created. When a system that can be exploited is left unprotected or unregulated, opportunists seek it out to prey on it. Threat modeling protects those who are targeted.
There is some irony there, as cloud sharing is one of the most effective weapons that threat modeling has in its arsenal to protect against cyberattackers.
What is threat modeling?
Threat modeling assesses andimproves your system’s security safeguardsand countermeasures, locating and identifying defense flaws and their solutions. This process also estimates the probabilities of a hypothetical attack, such as common perpetrators, likely infiltration methods, and predictable workarounds that potential hackers might exploit.
This is a practice that many people carry out casually, whether it’s looking both ways before crossing the street or not tapping a dodgy link onyour favorite budget Android phone.
How does the cloud help with threat modeling?
If an organization or company is subject to a cyberattack or if reports exist of frequent malicious activity from a common source, said organizations will upload valuable indication of compromise (IOC) information about the perpetrators to a cloud, such as their methods and common targets. This allows others to learn about these threats ahead of time and improve their security to be safe in the event of a future attack from the same culprits.
This can be as simple as recognizing an indication of attack (IOA) and countering the threat before it gets serious or preventing the attack. This creates a system of ever-developing threat protection that matches the constantly improving talents of hacking software. Thread models like this allow companies to identify how threats circulate, be it malicious emails, clickbait, impersonation, internal attacks, or exterior attacks from outside hacking software.
Effective threat modeling affects programmers and individuals vital to the systems operations, a collaborative effort between those who lead, those who develop, and those who refine. Banding together like this goes beyond direct cloud links between big corporations. Many refer to open source intelligence (OSINT) acquired from public services regarding infamous cyberattack methods or perpetrators or methods to counter certain attack types.
Open source refers to publicly available information in this context, not toopen source platforms like Toror programs like Linux.
Are there different kinds of threat modeling?
Yes, various threat modeling methodologies have arisen with unique strategies for assessing the security of your system. These methods have benefits, quirks, and drawbacks. The differences depend on the angle they take on the threat prevention front, whether internal, external, conceptual, or experimental.
TheSTRIDE methodologyis a threat modeling methodology designed by Microsoft to categorize potential exterior threats to one of its systems. The acronym represents six threat categories:
These categories of threat make up the STRIDE threat modeling system, identifying the kinds of attacks a system needs to protect itself against.
TheDREAD threat model assesses potential flawsthat could compromise a system, with each letter representing a different angle to consider. Damage, Reproducibility, Exploitability, Affected users, and Discoverability are analyzed for risk data. The model’s approach is to prepare a system for hypothetical attacks in the future. DREAD provides ratings that companies can use to measure the level of danger, useful for categorizing risk factors by priority status.
This methodology covers a great deal and considers a range of potential risks for the system and those running it.
Hybrid threat modeling
The Hybrid threat modeling methodology considers the specificities of a particular system when devising how to keep it secure. It mixes and matches the strategies of existing fixed methods to create something more versatile. This practice can give your threat modeling more flexibility and reach when new threats emerge that aren’t covered by other methodologies, in addition to keeping itself open to improvement using new threat modeling strategies.
Are there any downsides to threat modeling?
Nothing that methods themselves cause. The only potential risk is relying on one method too much, as they can be somewhat rigid and inflexible. New threats emerge all the time, and the best systems need to stay ahead of the game security-wise. The Hybrid system short-circuits this to an extent, taking the best aspects of multiple threat models and coordinating a viable harmony between them. A threat that is constantly shifting mandates a defense that does the same.
