Threat Mitigation Mapping
Connect threats to controls for effective security planning.
When to Use This Skill
- Prioritizing security investments
- Creating remediation roadmaps
- Validating control coverage
- Designing defense-in-depth
- Security architecture review
- Risk treatment planning
Core Concepts
1. Control Categories
Preventive ────► Stop attacks before they occur
│ (Firewall, Input validation)
│
Detective ─────► Identify attacks in progress
│ (IDS, Log monitoring)
│
Corrective ────► Respond and recover from attacks
(Incident response, Backup restore)
2. Control Layers
| Layer | Examples |
|---|---|
| Network | Firewall, WAF, DDoS protection |
| Application | Input validation, authentication |
| Data | Encryption, access controls |
| Endpoint | EDR, patch management |
| Process | Security training, incident response |
3. Defense in Depth
┌──────────────────────┐
│ Perimeter │ ← Firewall, WAF
│ ┌──────────────┐ │
│ │ Network │ │ ← Segmentation, IDS
│ │ ┌────────┐ │ │
│ │ │ Host │ │ │ ← EDR, Hardening
│ │ │ ┌────┐ │ │ │
│ │ │ │App │ │ │ │ ← Auth, Validation
│ │ │ │Data│ │ │ │ ← Encryption
│ │ │ └────┘ │ │ │
│ │ └────────┘ │ │
│ └──────────────┘ │
└──────────────────────┘
Templates
Template 1: Mitigation Model
from dataclasses import dataclass, field
from enum import Enum
from typing import List, Dict, Optional, Set
from datetime import datetime
class ControlType(Enum):
PREVENTIVE = "preventive"
DETECTIVE = "detective"
CORRECTIVE = "corrective"
class ControlLayer(Enum):
NETWORK = "network"
APPLICATION = "application"
DATA = "data"
ENDPOINT = "endpoint"
PROCESS = "process"
PHYSICAL = "physical"
class ImplementationStatus(Enum):
NOT_IMPLEMENTED = "not_implemented"
PARTIAL = "partial"
IMPLEMENTED = "implemented"
VERIFIED = "verified"
class Effectiveness(Enum):
NONE = 0
LOW = 1
MEDIUM = 2
HIGH = 3
VERY_HIGH = 4
@dataclass
class SecurityControl:
id: str
name: str
description: str
control_type: ControlType
layer: ControlLayer
effectiveness: Effectiveness
implementation_cost: str # Low, Medium, High
maintenance_cost: str
status: ImplementationStatus = ImplementationStatus.NOT_IMPLEMENTED
mitigates_threats: List[str] = field(default_factory=list)
dependencies: List[str] = field(default_factory=list)
technologies: List[str] = field(default_factory=list)
compliance_refs: List[str] = field(default_factory=list)
def coverage_score(self) -> float:
"""Calculate coverage score based on status and effectiveness."""
status_multiplier = {
ImplementationStatus.NOT_IMPLEMENTED: 0.0,
ImplementationStatus.PARTIAL: 0.5,
ImplementationStatus.IMPLEMENTED: 0.8,
ImplementationStatus.VERIFIED: 1.0,
}
return self.effectiveness.value * status_multiplier[self.status]
@dataclass
class Threat:
id: str
name: str
category: str # STRIDE category
description: str
impact: str # Critical, High, Medium, Low
likelihood: str
risk_score: float
@dataclass
class MitigationMapping:
threat: Threat
controls: List[SecurityControl]
residual_risk: str = "Unknown"
notes: str = ""
def calculate_coverage(self) -> float:
"""Calculate how well controls cover the threat."""
if not self.controls:
return 0.0
total_score = sum(c.coverage_score() for c in self.controls)
max_possible = len(self.controls) * Effectiveness.VERY_HIGH.value
return (total_score / max_possible) * 100 if max_possible > 0 else 0
def has_defense_in_depth(self) -> bool:
"""Check if multiple layers are covered."""
layers = set(c.layer for c in self.controls if c.status != ImplementationStatus.NOT_IMPLEMENTED)
return len(layers) >= 2
def has_control_diversity(self) -> bool:
"""Check if multiple control types are present."""
types = set(c.control_type for c in self.controls if c.status != ImplementationStatus.NOT_IMPLEMENTED)
return len(types) >= 2
@dataclass
class MitigationPlan:
name: str
threats: List[Threat] = field(default_factory=list)
controls: List[SecurityControl] = field(default_factory=list)
mappings: List[MitigationMapping] = field(default_factory=list)
def get_unmapped_threats(self) -> List[Threat]:
"""Find threats without mitigations."""
mapped_ids = {m.threat.id for m in self.mappings}
return [t for t in self.threats if t.id not in mapped_ids]
def get_control_coverage(self) -> Dict[str, float]:
"""Get coverage percentage for each threat."""
return {
m.threat.id: m.calculate_coverage()
for m in self.mappings
}
def get_gaps(self) -> List[Dict]:
"""Identify mitigation gaps."""
gaps = []
for mapping in self.mappings:
coverage = mapping.calculate_coverage()
if coverage < 50:
gaps.append({
"threat": mapping.threat.id,
"threat_name": mapping.threat.name,
"coverage": coverage,
"issue": "Insufficient control coverage",
"recommendation": "Add more controls or improve existing ones"
})
if not mapping.has_defense_in_depth():
gaps.append({
"threat": mapping.threat.id,
"threat_name": mapping.threat.name,
"coverage": coverage,
"issue": "No defense in depth",
"recommendation": "Add controls at different layers"
})
if not mapping.has_control_diversity():
gaps.append({
"threat": mapping.threat.id,
"threat_name": mapping.threat.name,
"coverage": coverage,
"issue": "No control diversity",
"recommendation": "Add detective/corrective controls"
})
return gaps
Template 2: Control Library
class ControlLibrary:
"""Library of standard security controls."""
STANDARD_CONTROLS = {
# Authentication Controls
"AUTH-001": SecurityControl(
id="AUTH-001",
name="Multi-Factor Authentication",
description="Require MFA for all user authentication",
control_type=ControlType.PREVENTIVE,
layer=ControlLayer.APPLICATION,
effectiveness=Effectiveness.HIGH,
implementation_cost="Medium",
maintenance_cost="Low",
mitigates_threats=["SPOOFING"],
technologies=["TOTP", "WebAuthn", "SMS OTP"],
compliance_refs=["PCI-DSS 8.3", "NIST 800-63B"]
),
"AUTH-002": SecurityControl(
id="AUTH-002",
name="Account Lockout Policy",
description="Lock accounts after failed authentication attempts",
control_type=ControlType.PREVENTIVE,
layer=ControlLayer.APPLICATION,
effectiveness=Effectiveness.MEDIUM,
implementation_cost="Low",
maintenance_cost="Low",
mitigates_threats=["SPOOFING"],
technologies=["Custom implementation"],
compliance_refs=["PCI-DSS 8.1.6"]
),
# Input Validation Controls
"VAL-001": SecurityControl(