Threat Modeling Assessment

Structured, system-level threat modeling services that provide comprehensive understanding of protocol architecture, component interactions, data flows, and potential security risks. This proactive security service forms a strong foundation for secure development by identifying threats before they manifest in production.

What's Included

Threat modeling assessments deliver detailed documentation and analysis:

• Architecture diagrams showing all system components and their relationships
• Component interaction models illustrating how different parts communicate
• Data flow diagrams tracking sensitive information through the system
• Safety and liveness property definitions specifying what the system must guarantee
• Risk scenario identification covering potential attack vectors and failure modes
• Mitigation strategies for each identified threat

Approach and Process

The assessment begins with collaborative sessions to understand the system's goals, constraints, and operational environment. The team then maps the complete architecture, identifying all components, trust boundaries, and data flows. Using formal methods expertise, they define critical properties the system must maintain (safety: nothing bad happens, liveness: good things eventually happen).

The team systematically explores potential threats across multiple dimensions: consensus attacks, network partitions, byzantine behavior, economic attacks, smart contract vulnerabilities, cross-chain security, and operational risks. For each threat, they assess likelihood and impact, then develop specific mitigation strategies.

Deliverables

Clients receive comprehensive threat model documentation including:

• Visual architecture and data flow diagrams
• Formal property specifications
• Prioritized risk assessment with severity ratings
• Detailed mitigation recommendations
• Implementation guidance for security controls

Target Clients

Protocol designers, blockchain architects, DeFi developers, and infrastructure teams building complex distributed systems. Particularly valuable for projects in the design phase or those preparing for production deployment where early threat identification prevents costly security issues later.

Why Choose Informal Threat Modeling

Informal Systems' experience developing critical infrastructure like CometBFT and IBC provides deep understanding of distributed systems failure modes. Their formal methods background enables precise specification of system properties, while their multi-ecosystem expertise reveals threat patterns that others miss. By identifying and mitigating threats before development, teams save significant time and resources compared to fixing security issues discovered in audits or production.