Metrics and Methodology for Hardware Security Constructs | NIST Publishes Cybersecurity White Paper 45
June 05, 2025

Although hardware is commonly believed to be security-resilient, it is often susceptible to vulnerabilities that arise from design and implementation flaws. These flaws can jeopardize the hardware’s security, its operations, and critical user information. NIST Cybersecurity White Paper (CSWP) 45, Metrics and Methodology for Hardware Security Constructs, utilizes a comprehensive methodology and two key metrics—threat and sensitivity—to analyze different hardware weaknesses and the specific attack patterns that can exploit them. The methodology helps design engineers to better understand different hardware weaknesses and attack patterns. Designed to be scalable and adaptable, this methodology can evolve with emerging attack patterns and hardware vulnerabilities to support the development of more secure future hardware designs, while aiding in the identification and mitigation of vulnerabilities in existing systems.

Additional information can be found at:

• CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
• CAPEC - Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification

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