Skip to content

Threat Model Spec

LINDDUN

grokify/threat-model-spec

LINDDUN Privacy Framework¶

LINDDUN is a privacy threat modeling framework developed at KU Leuven. It complements STRIDE by focusing on privacy-specific threats rather than security threats.

Categories¶

Category	Name	Description
L	Linkability	Ability to link items of interest (records, users, actions)
I	Identifiability	Ability to identify a data subject
N	Non-repudiation	Inability to deny an action (privacy concern when deniability is needed)
D	Detectability	Ability to detect existence of an item of interest
Di	Disclosure of Information	Exposure of personal information
U	Unawareness	Lack of awareness about data collection/processing
Nc	Non-compliance	Failure to comply with privacy regulations

Usage in Threat Model Spec¶

Mappings¶

Add LINDDUN mappings to your threat model:

{
  "mappings": {
    "linddun": [
      {
        "category": "I",
        "name": "Identifiability",
        "description": "User can be identified through session tokens"
      },
      {
        "category": "Di",
        "name": "Disclosure",
        "description": "Personal data exposed in API response"
      }
    ]
  }
}

D2 Legend¶

Enable the LINDDUN legend in your diagrams:

{
  "legend": {
    "showLINDDUN": true
  }
}

This renders a color-coded legend with all LINDDUN categories.

LINDDUN vs STRIDE¶

Aspect	STRIDE	LINDDUN
Focus	Security threats	Privacy threats
Origin	Microsoft	KU Leuven
Categories	6	7
Use case	System security	Data protection

When to Use¶

GDPR compliance — Map privacy risks to regulatory requirements
Privacy by Design — Identify privacy threats early in development
Data protection — Analyze how personal data is handled
Combined with STRIDE — Comprehensive security + privacy threat modeling

D2 Styling¶

LINDDUN threats are rendered with distinct colors:

Category	Fill Color	Stroke Color
L - Linkability	`#e8eaf6`	`#3f51b5` (Indigo)
I - Identifiability	`#e3f2fd`	`#1976d2` (Blue)
N - Non-repudiation	`#fff3e0`	`#f57c00` (Orange)
D - Detectability	`#fce4ec`	`#c2185b` (Pink)
Di - Disclosure	`#ffebee`	`#c62828` (Red)
U - Unawareness	`#f3e5f5`	`#7b1fa2` (Purple)
Nc - Non-compliance	`#efebe9`	`#5d4037` (Brown)

References¶