Goal-oriented security threat mitigation patterns

Abstract

Most attacks on computer and software systems are caused by threats to known vulnerabilities. Part of the reason is that it is difficult to possess necessary broad and deep knowledge of security related strategic knowledge to choose mitigating solutions suitable for a specific application or organization. This paper presents three patterns that use goaloriented concepts to capture knowledge of security problems and their corresponding mitigating solutions. Each pattern captures three kinds of problems, including undesirable outcome that negatively affects a security goal, threat that could lead to an undesirable outcome, and vulnerability that could be exploited by a threat. Alternative mitigating solutions are captured in relation to the problems, including vulnerability risk transfer, threat prevention, threat containment, undesirable outcome recovery, and undesirable outcome impact prevention and control. The alternatives are identified with consequences against other non-functional requirements (NFRs) such as cost and usability, which are then used as selection criteria in associated selection patterns. The patterns illustrate how knowledge of security incidents and security standards may be captured and used to help avoid the security problems suffered by TJX in one of the largest credit card theft incident in history.

Web User' Knowledge and Their Behavior towards Security Threats and Vulnerabilities

“…Even though the success rate of this model was around 50% but it shed light to the capability to develop software that protect or at least warn people against the threats that come from internet. It is widely understood that security threats can be moderated greatly when users know about the exposures in their systems [13]. However, the required knowledge is a broad and cannot be acquired easily.…”

“…However, the required knowledge is a broad and cannot be acquired easily. Therefore, there is an approach (goaloriented) developed by [13] to narrow the broadness and facilitate requiring knowledge. The model seems little complicated but it creates patterns for security threats and prevention, those patterns collected based on meta-data.…”

“…The solution contains threat prevention and risk transfer. The solution in the model of Supakkul et al (2009) is based on mitigation of the threats. The mitigation either cost driven, usability driven or availability driven.…”