What is a threat model and what are common steps in creating one?

• A. A threat model is a structured representation of potential threats to a system.
• B. A threat model is a set of coding standards for secure development.
• C. A threat model is a performance testing framework.
• D. A threat model is a hardware configuration guide.

Answer: (A)

A threat model is a structured representation of potential threats to a system, helping you understand what could go wrong and where to focus defenses. In practice, you map out what you’re protecting, who might threaten it, how data flows through the system, and where weaknesses could be exploited.

Common steps in creating one include: defining the scope and security objectives for the system, identifying and classifying assets and security requirements, building a simplified model of the system (including data flows and trust boundaries), enumerating potential threats to those assets (using a method like STRIDE), assessing risk by considering likelihood and impact, selecting and implementing mitigations or controls to reduce risk, and finally documenting and regularly reviewing the threat model to keep it current.

The other descriptions don’t fit because they describe things like coding standards, performance testing frameworks, or hardware configuration guides, which aren’t about systematically identifying and mitigating threats to a system.