Threat modeling explained: A process for anticipating cyber attacks

Threat modeling definition

Threat modeling is a structured process through which IT pros can identify potential security threats and vulnerabilities, quantify the seriousness of each, and prioritize techniques to mitigate attack and protect IT resources.

This broad definition may just sound like the job description of a cybersecurity professional, but the important thing about a threat model is that it is systematic and structured. Threat modelers walk through a series of concrete steps in order to fully understand the environment they’re trying to secure and identify vulnerabilities and potential attackers.

That said, threat modeling is still in some ways an art as much as a science, and there is no single canonical threat modeling process. The practice of threat modeling draws from various earlier security practices, most notably the idea of “attack trees” that were developed in the 1990s. In 1999, Microsoft employees Loren Kohnfelder and Praerit Garg circulated a document within the company called “The Threats to Our Products” that is considered by many to be the first definitive description of threat modeling.

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