In the role of a CISO, ensuring that your organization’s security program aligns with leading Information security standards and control frameworks are essential for managing risks, maintaining compliance, and securing critical assets. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is by incorporating threat modeling into your risk management and security design processes.
Threat modeling allows you to identify, prioritize, and mitigate threats early in the system development lifecycle, ensuring that your security strategy is proactive rather than reactive. Frameworks like NIST 800-53, OWASP ASVS, and CIS Controls explicitly reference threat modeling as a core component of their risk assessment and secure development requirements.
Other standards, such as ISO/IEC 27001 and PCI-DSS, imply the need for threat modeling
through their focus on risk assessment, secure design, and vulnerability management.
For CISOs, the key rationale behind integrating threat modeling into your security program includes:
• Aligning Security with Business Objectives: Prioritize threats that have the highest
business impact and design security controls accordingly.
• Ensuring Compliance: Many regulatory frameworks require risk assessments that can
be strengthened through comprehensive threat modeling.
• Improving Risk Management: By identifying threats and vulnerabilities early, threat
modeling helps reduce the likelihood of security incidents and enhances the
organization’s overall resilience.
• Supporting Security-by-Design: Embed security into the application architecture from
the start, reducing costly retrofits and improving security outcomes.
The following table highlights how threat modeling is referenced in key security standards and control frameworks, providing CISOs with a clear understanding of where it fits within their security programs.
Standard/Framework | Explicit Reference to Threat Modeling (note) | Implicit Reference (Risk Assessment or Design Review) (note) | Link |
NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 | Yes – SA-11 (Developer Security Testing and Evaluation) | Yes – RA-3 (Risk Assessment), SA-15 (Design Review) | https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-53/rev-5/final |
OWASP ASVS v4.0.3 | Yes – Control 1.4.2 (Architecture and Design Verification) | No | https://owasp.org/ASVS/ |
Microsoft SDL | Yes – Design Phase | No | https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/securityengineering/sdl |
FDA Cybersecurity Guidance for Medical Devices (2022) | Yes –Cybersecurity Risk Management requires threat modeling | No | https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents |
CIS Controls v8 | Yes – Control 14.2 (Application Software Security) | Yes – Control 4 (Secure Configuration) | https://www.cisecurity.org/controls/v8 |
NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) | No | Yes – Identify (ID) Function (Risk Assessment and Design Review) | https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework |
ISO/IEC 27001:2013 | No | Yes – Clause 6.1.2 (Risk Assessment) | https://www.iso.org/standard/54534.html |
PCI-DSS v4.0 | No | Yes – Requirement 6.3.2 (Secure Software Development Process) | document_library |
SWIFT Customer Security Controls Framework (CSCF) | No | Yes – Risk Management and Threat Identification Practices | https://www.swift.com/myswift/customer-security-programme-csp |
ISO/IEC 62443 | No | Yes – Emphasis on Risk-Based Security and System Design Review | https://www.iso.org/standard/56891.html |
Table 1.0 Threat Modeling Mandates Across Security Standards
Note:
The attached standards mapping distinguishes between explicit and implicit references to threat modeling.
- Explicit mentions treat it as a formal control—mandatory for audits.
- Implicit mentions suggest it as part of broader practices like “security by design,” leaving it open to auditor interpretation.
Conclusion: Building a Threat-Centric Security Program
For CISOs, threat modeling is a critical element of a comprehensive risk management
strategy. By aligning threat modeling with the relevant standards and frameworks, you can strengthen your organization’s security posture, improve compliance efforts, and reduce the risk of security incidents. Leveraging threat modeling ensures that security-by-design principles are implemented from the start, providing a proactive, structured approach to risk mitigation.
For more information and implementation, email us at info@avocadosys.com
