Threat modeling is performed to identify, analyze, and mitigate security risks to systems and applications. According to the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) Foundation, there are three steps of threat modeling for applications (OWASP, n.d.):
Step 1: Decompose the application. The first step in the threat modeling process is concerned with gaining an understanding of the application and how it interacts with external entities. Step 2: Determine and rank threats. Critical to the identification of threats is using a threat categorization methodology. Step 3: Determine countermeasures and mitigation. A lack of protection against a threat might indicate a vulnerability whose risk exposure could be mitigated with the implementation of a countermeasure.
Effective and well-documented threat modeling can prevent attacks and secure confidential information.