THREAT MODEL

Threat Model & Security Analysis¶

Version: 1.0.0
Last Updated: 2025-11-10
Status: Comprehensive Analysis Complete

Executive Summary¶

This document provides a comprehensive threat model for Mobius Systems, identifying potential security threats, attack vectors, and mitigation strategies. The analysis covers all system layers from network to application to data.

Security Posture: - ✅ Threat model documented - ✅ Security controls implemented - ✅ Regular security reviews planned - ⚠️ Third-party security audit pending

1. Threat Model Methodology¶

1.1 STRIDE Framework¶

We use the STRIDE framework to categorize threats:

**S**poofing: Impersonating users or services
**T**ampering: Unauthorized modification of data
**R**epudiation: Denying actions or events
**I**nformation Disclosure: Unauthorized access to data
**D**enial of Service: Disrupting service availability
**E**levation of Privilege: Gaining unauthorized access

1.2 Attack Surface¶

External Attack Surface: - Public APIs (REST, WebSocket) - Web interfaces (Hub Web, Cathedral App) - Authentication endpoints - File uploads/downloads

Internal Attack Surface: - Inter-service communication - Database access - Message queues - Shared secrets

2. Threat Categories¶

2.1 Authentication & Authorization¶

Threats¶

T1: Credential Theft - Description: Attackers steal user credentials (passwords, API keys) - Impact: High - Unauthorized access to user accounts - Likelihood: Medium - STRIDE: Spoofing, Elevation of Privilege

Mitigations: - ✅ 2FA enforcement for sensitive operations - ✅ API key rotation (90 days) - ✅ Password hashing (bcrypt, Argon2) - ✅ Rate limiting on authentication endpoints - ✅ Session management with secure cookies

T2: Session Hijacking - Description: Attackers steal session tokens - Impact: High - Unauthorized access to user sessions - Likelihood: Medium - STRIDE: Spoofing

Mitigations: - ✅ HTTPS-only cookies (Secure, HttpOnly, SameSite) - ✅ Session token rotation - ✅ IP address validation (optional) - ✅ Session timeout (30 minutes inactivity)

T3: Privilege Escalation - Description: Attackers gain elevated privileges - Impact: Critical - Full system compromise - Likelihood: Low - STRIDE: Elevation of Privilege

Mitigations: - ✅ Role-based access control (RBAC) - ✅ Principle of least privilege - ✅ Regular privilege audits - ✅ Separation of duties

2.2 Data Integrity¶

Threats¶

T4: Data Tampering - Description: Attackers modify data in transit or at rest - Impact: High - Corruption of system state - Likelihood: Medium - STRIDE: Tampering

Mitigations: - ✅ Cryptographic signatures (Ed25519) for attestations - ✅ Merkle tree for integrity verification - ✅ Immutable ledger (append-only) - ✅ Database encryption at rest - ✅ TLS for data in transit

T5: Replay Attacks - Description: Attackers replay valid requests - Impact: Medium - Unauthorized actions - Likelihood: Medium - STRIDE: Tampering, Repudiation

Mitigations: - ✅ Nonce-based replay prevention - ✅ Timestamp validation (5-minute window) - ✅ Request deduplication - ✅ Idempotency keys for critical operations

T6: Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) - Description: Attackers intercept and modify communications - Impact: High - Data theft, tampering - Likelihood: Low (with TLS) - STRIDE: Tampering, Information Disclosure

Mitigations: - ✅ TLS 1.3 for all communications - ✅ Certificate pinning (where applicable) - ✅ HSTS headers - ✅ Certificate transparency monitoring

2.3 Confidentiality¶

Threats¶

T7: Data Leakage - Description: Unauthorized access to sensitive data - Impact: High - Privacy violation, data breach - Likelihood: Medium - STRIDE: Information Disclosure

Mitigations: - ✅ Encryption at rest (AES-256) - ✅ Encryption in transit (TLS 1.3) - ✅ Access controls and audit logs - ✅ Data classification and labeling - ✅ Secret management (environment variables, secrets manager)

T8: SQL Injection - Description: Attackers inject malicious SQL queries - Impact: Critical - Database compromise - Likelihood: Low (with parameterized queries) - STRIDE: Information Disclosure, Tampering

Mitigations: - ✅ Parameterized queries (prepared statements) - ✅ Input validation and sanitization - ✅ Database user with minimal privileges - ✅ Regular security scanning (OWASP ZAP)

T9: Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) - Description: Attackers inject malicious scripts - Impact: High - Session theft, data theft - Likelihood: Medium - STRIDE: Information Disclosure, Spoofing

Mitigations: - ✅ Content Security Policy (CSP) - ✅ Input sanitization (DOMPurify) - ✅ Output encoding - ✅ XSS filters in Citizen Shield

2.4 Availability¶

Threats¶

T10: Denial of Service (DoS) - Description: Attackers overwhelm system resources - Impact: High - Service unavailability - Likelihood: Medium - STRIDE: Denial of Service

Mitigations: - ✅ Rate limiting (per IP, per user) - ✅ DDoS protection (Render infrastructure) - ✅ Resource quotas and limits - ✅ Auto-scaling for resilience - ✅ Circuit breakers for external dependencies

T11: Resource Exhaustion - Description: Attackers consume system resources - Impact: Medium - Performance degradation - Likelihood: Medium - STRIDE: Denial of Service

Mitigations: - ✅ Request size limits - ✅ Query timeout limits - ✅ Connection pool limits - ✅ Memory limits per process - ✅ CPU throttling

T12: Dependency Vulnerabilities - Description: Vulnerable third-party dependencies - Impact: High - System compromise - Likelihood: Medium - STRIDE: Elevation of Privilege, Information Disclosure

Mitigations: - ✅ Regular dependency updates - ✅ Automated vulnerability scanning (Snyk, npm audit) - ✅ Dependency pinning - ✅ Security advisories monitoring

2.5 System Integrity¶

Threats¶

T13: Code Injection - Description: Attackers inject malicious code - Impact: Critical - Full system compromise - Likelihood: Low - STRIDE: Elevation of Privilege, Tampering

Mitigations: - ✅ Input validation and sanitization - ✅ Sandboxing for untrusted code - ✅ Code review requirements - ✅ Static analysis (CodeQL, Semgrep) - ✅ No eval() or similar dangerous functions

T14: Supply Chain Attacks - Description: Compromised dependencies or build tools - Impact: Critical - Full system compromise - Likelihood: Low - STRIDE: Tampering, Elevation of Privilege

Mitigations: - ✅ Dependency verification (package-lock.json) - ✅ Build artifact verification - ✅ Supply chain security scanning - ✅ Trusted registry usage - ✅ SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) generation

T15: Configuration Errors - Description: Misconfigured services or permissions - Impact: High - Unauthorized access - Likelihood: Medium - STRIDE: Information Disclosure, Elevation of Privilege

Mitigations: - ✅ Infrastructure as Code (IaC) - ✅ Configuration validation - ✅ Security configuration reviews - ✅ Automated configuration scanning - ✅ Least privilege principle

3. Attack Scenarios¶

3.1 Scenario 1: API Key Theft¶

Attack Flow: 1. Attacker discovers API key in code repository or logs 2. Attacker uses API key to access system 3. Attacker performs unauthorized actions

Mitigations: - ✅ API keys stored in environment variables (never in code) - ✅ API key rotation (90 days) - ✅ API key scoping (least privilege) - ✅ Audit logging for API key usage - ✅ Rate limiting per API key

3.2 Scenario 2: SQL Injection¶

Attack Flow: 1. Attacker sends malicious SQL in API request 2. Application constructs SQL query without parameterization 3. Database executes malicious query 4. Attacker gains unauthorized access to data

Mitigations: - ✅ Parameterized queries (prepared statements) - ✅ Input validation - ✅ Database user with minimal privileges - ✅ Regular security scanning

3.3 Scenario 3: XSS Attack¶

Attack Flow: 1. Attacker injects malicious script in user input 2. Application stores input without sanitization 3. Application renders input to other users 4. Malicious script executes in victim's browser 5. Attacker steals session tokens or data

Mitigations: - ✅ Input sanitization (DOMPurify) - ✅ Output encoding - ✅ Content Security Policy (CSP) - ✅ XSS filters in Citizen Shield

3.4 Scenario 4: DDoS Attack¶

Attack Flow: 1. Attacker coordinates botnet to send high-volume requests 2. System resources exhausted 3. Legitimate users cannot access service

Mitigations: - ✅ Rate limiting (per IP, per user) - ✅ DDoS protection (Render infrastructure) - ✅ Auto-scaling for resilience - ✅ Circuit breakers - ✅ CDN for static assets

4. Security Controls¶

4.1 Network Security¶

Firewall: Network-level filtering
DDoS Protection: Render infrastructure protection
TLS: TLS 1.3 for all communications
VPN: Not applicable (public APIs)

4.2 Application Security¶

Authentication: 2FA, OAuth 2.0
Authorization: RBAC, principle of least privilege
Input Validation: All inputs validated and sanitized
Output Encoding: All outputs properly encoded
Session Management: Secure session handling
Error Handling: No sensitive information in errors

4.3 Data Security¶

Encryption at Rest: AES-256
Encryption in Transit: TLS 1.3
Key Management: Environment variables, secrets manager
Backup Encryption: Encrypted backups
Data Classification: Sensitive data labeled and protected

4.4 Monitoring & Logging¶

Security Logging: All security events logged
Audit Logging: All critical operations logged
Intrusion Detection: Citizen Shield IDS/IPS
Alerting: Real-time alerts for security events
Incident Response: Incident response plan

5. Security Posture¶

5.1 Current Security Measures¶

✅ Implemented: - 2FA authentication - TLS 1.3 for all communications - Parameterized database queries - Input validation and sanitization - Rate limiting - Security logging - Dependency vulnerability scanning - Anti-nuke protection

⚠️ In Progress: - Third-party security audit - Penetration testing - Security configuration review - Incident response plan

5.2 Security Gaps¶

Identified Gaps: 1. Formal Security Audit: Third-party audit pending 2. Penetration Testing: Regular pen testing not yet established 3. Bug Bounty Program: Not yet implemented 4. Security Training: Developer security training needed 5. Incident Response: Incident response plan needs refinement

Remediation Plan: - Q1 2026: Third-party security audit - Q1 2026: Penetration testing - Q2 2026: Bug bounty program launch - Q2 2026: Security training program - Q2 2026: Incident response plan refinement

6. Compliance & Standards¶

6.1 Security Standards¶

OWASP Top 10: All vulnerabilities addressed
CWE Top 25: Common weaknesses mitigated
NIST Cybersecurity Framework: Alignment in progress
ISO 27001: Compliance roadmap planned

6.2 Privacy Standards¶

GDPR: Privacy by design principles
CCPA: California privacy compliance
Data Minimization: Collect only necessary data
User Consent: Explicit consent for data processing

7. Incident Response¶

7.1 Incident Response Plan¶

Phases: 1. Preparation: Security team, tools, procedures 2. Identification: Detect and identify security incidents 3. Containment: Isolate and contain the incident 4. Eradication: Remove threat from system 5. Recovery: Restore normal operations 6. Lessons Learned: Post-incident review

7.2 Incident Classification¶

Severity Levels: - Critical: System compromise, data breach - High: Unauthorized access, data exposure - Medium: Security policy violation - Low: Minor security issues

7.3 Communication Plan¶

Internal: Security team, engineering team, management
External: Users (if data breach), regulators (if required)
Timeline: Within 24 hours for critical incidents

8. Security Testing¶

8.1 Security Testing Types¶

Static Analysis: CodeQL, Semgrep, SonarQube
Dynamic Analysis: OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite
Dependency Scanning: Snyk, npm audit, pip-audit
Secret Scanning: GitGuardian, truffleHog
Penetration Testing: Manual security audits (planned)

8.2 Security Testing Schedule¶

Continuous: Automated scanning in CI/CD
Weekly: Dependency vulnerability scanning
Monthly: Security configuration review
Quarterly: Penetration testing (planned)
Annually: Third-party security audit (planned)

9. References¶

Document Status: ✅ Complete
Last Reviewed: 2025-11-10
Next Review: 2026-01-10