14.5 · A threat model for a consumer app

Individual techniques only matter against a concrete attacker. Threat modelling is how you decide which of them your app needs, in what order and why.

Mental model. List what you protect, who attacks it, how, and what it costs them, then spend effort where the risk is largest and say honestly what you accept.

Putting it together

A threat model for a consumer app.

1. How would you threat-model a consumer app that handles accounts, payments and personal data? 14.5.1 · L8
   Start with assets: what is worth stealing or breaking (credentials and tokens, payment details, personal data, the integrity of orders or balances…

More in Security & privacy

• 14.1 · Hashing, MACs, encryption and signatures with CryptoKit
• 14.2 · LocalAuthentication, the Secure Enclave, and App Attest
• 14.3 · Privacy manifests, tracking and ATT, and everyday data hygiene
• 14.4 · Deep links, secrets in the binary, and jailbreak detection
• 14.6 · CryptoKit in practice: AEAD, key agreement, signatures, one-time codes and tokens
• 14.7 · Trust in practice: pinning by public key, ATS scope, code signatures and Secure Enclave keys
• 14.8 · Defensive coding: secure decoding, injection, dependency integrity and file protection