Threat Model

Definitions

1. A structured analysis of what you're protecting, who might attack it, how they'd do it, and what's most likely to go wrong — ideally performed before you write the first line of code.

   In plain English: Thinking through who might want to break in, what they'd be after, and how they'd try — so you can plan defenses before building the system.

Etymology

1994

Edward Amoroso introduces the concept in 'Fundamentals of Computer Security Technology,' formalizing how to think about attackers

1999

Microsoft develops STRIDE (Spoofing, Tampering, etc.) as a structured threat modeling methodology

2014

Adam Shostack publishes 'Threat Modeling: Designing for Security,' making the practice accessible to developers

Related Terms

• Backdoor
• Rootkit
• APT
• Threat Actor
• OWASP
• RFC Process
• Threat Modeling
• Request for Comments
• Impact Analysis
• Risk Evaluation