What is Security Brutalism?

Security Brutalism is a movement for honest, functional, and enduring security design. It's a reaction against the bloated, checkbox-driven, and overly abstract state of modern security practices. A call to return to the fundamentals.

Inspired by Brutalist Architecture, Security Brutalism values raw security stripped of buzzwords, theatrics, and unnecessary complexity. Modern security is a world obsessed with security theater and flashy dashboards, Security Brutalism says: "Show me the control. Not the slide deck."

The Problem with Modern Security

Most security programs today are built like corporate skyscrapers with glass façades: polished on the outside, hollow and fragile on the inside. They suffer from:

• Complexity that doesn't increase security, just slows things down
• Tools that look great in audits but no one actually uses
• Policies that read like parodies of themselves
• Risk discussions that spiral into compliance checklists
• Controls that require wikis to explain

Security Brutalism rejects this approach entirely.

Core Philosophy

Security Brutalism emphasizes three fundamental pillars:

1. Functionality Over Form

• Prioritize core, practical security features that directly address threats
• Every component must have a clear, critical purpose
• If it can't be deployed, tested, and broken, it doesn't count
• Security controls should be obvious, useful, and unapologetically direct

2. Minimalism Over Complexity

• Design lean, efficient systems using the fewest resources needed for robust protection
• Remove non-essential features to improve maintainability and reduce vulnerabilities
• Complexity is the enemy. Strip everything unnecessary
• Ask: What's essential? What's redundant? What can we remove to make protection stronger?

3. Durability Over Elegance

• Build resilient systems designed to withstand continuous and evolving threats
• Focus on long-term resilience over short-term convenience
• Assume breach and build systems that keep running even when attacked
• Think fortress, not funhouse

Seven Principles for Building Brutalist Security

1. Security is a Material, Not a Mood: Security isn't a vibe, it's verifiable actions and controls
2. Function Over Form: Anything added for optics is suspect
3. Visible Friction is Better than Hidden Risk: You should feel the edges, hidden complexity is the enemy
4. Control is the Interface: The primary interface is what people touch, what it stops, what it allows
5. Everything is a Threat Model: See everything through the lens of adversarial thinking
6. Documentation is a Weapon: Plain-language docs hold the structure together and make intent undeniable
7. You Can Build Fast and Safe: Ship controls that work now, then refine—perfect is the enemy of deployed

What It Looks Like in Practice

Security Brutalism IS:

• A plain Markdown document describing how a control works
• A Slack-integrated risk intake that gets triaged in 10 minutes
• A Terraform plan with security defaults hardcoded
• Role-based access + auto-expiry + alert on elevation
• Default-deny between trust zones with clearly defined paths
• One rule: sensitive data stays in approved systems, with automated block + alert

Security Brutalism IS NOT:

• A 40-slide risk presentation with no owner or follow-up
• A SOAR playbook that takes 10 minutes to load
• 12 different entitlement levels and quarterly review spreadsheets
• Multiple overlapping DLP rules that no one tunes
• A vendor risk process that still needs spreadsheets

Signs Your Program Needs Brutalist Thinking

• You need a wiki to explain your ticketing system
• Every exception creates a new custom policy
• Users bypass controls "just to get work done"
• You run tools no one configures or understands
• Risk discussions spiral into compliance checklists

Implementation Strategy

Streamline Security Architecture

Instead of overlapping tools, prioritize high-impact solutions. Replace legacy signature-based detection, complex AI analytics, and separate threat feeds with a modern EDR platform that handles detection, automated response, and centralized visibility.

Focus on Fundamentals

Return to basics: access controls, endpoint security, network segmentation, and monitoring. Get these right before chasing the latest trends.

Real-Time Response

Prioritize speed and effectiveness over drawn-out investigations. When facing a suspected breach: isolate systems, remove unauthorized access, reduce blast radius within minutes.

Security at Every Layer

Secure every component, no matter how small. Attackers look for the weakest link, often an overlooked vulnerability.

Brutalist Metrics That Matter

Forget vanity metrics. Measure what reduces risk, for example:

• Percentage of controls automated
• Time to detect / time to contain
• Percentage of assets covered by baseline enforcement
• Number of exception paths (lower = better)
• Policy surface area (less = clearer enforcement)

Don't ask how many phishing emails were reported. Ask: How many made it through—and what was done?

Making the Executive Case

Security Brutalism demonstrates discipline, not lack of effort. Present it as: "This control reduces risk AND operational load", "We're removing steps that slow the business down", "We're focusing on measurable outcomes, not more processes".

Executives want answers to: What's our actual risk? Are we closing real gaps? Are we enabling or blocking the business?

Security Brutalism provides clear, simple answers.

Leadership in a Brutalist World

Brutalist security leaders:

• Lead from the front, actively involved in assessments and response
• Empower teams to make real-time decisions
• Communicate directly and focus on actionable outcomes
• Iterate immediately based on hard data
• Trust their teams to execute on-the-fly solutions

They don't sit behind desks writing reports, they're in the trenches building, defending, and responding.

The Bottom Line

Security Brutalism cuts through the fluff and focuses on what matters: creating secure, resilient environments that withstand modern threats. It's pragmatic, streamlined, and fast.

This isn't about doing less but about focusing on what truly matters. It's the discipline of ruthless simplicity in service of genuine security.

Start Brutalist. Stay Brutalist.

Begin with the core. Strip everything unnecessary. Then build back what earns its place.

If it doesn't protect something, delete it. If it doesn't work, rip it out.

"There is a simplicity that lies on the other side of complexity. That's where we live." —The Security Brutalists