This was an interesting experiment working with two different chat models and focusing on the "often-emphasized" strengths of each threat model method. This isn't an exact science - nor is it intended to be an exact science. But I liked the result.
CREATE stands for Comprehensive Risk Evaluation and
Threat Elimination. This acronym encapsulates the integrated approach of
visualizing system architecture, identifying threats, measuring impact,
addressing privacy concerns, and determining effective countermeasures.
CREATE Threat Model Steps
- Comprehend the System (Visualize - VAST)
- Develop a high-level architecture diagram of the system, focusing on key components, data flows, and trust boundaries.
- Ensure the diagram is simple, visual, and easy to understand for all stakeholders.
- Identify potential threat actors who may have a vested interest in attacking the system.
- Recognize Assets and Threats (Threats - STRIDE)
- Identify and prioritize critical assets that require protection.
- Break down the application into smaller, manageable components and identify trust boundaries and interactions between the components.
- Identify potential threats for each component and interaction using the STRIDE model:
- Spoofing: Identify threats related to authentication and impersonation.
- Tampering: Identify threats related to unauthorized modification of data or systems.
- Repudiation: Identify threats related to the ability to deny actions or transactions.
- Information Disclosure: Identify threats related to the unauthorized exposure of sensitive data.
- Denial of Service: Identify threats related to the disruption or degradation of system availability.
- Elevation of Privilege: Identify threats related to gaining unauthorized access or permissions.
- Evaluate Risks (Impact - DREAD)
- Assess the likelihood and potential impact of each identified threat using the DREAD model:
- Damage: Assess the potential damage caused by the threat if it were to occur.
- Reproducibility: Determine how easily the threat can be reproduced or exploited.
- Exploitability: Evaluate the level of skill and resources required to exploit the threat.
- Affected Users: Assess the number of users or systems that could be impacted by the threat.
- Discoverability: Determine how easily the vulnerability or weakness can be discovered by potential attackers.
- Address Privacy Concerns (Privacy - LINDDUN)
- Identify potential privacy threats using the LINDDUN model:
- Linkability: Determine if data from different sources can be combined to identify an individual or link their activities.
- Identifiability: Assess if an individual can be singled out or identified within a dataset.
- Non-repudiation: Evaluate if an individual can deny having performed an action or transaction.
- Detectability: Determine if it is possible to detect that an item of interest exists within a system.
- Disclosure of Information: Assess the risk of unauthorized access to or disclosure of sensitive information.
- Unawareness: Evaluate if individuals are unaware of the data collection, processing, or sharing practices.
- Non-compliance: Determine if the system or practices are not compliant with privacy laws, regulations, or policies.
- Terminate Threats (Countermeasures - PASTA)
- Create and review attack models using the PASTA methodology to:
- Define Objectives: Establish the objectives and scope of the attack modeling exercise.
- Define Technical Scope: Identify the key components, data flows, and trust boundaries of the system.
- Application Decomposition: Break down the application into smaller, manageable components.
- Threat Analysis: Identify and analyze potential threats using attack trees, threat intelligence, and vulnerability data.
- Vulnerability & Weaknesses Analysis: Assess the system for vulnerabilities and weaknesses that could be exploited.
- Attack Modeling: Simulate potential attack scenarios to determine the likelihood and impact of each threat.
- Risk & Impact Analysis: Evaluate the risk and potential impact of each identified threat.
- Countermeasure Analysis: Develop and recommend countermeasures to mitigate the identified risks.
CREATE Summary
- Comprehend the System: Visualize the system architecture and identify threat actors.
- Recognize Assets and Threats: Identify and categorize potential threats to the system.
- Evaluate Risks: Measure and prioritize the impact and likelihood of identified threats.
- Address Privacy Concerns: Review privacy-specific concerns within the threat model.
- Terminate Threats: Evaluate data and determine effective countermeasures.
The CREATE model provides an integrated approach to threat modeling by combining the
strengths of VAST, STRIDE, DREAD, LINDDUN, and PASTA into a unified framework.
