What Is a Threat Scenario?

A threat scenario is a fictional scenario created by a company in which they predict potential cyber attacks that could happen to their organization, map what the effects would be, and document the best potential course of action. 

Perimeter 81

23.07.2024

4 min read

By 2029, estimates suggest that cybercrime will cost businesses across the world around $15.63 trillion USD. The frequency and complexity of cybercrimes are increasing, making cybersecurity a top priority for companies across the globe. 

Effective threat scenario modeling can help businesses better understand their security posture and plan a better future risk assessment process.

Types of Threat Scenarios

Here are some of the most common threat scenarios that businesses can take into account and prepare for:

• DDoS Attacks: DDoS attack threat scenarios mainly pertain to your web applications and any digital servers that malicious actors could attack.
• Phishing Attacks: Phishing attack threat scenarios focus on user and employee accounts and how to keep them safe from harm.
• Ransomware: Similarly to phishing attacks, the end user in your organization will be the asset in this example, with your model aiming to discover ways of keeping them safe.
• Zero-Day Attacks: Zero-day attacks are one of the hardest types of threat scenarios to model, as they can vary so much. A good idea here is to focus on specific servers or applications and then detail what would happen if each was compromised.

Each of these attack vectors will foster numerous of your threat scenarios, making them a great place to begin when developing comprehensive cybersecurity risk management strategies.

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The Importance of Threat Scenarios

Threat scenarios are a vital part of cybersecurity defense architecture as they serve as a reflective exercise. Developing threat scenarios asks businesses to think about their current cybersecurity defenses and discuss potential weak points. 

Not only does this exercise inspire professionals to find potential areas where they could improve their defenses, but it also helps to think more critically about cybersecurity risk factors. For instance, one threat scenario might have much more extreme repercussions than another. 

With that considered, a business could then prioritize building out a more comprehensive defense system and responding to that more risky threat scenario. 

Across the board, threat scenarios are a powerful way of improving potential risks and identifying areas where a company could enhance its security posture. 

Creating Threat Scenarios: 3 Steps to Success

Threat scenarios are most effective when they have a cause, effect, and defense strategy. Here are the three steps to success when creating a threat scenario:

1. Pinpoint a threat: Businesses should first think about the potential threats to their cybersecurity posture. A great way of discovering recent threats is to look at the MITRE ATT&CK framework, which has a list of the most recent strategies that cybercriminals are using to break into organizations. 
2. Outline its consequences: Based on the threat you have selected, you can then begin to outline the main repercussions of this attack if it were to occur. For example, if one of your executives fell victim to a spear phishing attack, what would happen to their accounts and what impact would that have on your company and its customers?
3. Plan your defense: Some defenses will be reactive, while others will be preventative. For example, you cannot really plan for every single zero-day vulnerability, meaning it’s better to think about what systems you can have in place to respond to one if it arises. Alternatively, you can pinpoint what defenses you currently have in place that will prevent the threat from ever passing into a disaster scenario.

By following these three main steps, businesses create comprehensive threat scenarios that they can use to better plan their cybersecurity defense strategy.

Create a Bulletproof Security Strategy with Perimeter 81

In each threat scenario that you develop, you should also strive to mirror it with a cybersecurity tool or system that you have in place to prevent it from occurring. Assessing your security posture and testing whether or not your active tools can keep you safe is a great place to begin.

With Perimeter 81, your business can count on state-of-the-art cybersecurity architecture that can keep your business safe from the leading attack vectors. The Perimeter 81 Secure Web Gateway has context-based filtering, malware protection, and an all-in-one system to deploy cybersecurity defenses against all of the leading threats.

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