Practical Threat Modeling Based on Community Templates

Every organization professes that risk management is at the heart of its cybersecurity program. Threat modeling is at the heart of this proactive approach: a systematic process that helps organizations identify, understand, and mitigate potential threats. However, with technology's ongoing advancement and the rising complexity of digital systems, constructing exhaustive threat models from the ground up can be daunting.

In this presentation, James Tarala, Senior Faculty at the SANS Institute and Managing Partner at Cyverity, will discuss a solution: community-driven threat modeling templates. These templates, cultivated through community research, offer a way for businesses and individual developers to leverage the knowledge and experiences of cybersecurity experts into their own programs. Rather than starting from scratch, these templates provide a comprehensive foundation, ensuring that even the minutest potential vulnerabilities aren't overlooked. Their structured format facilitates easy customization and seamless integration into varied organizational needs.

Yet, the introduction of community templates is not just about simplifying the threat modeling process. It's about enhancing it. By harnessing the power of collective intelligence, we expedite the modeling process and ensure its comprehensiveness. Moreover, this presentation will explore how to weave these templates into an organization’s cybersecurity risk management program. Utilizing collaboration tools and platforms can further enhance the utility and effectiveness of these templates, ensuring real-time updates align with emerging threats.

However, like all solutions, community-driven templates come with their challenges. Over-reliance, concerns about generic vs. tailored models, and potential biases are issues that one might encounter. By recognizing and addressing these challenges head-on, we can harness the full potential of community templates, driving forward a future where digital assets are more secure and threat modeling is more efficient and effective.

This webcast supports concepts from LDR419: Performing a Cybersecurity Risk Assessment.