What is the purpose of threat modeling?

The purpose of threat modeling is to identify and prioritize potential threats to an application. This process involves systematically analyzing the possible security risks that may affect the application and assessing how they could be exploited by adversaries. By understanding these threats, organizations can implement appropriate security measures and allocate their resources more effectively to mitigate risks.

Threat modeling enables security practitioners to consider various aspects of an application’s architecture, data flow, and operating environment. This proactive approach allows teams to foresee vulnerabilities and creates an opportunity to design security into the application from the ground up rather than addressing security only after vulnerabilities have been exploited.

The other options listed do not accurately capture the essence of threat modeling. While creating a compliance checklist may be part of a broader security strategy, it does not specifically focus on identifying threats. Enforcing stricter data access policies is a response to identified risks rather than a method for understanding potential threats. Monitoring market share fluctuations relates to business performance metrics and is not concerned with the security landscape of applications. Therefore, the focus of threat modeling distinctly aligns with the identification and prioritization of threats.