Customer data breach (PII)
Unauthorised access to personal data — web vulnerabilities, cloud misconfiguration, stale access — with GDPR-grade recovery barriers.
5 threats 20 barriers 4 consequences safety-critical barriers marked
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Start free with this template →Threats & preventive barriers
Each threat is a credible pathway to the top event; its barriers interrupt that pathway before control is lost.
Web application vulnerability (injection / auth bypass)
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Secure SDLC with code review (A.8.25–8.28)
Socio-technical · 75% effective · Owner: Engineering Director
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Web application firewall (A.8.26)
Active hardware · 70% effective · Owner: Security Engineering Lead
📅 WAF rule review · quarterly keep-alive task
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Security testing before release (A.8.29)
Socio-technical · 72% effective · Owner: QA Lead
Misconfigured cloud storage or IAM
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Cloud config baseline & CSPM scanning (A.8.9)
Continuous · 75% effective · Owner: Cloud Platform Lead
Shadow IT accounts outside scanning scope
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Infrastructure-as-code peer review (A.8.32)
Socio-technical · 78% effective · Owner: DevOps Lead
Excessive or stale access (insider misuse)
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Least-privilege RBAC (A.5.15 / A.8.2)
Socio-technical · 75% effective · Owner: IAM Lead
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Quarterly access reviews (A.5.18) ★ critical
Socio-technical · 70% effective · Owner: IAM Lead
Role creep accumulates entitlements
📅 Privileged access review · quarterly keep-alive task
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Joiner-mover-leaver deprovisioning (A.5.18)
Socio-technical · 65% effective · Owner: HR Operations
Lost or stolen endpoint device
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Full-disk encryption (A.8.24) ★ critical
Passive (hardware) · 95% effective · Owner: IT Operations Manager
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MDM with remote wipe (A.8.1)
Active hardware · 85% effective · Owner: IT Operations Manager
Credential stuffing on the customer portal
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Customer MFA & risk-based authentication (A.5.17)
Active hardware · 85% effective · Owner: Product Security Lead
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Rate limiting & bot detection
Active hardware · 75% effective · Owner: Platform Engineering Lead
Consequences & recovery barriers
Once the top event happens, recovery barriers limit each consequence.
Personal data exposed at scale
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Encryption at rest with managed keys (A.8.24) ★ critical
Passive (hardware) · 90% effective · Owner: Security Engineering Lead
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Data minimisation & pseudonymisation (A.5.34)
Socio-technical · 65% effective · Owner: Data Protection Officer
GDPR enforcement & fines
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Breach notification within 72h (A.5.26) ★ critical
Socio-technical · 85% effective · Owner: Data Protection Officer
📅 Breach-response tabletop · semiannual keep-alive task
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Records of processing & DPIAs (A.5.34)
Socio-technical · 75% effective · Owner: Data Protection Officer
Customer trust and churn
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Transparent customer communications
Behavioural (human) · 70% effective · Owner: Communications Director
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Identity-protection offering for affected users
Socio-technical · 60% effective · Owner: Customer Success Lead
Follow-on account fraud
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Dark-web exposure monitoring
Continuous · 65% effective · Owner: SOC Manager
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Fraud detection on customer accounts
Active hardware · 75% effective · Owner: Product Security Lead
Copying this template gives you a fully editable bowtie: barrier owners arrive as role suggestions, escalation factors sit on their barriers, and keep-alive activities are scheduled from the moment you copy. New to the notation? Read what the bowtie method is or browse the practical guides.
Use this template free. Copy “Customer data breach (PII)” into your own workspace and adapt every barrier — no credit card.
Start free with this template →