EFF Threat Modeling Security Review

A structured social account security review based on the Electronic Frontier Foundation threat modeling process to safeguard your personal accounts.

5 time blocks, 25 minutes in total.

Time blocks

Inventory Account Assets: 5 min
List primary social handles, linked emails, and personal data stored
Map Adversaries and Consequences: 5 min
Identify potential attackers, breach odds, and data exposure impact
Upgrade Credentials and Passkeys: 5 min
Audit password uniqueness and confirm hardware or app 2FA enrollment
Prune Connected Apps and Sessions: 5 min
Log out unknown active devices and revoke third party permissions
Verify Recovery Paths and Visibility: 5 min
Test recovery emails, secure phone numbers, and lock down privacy

About this routine

A regular social account security review helps you identify digital risks before an account compromise occurs. The Electronic Frontier Foundation advocates for threat modeling, a framework that tailors security measures to your actual risks rather than adopting generic rules.

Threat modeling centers on five key questions: identifying assets, determining potential adversaries, evaluating breach likelihood, measuring consequences, and selecting manageable defense steps. Rather than attempting total digital isolation, this approach helps you implement security controls proportional to your actual risk level.

By working through this checklist periodically, you keep primary communication channels secure, eliminate redundant connected apps, and ensure recovery contacts stay current.

Why this routine works

Identifies high value personal accounts and potential attack vectors
Eliminates unnecessary third party app permissions and active logins
Ensures account recovery channels remain functional and secure
Reduces exposure to credential stuffing and phishing attacks

FAQ

What is an EFF threat modeling audit?

It is an inspection framework from the Electronic Frontier Foundation that evaluates your digital assets, potential adversaries, and risk exposure to select practical security safeguards.

How often should you do a social account security review?

Performing this review quarterly or after major password leak announcements keeps authentication settings current and revokes obsolete app access.

What are the five EFF threat modeling questions?

The EFF framework asks: What do you want to protect? Who do you want to protect it from? How likely is the threat? How bad are the consequences? How much effort will you make to prevent it?

Sources

More routines

YubiKey Hardware Security Key Enrollment