Collapse the Chaos: The Brutalist Guide to Simplifying Security Communication Channels

In the world of Security Brutalism, sophistication is not synonymous with strength—clarity is.

This is the third and final post in our series about balancing between security and efficiency—so your team can stay sharp and focused. In case you missed them, the first post, The Brutalist Guide to Ending Context Switching Hell in Security, set the stage for a more streamlined and effective security workflow; the second, The Brutalist Guide to Defining Your Security Posture in 5 Sentences or Less, tackled how to clarify your mission and nail down your priorities. In this final installment, we’re cutting through the noise to simplify communication channels—because staying sane starts cutting the "just a question..."

Introduction

Security teams are drowning in notifications, pings, emails, Zooms, calendar spam, Slack threads, Jira tickets, hallway asks, and "just a quick question..." messages. This fractured attention model kills execution, delays response, and makes you look unorganized—even when you're working 12-hour days.

Brutalist Security demands clarity. That means onw async channel, one sync channel, and a zero tolerance policy for ad hoc creep.

Step-by-Step Guide to Collapsing Communication Channels

Step 1: Take a Brutal Inventory

Goal: Find every place someone can message or interrupt your team.

• Make a quick list.
• Categorize channels as: Async (email, ticketing, forms, knowledge base comments) or Sync (chat, calls, meetings, walk-ups).

Step 2: Choose Your 1 + 1

Pick one async + one sync channel to be your team’s official communication front door. Everything else must go.

Rules:

• Async should be searchable, triage-able, and trackable.
• Sync should be fast, centralized, and have presence awareness (you know when people are active).

For example: Async - Ticket intake system, Sync - Team Slack channel

Step 3: Reroute and Lock Down

Collapse and redirect. This is the hard part, but it builds the muscle memory.

People will resist. Stay the course. Repeat the phrase: "We're focusing on higher-risk work. Please use the official channels."

Step 4: Make It Visible, Make It Real

You are now training your org. Visual cues + repetition = muscle memory.

• Add your async/sync channel info to:
• Slack status / profile
• Email signature
• Confluence / Notion / Others
• Onboarding docs
• Architecture review templates
• Have a pinned message in your chat: "Security Team Policy: Please use [INTAKE] for all requests. Emergencies? Ping us in [CHANNEL]."
• Host a 10-minute demo: “How to work with Security.” Record it.

Step 5: Test and Adjust Weekly

Set up a 15-minute weekly sanity check:

• Are people still using shadow channels?
• Are requests falling through the cracks?
• Are you actually responding faster?

Track: Time to triage, % of requests through intake, and interruptions per day. If it’s not working, fix the design—not the discipline.

Advanced Brutalism: Scale It Up

Once this muscle memory is built:

• Route all external vendors through one intake path.
• Automate intake form triage based on risk tier or topic.
• Set up auto-closing tickets with no engagement after 7 days.
• If someone keeps going around the system—escalate it.

Summary: The Communication Collapse Blueprint

1. Inventory all your channels
2. Pick 1 async and 1 sync
3. Reroute and enforce discipline
4. Broadcast it everywhere
5. Review and refine weekly

Remember: Collapsing communication isn’t about being less available. It’s about being more effective.