THE SECURITY BRUTALIST

The Brutalist Guide to Defining Your Security Posture in 5 Sentences or Less

Note: This is the second of three posts exploring how to align security with efficiency and help security teams stay focused. The first post, The Brutalist Guide to Ending Context Switching Hell in Security, set the stage for a more streamlined and effective security workflow.

Introduction

Security teams flail not because they don’t work hard, but because they haven’t defined their operating posture—their true north. Without it, everything feels like a priority, and you’re left in constant reactive mode.

Security Brutalism is built on clarity and transparency—no fluff, no bloated 60-page policies. It's a direct approach that sharpens decision-making and blocks out distractions. And it all begins with your posture.

The 5-Sentence Framework

Here’s the structure to define your Brutalist Security Posture in just 5 sentences:

1. Mission Sentence

What is the core security responsibility of your team?

Keep it outcome-driven, not task-driven. Example: We exist to ensure the business can operate safely, even under attack.

2. Threat Reality Sentence

What is the real risk landscape you are built for?

Name your enemies. Don't overinflate or underplay. Example: Our primary threats are data breaches from third-party exposure and social engineering.

3. Control Philosophy Sentence

How do you approach control design? What's your architectural attitude?

State your posture: Preventative? Detective? Resilient? Brutal? Example: We build minimal, scalable controls that assume breach and protect core data first.

4. Engagement Model Sentence

How does your team engage with the business?

Lay out how people should work with you. Example: We use simple intake processes to accelerate secure design and vendor selection.

5. Boundary Sentence

What will you not do? Where do you draw the line?

Every team must define a "kill‑switch" to avoid overload and distraction, not as a checkbox in a manual, or a policy to point to, but as a way of working, a mindset, to build the ability to manage expectations from both inside and outside the team. Example: We do not support ad hoc projects without risk validation or intake; urgent != important.

Examples

Brutalist Example 1: Mid-Sized Tech Company Security Posture

  1. We exist to protect customer data, ensure operational continuity, and enable trust in our product.
  2. Our primary threats are phishing-led compromise, SaaS misconfigurations, and insider misuse.
  3. We prioritize minimal, high-leverage controls built around visibility, least privilege, and rapid response.
  4. The business engages us through a single secure intake flow for reviews, issues, and projects.
  5. We do not chase unscored threats, manage non-security infrastructure, or support shadow projects.

Brutalist Example 2: Security Posture for a Web App Hosting Company

  1. We exist to ensure the continuous, secure delivery of our web applications and APIs, protecting customer data and platform integrity at all times.
  2. Our primary threats are cloud misconfigurations, credential-based attacks (including MFA fatigue and session hijacking), and exploitable code-level vulnerabilities.
  3. We design for resilient failure—assuming breach, minimizing blast radius, and enforcing least privilege across our CI/CD and runtime environments.
  4. Security partners with Engineering via secure defaults in infrastructure, paved paths for developers, and fast-track intake for reviews and incidents.
  5. We do not perform manual code review, accept last-minute exceptions to gating controls, or support tools and environments not declared in inventory.

Write Yours Now

Answer these, brutally and quickly:

Once you have your draft, test it: