Stage 1: Define Business Objectives

PASTA begins where many threat modeling methodologies end—with the business. Stage 1 focuses on understanding what the organization is trying to achieve, what assets support these objectives, and what security means in the business context. This foundation ensures that all subsequent analysis remains relevant to organizational goals rather than becoming an academic exercise in threat enumeration.

Start by identifying key business objectives that the system or application supports. For an e-commerce platform, objectives might include processing customer orders, maintaining customer trust, protecting payment information, and ensuring service availability during peak shopping periods. For a healthcare application, objectives could encompass protecting patient privacy, ensuring data integrity for medical decisions, maintaining compliance with regulations, and supporting efficient patient care.

Document the business impact of failing to meet these objectives. What happens if customer payment data is exposed? How much does an hour of downtime cost during peak periods? What are the regulatory penalties for privacy violations? This impact analysis provides the context for evaluating technical threats in business terms. Without this translation, security teams struggle to communicate risk effectively to business stakeholders.

Identify key stakeholders and their security concerns. Executive leadership might focus on reputation and financial impact. Legal teams worry about compliance and liability. Operations cares about availability and performance. Customers expect privacy and service reliability. Understanding these varied perspectives ensures your threat model addresses all relevant concerns, not just technical vulnerabilities.