Software security as a force of nature

Software security should not be treated as a separate silo but integrated into natural engineering workflows and patterns

Nature-inspired defensive strategies like deception, isolation, and modularity can improve software resilience against attacks

CI/CD automation and Infrastructure as Code enable security to become an invisible force by encoding security invariants and enforcing patterns

Functional diversity through standardized, swappable components helps systems stay resilient and adaptable to new threats

Temporal isolation through ephemeral infrastructure and time-based access makes systems harder for attackers to compromise persistently

Caching, backups, and redundancy provide multiple paths to achieve goals and protect against failures

Security adaptations should emerge from successful outcomes rather than being forced through rigid policies

Deception tactics like fake services and canary tokens can effectively demoralize and misdirect attackers

Platform engineering teams can make security invisible for application developers by providing secure defaults and guardrails

Traditional “cyber orthodoxy” fails by assuming a nice, linear world - effective security requires embracing complexity and constant adaptation

Success metrics should focus on outcomes and resilience rather than just preventing failures, which is impossible in a complex system