Abuse case

An abuse case is a structured narrative in cybersecurity that describes how a malicious actor could intentionally exploit or misuse an application or software system. Unlike a standard use case that documents legitimate user interactions, an abuse case maps out adversarial scenarios, focusing on potential security vulnerabilities, unauthorized data access, system integrity compromises, and denial-of-service attempts. It serves as a foundational risk concept by providing a framework for identifying threats and their associated attack vectors from an attacker's perspective.

By developing abuse cases, application and software security teams can proactively uncover design flaws, coding errors, or configuration weaknesses that could be leveraged for malicious purposes. This approach is essential for effective threat modeling, establishing robust security requirements, and prioritizing defensive measures. Thorough articulation of abuse cases helps organizations assess their exposure to security risks and strengthen the resilience of their digital assets against evolving cyber threats.