MASQUE: A Four-Axis Hybrid Threat Model Unifying STRIDE, LINDDUN, and the Novel QUANTA and CHIRAGE Axes for Post-Quantum, Deception-Based Systems Multi-Axis Security Quantification, Unified Evaluation

Threat-modeling practice relies on two mature taxonomies: STRIDE for security and LINDDUN for privacy. Neither contains a category for the threats introduced by two fast-growing classes of system. Those relying on quantum computation and post-quantum cryptography, and those defending by deception (moving-target, morphic, and mimicry-based defenses). MASQUE addresses this gap. MASQUE (Multi-Axis Security Quantification, Unified Evaluation) is a four-axis hybrid threat model that unifies the two established axes with two original ones: STRIDE (security), LINDDUN (privacy), QUANTA (quantum-compute threats), and CHIRAGE (morphic/polymorphic threats). To the author's knowledge, this is the first threat model to integrate these four axes and to map them onto a concrete verification architecture; the individual STRIDE and LINDDUN axes are established prior art, while QUANTA and CHIRAGE are introduced here. MASQUE is both a thematic name, evoking the masquerade domain, and a descriptive acronym; the four-axis structure is the substantive claim. It serves as the threat-evaluation layer of the broader MASQUARAIDE platform (Yen, 2026), distinct in role from that platform's orchestration and deception components. The two original axes are contributed at different strengths, stated honestly. CHIRAGE (Chimera + Mirage) is the primary contribution: a morphic-polymorphic threat axis of seven categories, five of which are demonstrated as reproducible executable attacks against a real deception engine, with a positive control. QUANTA is the secondary contribution: a quantum-compute threat axis whose novelty is the consolidating framing most of its constituent threats are established prior art with two categories demonstrated against a live PennyLane/Qiskit cross-framework engine, including a genuinely novel cross-framework convergence attack. This umbrella record presents the unified MASQUE model and links the two companion deposits that develop QUANTA and CHIRAGE in full, each with its own paper, executable attack harness, and machine-readable results. All artifacts are released with SHA3-256 file manifests and ML-DSA-65 (FIPS 204) signatures over their manifest anchors, so that every verdict can be reproduced or refuted. MASQUE is offered as a complement to STRIDE and LINDDUN for the specific and growing class of post-quantum and deception-based systems, and as an invitation to the community to evaluate the two new axes. Licensing: Research content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Accompanying source code is licensed separately under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later (AGPL-3.0-or-later). Keywords:threat modeling; hybrid threat model; STRIDE; LINDDUN; quantum threat modeling; post-quantum cryptography; moving-target defense; cyber deception; morphic security; polymorphism; MASQUE; MASQUARAIDE; QUANTA; CHIRAGE; reproducible security research; Multi-Axis Security Quantification Unified Evaluation