Understanding the STRIDE Framework

STRIDE is an acronym representing six threat categories: Spoofing, Tampering, Repudiation, Information Disclosure, Denial of Service, and Elevation of Privilege. Each category addresses a different way attackers might compromise your system. The power of STRIDE lies in its systematic approach—by considering each category against every element of your system, you're less likely to overlook potential threats.

The methodology's elegance comes from its mapping to security properties. Spoofing attacks authentication, Tampering targets integrity, Repudiation undermines non-repudiation, Information Disclosure violates confidentiality, Denial of Service attacks availability, and Elevation of Privilege compromises authorization. This alignment helps teams understand not just what threats exist, but what security properties they must protect.

STRIDE works particularly well for developers and architects because it provides concrete threat categories without requiring deep security expertise. A developer might not know every possible attack vector, but they can understand concepts like "someone pretending to be another user" (spoofing) or "unauthorized data modification" (tampering). This accessibility has contributed to STRIDE's widespread adoption and enduring relevance.