Model-based Threat and Risk Assessment for Systems Design

Integrating cybersecurity considerations in the design of modern systems is a significant challenge. As systems increasingly rely on connectivity and software to perform, cybersecurity issues of confidentiality, integrity and availability emerge. Addressing these issues during the design of a system – a security by-design approach – is desirable, and considered preferable to patching an existing design with extraneous components and mechanisms. In this paper, we present a model-based methodology for cybersecurity related systems design. This field-proven methodology takes into consideration cybersecurity threats alongside the system’s composition and existing mechanisms, in order to communicate, assess and drive the incorporation of security controls into the system design. We discuss aspects of the methodology’s design and how it relates to its reallife applications and usage context.