Attack Surface Reduction

Kind: principle

Layer: Security Core

Record: architecture:attack-surface-reduction

Severity: mandatory

Scope: API, service, infrastructure

Canonical: Ontology

A design rule that endpoints, ports, features and permissions nothing uses are removed or disabled.

Listed in Architecture principles, after Secure by Default and before Threat Modeling.

Requires

• Minimal Exposure

Reinforces

• Security by Design

Enables

• Reduced Exploitability

Conflicts with

• Unnecessary Public Surface

In tension with

• Feature Exposure

Tensions

• Attack Surface Reduction / Feature Exposure

Violated by

• Unnecessary Public Surface

Refactored by

• Restrict Exports
• Access Control
• Feature Toggle

Severity

• mandatory

Category

• Security / Privacy / Compliance / Governance

Linked from

• Security / Privacy / Compliance / Governance
• Core Modular Design
• Security Privacy Compliance
• Severity levels
• The resolutions