Experiment 3

Experiment 3
Aim: Exercise on Threat Modeling.
Theory:
The Microsoft Threat Modeling Tool 2018 was released as GA in September 2018 as a free
click-to-download. The change in delivery mechanism allows us to push the latest
improvements and bug fixes to customers each time they open the tool, making it easier to
maintain and use. This article takes you through the process of getting started with the
Microsoft SDL threat modeling approach and shows you how to use the tool to develop great
threat models as a backbone of your security process.
This article builds on existing knowledge of the SDL threat modeling approach. For a quick
review, refer to Threat Modeling Web Applications and an archived version of Uncover
Security Flaws Using the STRIDE Approach MSDN article published in 2006.
To quickly summarize, the approach involves creating a diagram, identifying threats,

mitigating them, and validating each mitigation. Here is a diagram that highlights this process:
Here is an example of a threat modeling exercise for a web application:

Assets:
• User data
• Financial data
• Intellectual property
Threats:
• Unauthorized access
• Data breaches
• Denial-of-service attacks
• Phishing attacks
Likelihood and impact:

• Unauthorized access: High likelihood, high impact
• Data breaches: High likelihood, high impact
• Denial-of-service attacks: medium likelihood, medium impact
• Phishing attacks: Low likelihood, minimal impact
Mitigation strategies:
• Implement strong authentication.
• Use encryption to protect data in transit and at rest.
• Implement a firewall and intrusion detection system.
• Train employees on security best practices
Documentation:
• Document the findings of the threat modeling exercise in a security plan.
• Update the security plan as needed to reflect changes in the threat landscape.
Conclusion:
• Threat modeling is a security practice that helps organizations identify and mitigate risks
to their systems and data.
• The outcome of a threat modeling exercise can vary, but some common outcomes include
a list of potential threats, an assessment of the likelihood and impact of each threat,
recommendations for mitigating each threat, and a prioritized list of security controls to
implement.
• Threat modeling is not a silver bullet, but it is a valuable tool for improving the security of
any system.
• If you are considering conducting a threat modeling exercise, there are a few things you
should keep in mind: choose the right methodology, involve the right stakeholders, and
document your findings.
Questionnaire:
1. What is a threat modeling tool?
Ans. The Threat Modeling Tool enables any developer or software architect to:
• Communicate about the security design of their systems.
• Analyse those designs for potential security issues using a proven methodology.
• Suggest and manage mitigations for security issues.
2. Can you explain what STRIDE means in the context of threat modeling?
Ans. STRIDE is a model of threats, used to help reason and find threats to a system. It is used
in conjunction with a model of the target system that can be constructed in parallel. This
includes a full breakdown of processes, data stores, data flows, and trust boundaries.
Today it is often used by security experts to help answer the question "what can go wrong in
this system we're working on?"
Each threat is a violation of a desirable property for a system:
Threat Desired property
Spoofing Authenticity
Tampering Integrity
Repudiation Non-reputability
Information disclosure Confidentiality
Denial of service Availability
Elevation of privilege Authorization
3. How does threat modeling help identify vulnerabilities in a system that may not be
otherwise obvious
Ans. Threat modeling works by identifying the types of threat agents that cause harm to an
application or computer system. It adopts the perspective of malicious hackers to see how much
damage they could do. When conducting threat modeling, organizations perform a thorough
analysis of the software architecture, business context, and other artifacts (e.g., functional
specifications, user documentation). This process enables a deeper understanding and
discovery of important aspects of the system. Typically, organizations conduct threat modeling
during the design stage (but it can occur at other stages) of a new application to help developers
find vulnerabilities and become aware of the security implications of their design, code, and
configuration decisions. Developers perform threat modeling in four steps:
Diagram. What are we building?

Identify threats. What could go wrong?
Mitigate. What are we doing to defend against threats?
Validate. Have we acted on each of the previous steps?
4. What are some common types of threat scenarios for modern systems?
Ans.
• Malware attacks: Malware is malicious software that can be used to disrupt, disable, or
steal data from a system. Malware attacks can be delivered through a variety of channels,
such as email, websites, or USB drives.
• Social engineering attacks: Social engineering attacks exploit human psychology to trick
users into revealing sensitive information or taking actions that compromise their security.
These attacks can be carried out through phishing emails, phone calls, or other forms of
communication.
• Software supply chain attacks: Software supply chain attacks target the software
development process itself. By compromising a software supplier, attackers can inject
malicious code into software that is then deployed to unsuspecting users.
• Advanced persistent threats (APTs): APTs are highly targeted attacks that are often carried
out by nation-states or other well-funded groups. APTs typically involve a long-term, multi-
stage campaign to gain access to a system and exfiltrate sensitive data.
• Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks: DDoS attacks are designed to overwhelm a
system with traffic, making it unavailable to legitimate users. DDoS attacks can be carried
out by flooding a system with requests from multiple sources, or by exploiting
vulnerabilities in the system's infrastructure.
5. Which situations might threat modeling prove ineffective as a security mechanism

Ans. Threat modeling is a valuable security mechanism, but it is not a silver bullet. There are
some situations where threat modeling may prove ineffective. These include:
• When the threat model is not comprehensive: A threat model that does not consider all the
possible threats to a system will be ineffective. This is why it is important to use a variety
of threat modeling techniques and to involve a wide range of stakeholders in the process.
• When the threat model is not updated regularly: A threat model that is not updated
regularly will become outdated and ineffective. This is because new threats are constantly
emerging, and the security landscape is constantly changing.
• When the threat model is not implemented: Even if a comprehensive and up-to-date threat
model is created, it will be ineffective if it is not implemented. This means that the security
controls identified in the threat model must be implemented and maintained.
• When the threat model is not used to drive security decisions: A threat model is only as
good as the decisions that are made based on it. If the threat model is not used to drive
security decisions, then it will be ineffective.

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Experiment 3

Aim: Exercise on Threat Modeling.

To quickly summarize, the approach involves creating a diagram, identifying threats,

Here is an example of a threat modeling exercise for a web application:

Likelihood and impact:

Each threat is a violation of a desirable property for a system:

Threat Desired property

Information disclosure Confidentiality

Denial of service Availability

Elevation of privilege Authorization

Diagram. What are we building?

5. Which situations might threat modeling prove ineffective as a security mechanism

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