About Security Brutalism

Security Brutalism takes its name and inspiration from Brutalist architecture, where materials are exposed, structure is clear, and buildings are designed for strength, function, and endurance. The same principles apply to Security Brutalism, using strong fundamentals and understandable controls while hiding nothing behind unnecessary complexity.

Modern security programs often become buried under tools, vendors, regulations, and alerts, with complicated strategies leading the way. Security Brutalism strips that away and focuses on the fundamentals that reduce risk, limit damage, and support recovery. The goal is a security program that is simple enough to understand, strong enough to withstand failure, and practical enough to work under real conditions.

What you see is what is enforced and what breaks does not bring down the system. What remains is strong and recoverable.

The Why Behind Security Brutalism

After more than 25 years in security, I have watched the field become increasingly crowded with random tools that solve problems we didn't know we had to solve, vendors pushing for those solutions that hide the basics done poorly, and regulations added for the benefits of cyber insurances. Complexity has grown while security teams face tighter budgets, increasing alert volumes, and controls that often fail when tested against real conditions. Security Brutalism is my response to that problem. It's a return to simple, transparent, and functional security built on strong fundamentals.

I developed Security Brutalism to provide a practical foundation for building security programs that people can understand and that organizations can rely on when conditions get difficult. You can read more on the Security Brutalist Blog.

If you need to contact me, send a message here; and if you are interested in applying Security Brutalism in your organization, visit Black Arrows to get more information.

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