Threat Agents

Anonymous Guy Fawkes mask

A threat amanuensis is an agile entity motivated to attack our mobile devices and activities. Nosotros may place threat agents as specific organizations or individuals, like Bearding, or we may allocate them by goals or methods of functioning (MOs). For example, shoplifters are a class of threat agent that attacks retail stores.

[This postal service is another slice of text I'm writing as function of a mobile security writing project. It was originally part of some other mail, but it can stand up on its own.]

A threat amanuensis has the following properties:

  • A prepare of goals – these may be political, financial, religious, or reflect other personal or customs values.
  • A level of motivation – these point the types of risks  the amanuensis is willing to take and levels of damage willing to crusade in pursuing the goals. These are discussed below.
  • Avails and resources – these indicate the types and amount of attempt the amanuensis may expend. Endeavor may be spent on training or collecting data for an assault too equally the costs of the attack itself.
  • Method of operation/MO – these are the typical features of the agent'southward attacks.

The levels of motivation contain two scales. The lower three levels reverberate risks in typical social environments, similar households or small-scale businesses. The higher iii levels represent risks faced in the world at big.

  • Unmotivated – Potential threat agents are non at all motivated to attack.
  • Scant motivation – Threat agents may take reward of unprotected assets if the chance of detection are pocket-size. Attacks won't occur unless they can succeed with little or no effort or sophistication.
  • Stealth motivation – Threat agents may be motivated to invest in and employ established techniques to attack assets, as long every bit the risk of detection is pocket-sized.
  • Low motivation – willing to crusade detectable damage of express telescopic.
  • Moderate motivation – willing to cause damage, though not to cause significant damage or serious injury to people.
  • High motivation – willing to cause significant damage, including decease or serious injury of people.

The college three risks match those in the Risk Management Framework (RMF) developed by the U.South. National Plant of Standards and Engineering (NIST) for assessing take a chance in U.Due south. government systems.