ALLOCATION

Tower Model — the written model

Terrain to maneuver to mission, with traceability in both directions. The written companion to the interactive Tower Model.

ASOM-Fed v6.1 · Unclassified / Illustrative · agency-agnostic reference framework · built from public sources only

The allocation model: assets occupy cyber terrain, maneuvers are arrayed on that terrain to protect mission services, and coverage and residual risk roll up into the running estimate. The spine is terrain → maneuver → mission, and the allocation driver is Defensive Weight = Criticality × Exposure. It mirrors the Technology Business Management taxonomy one layer at a time, substituting defensive coverage and residual risk for cost.

1. Network topology — the terrain, keyed to towers

The Federal Reference Agency estate expressed as zero-trust zones. Every request is brokered at the identity plane; policy enforcement points sit at each zone boundary. Each asset is owned by exactly one Defense Tower, which is what makes coverage summable.

Internet · external actors

AssetTowerKey terrainWeightManeuvers
X-01 Public / Mission UsersEXT0M3, M6
X-02 External PartnersEXT0M3, M4
X-03 API / Open-Data ConsumersEXT0M2, M6
X-04 Threat ActorsEXT0

Visibility & automation

AssetTowerKey terrainWeightManeuvers
A-24 Threat Intelligence / CISA-JCDC FeedTX9M1, M9
A-22 SIEM / SOC PlatformTXkey8M1, M7
A-23 SOAR PlatformTX6M7, M8
A-25 Hunt Team ToolingTX6M7, M10

TIC 3.0 edge · perimeter

AssetTowerKey terrainWeightManeuvers
A-08 TIC 3.0 Trust-Zone GatewayT3key20M4, M2, M8
A-06 DDoS Mitigation / CDNT315M1, M6
A-07 Web Application FirewallT315M2, M4

Identity plane

AssetTowerKey terrainWeightManeuvers
A-01 ICAM / Policy Decision PointT1decisive point20M3, M2, M8
A-02 Phishing-Resistant MFAT1key20M3
A-04 Privileged Access (PAM / JIT)T1decisive point15M3, M4
A-03 PKI / PIVT1key12M3, M2

Public-facing mission tier

AssetTowerKey terrainWeightManeuvers
A-11 Public Service PortalT4key25M2, M6, M1
A-13 Case Filing ServiceT420M2, M6
A-12 Secondary PortalT415M2, M6
A-09 Load BalancerT310M2, M6
A-14 Public Data / Open APIT410M2, M5

Internal · mission-processing tier

AssetTowerKey terrainWeightManeuvers
A-15 Case Processing SystemT4key15M2, M4, M6
A-16 CI/CD PipelineT4decisive point15M2, M7, M9
A-05 Mission-Staff WorkstationsT212M2, M4, M7
A-10 Microsegmentation FabricT3key8M4, M8

Data tier

AssetTowerKey terrainWeightManeuvers
A-17 Sensitive Mission RecordsT5decisive point10M2, M5, M6
A-18 PII StoreT5key10M2, M5
A-20 Object Storage (S3 Buckets)T59M2, M5
A-19 Financial DataT5key8M2, M5, M6
A-21 Audit LogsT5key8M2, M8

Operational technology

AssetTowerKey terrainWeightManeuvers
A-27 Physical Access Control SystemT6key12M4, M1
A-26 Building Management SystemT69M4, M2
A-28 Engineering WorkstationsT6decisive point8M4, M7

Facilities

AssetTowerKey terrainWeightManeuvers
A-33 Primary Data CenterT8key10M2, M4
A-34 Regional Field OfficesT88M2, M4
A-35 Alternate Recovery SiteT8key4M11, M2

Supply chain

AssetTowerKey terrainWeightManeuvers
A-37 Managed Service ProviderT9decisive point16M3, M4, M8
A-36 Cloud Service ProviderT9key15M2, M8
A-38 Software Build DependenciesT9key12M2, M6, M9
A-39 Hardware and Firmware VendorsT96M2, M9

Workforce

AssetTowerKey terrainWeightManeuvers
A-29 Privileged AdministratorsT7decisive point20M3, M2, M7
A-30 Mission CaseworkersT7key16M5, M2
A-31 Contract Support StaffT712M3, M8
A-32 Approval AuthoritiesT7key12M3, M6

2. Tower allocation map — bidirectional traceability

Each Defense Tower with the assets it carries, the controls that assess it and the techniques emplaced on it. Reading a row gives everything defending that ground; reading an asset's tower gives every mission it protects.

TowerTerrain characterAssetsWeightControlsTechniques
T1 IdentityThe high ground467 (14%)528
T2 DevicesThe entry fords112 (2%)513
T3 NetworksThe corridors568 (14%)522
T4 Applications and WorkloadsThe urban terrain6100 (21%)218
T5 DataThe objective545 (9%)612
T6 Operational TechnologyGround you cannot maneuver freely on329 (6%)17
T7 WorkforceThe people who operate the estate460 (12%)58
T8 FacilitiesThe ground you stand on322 (5%)47
T9 Supply ChainThe lines of communication449 (10%)610
TX Cross-CuttingThe enablers of movement429 (6%)3929

3. Tower coverage — terrain readiness

TowerZTMM stageCoverageWeight carriedResidualControls assessing it
T1 IdentityAdvanced72%6718.8ID-1, ID-2, ID-3, ID-4, ID-5
T2 DevicesInitial41%127.1DV-1, DV-2, DV-3, DV-4, DV-5
T3 NetworksAdvanced68%6821.8KT-3, KT-4, KT-5, TM-4, TM-5
T4 Applications and WorkloadsInitial47%10053.0FO-3, RC-3
T5 DataInitial44%4525.2EN-3, FO-1, FO-2, RC-2, RC-4, SM-7
T6 Operational TechnologyTraditional18%2923.8FO-4
T7 WorkforceTraditional22%6046.8WF-1, WF-2, WF-3, WF-4, WF-5
T8 FacilitiesTraditional25%2216.5FC-1, FC-2, FC-3, FC-4
T9 Supply ChainTraditional20%4939.2FO-6, LC-1, LC-2, LC-3, LC-4, LC-5
TX Cross-CuttingInitial52%2913.9CE-1, CE-2, CE-3, CE-4, CE-5, CE-6, CE-7, CG-1, CG-2, CG-3, CG-4, CG-5, EN-1, EN-2, EN-4, EN-5, EN-6, FO-5, FO-7, KT-1, KT-2, RC-1, RC-5, SM-1, SM-2, SM-3, SM-4, SM-5, SM-6, TA-1, TA-2, TA-3, TA-4, TA-5, TM-1, TM-2, TM-3, TM-6, TM-7

4. Mission bill of defense

For each mission service: the assets and towers defending it, weighted coverage and residual risk. This is the running estimate at mission altitude and the input to the temporal advantage scoreboard.

MissionAssetsWeightWeighted coverageResidualTowers engaged
MS-1 Public Service Delivery2026945%147.4T1, T3, T4, T5, T6, T7, T8, T9
MS-2 Case Adjudication2329841%175.5T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, T7, T8, T9
MS-3 Open Data Publication1014151%69.0T1, T3, T4, T5, T8, T9
MS-4 Financial Processing1217143%98.2T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T7, T8, T9
MS-5 Security Operations1315444%86.7T1, T5, T6, T7, T8, T9, TX

5. How to read this model

Values in this document are illustrative reference figures for the Federal Reference Agency archetype, not measurements of any agency. Substituting real values is the first act of adoption.