Threat model
Also called Threat Modeling
A clear-eyed map of who might attack you, how, and what you are actually defending — so you protect the right things.
Think of it like
Before installing locks, figuring out whether you’re guarding against nosy roommates, burglars, or a state actor — because each needs different doors.
Example
A team writing an AI agent lists threats: prompt injection from web content, a malicious user, and a compromised tool — then designs defenses for each.
How it actually works
Threat modeling names your assets, adversaries, their capabilities, and the attack paths, so effort goes where the real risk is instead of everywhere at once. Without one, security is a pile of habits; with one, it is a plan. For LLM systems it forces you to treat untrusted input and tool output as hostile by default.
For product teams
The document that keeps security work aimed at real risks instead of theater.
For engineers
Enumerate assets, adversaries, capabilities, and attack paths up front; it drives which controls actually matter.
Related
- Attack surface — Defines the attack surface you must cover.
- Defense in depth — Justifies where to apply defense in depth.
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