Why "Good Enough" Cybersecurity Isn't Enough
- Art Chavez
- Jun 16
- 2 min read
Beyond the Dartboard Series: Moving from Random Controls to Structured Security
The False Comfort of "Good Enough"
Cybersecurity today is dominated by a troubling assumption: that achieving compliance means being truly secure. Organizations routinely pass audits using checklists derived from foundational standards, such as NIST and ISO, yet breaches and vulnerabilities continue to proliferate. Why is this happening?
Compliance checklists, while necessary, are insufficient as standalone blueprints for secure architecture. They're often disconnected from actual threat landscapes, engineering principles, and the practical nuances of enterprise technology environments. Without structural rigor and contextual relevance, controls become superficial, like locks placed randomly on doors without walls.
Controls Without Structure or Context
Imagine constructing a building by choosing random safety features without an architectural plan—fire extinguishers without strategic placement, sprinklers with no water supply, emergency exits leading nowhere. Absurd? Absolutely. Yet, this is precisely how many organizations approach cybersecurity controls.
The issue isn’t a shortage of controls—it's a lack of disciplined design. Security controls must align with specific threats, operational contexts, and interconnected system components. Otherwise, controls exist merely for audit checkmarks, not for actual defense.
A Better Path Forward: Structured Architecture Models and Engineering Concepts
A good cybersecurity approach requires discipline, a structured architecture model, and engineering-driven concepts. These models and methods provide the critical framework for identifying appropriate security controls, deploying them effectively, and executing them within any infrastructure or architecture, whether it is a pure cloud environment, a hybrid configuration, or a traditional network.
Structured models help practitioners:
Clearly define and contextualize security controls aligned with specific threats and operational requirements.
Seamlessly integrate controls into architectural and engineering workflows.
Validate the effectiveness and operational practicality of each control within the deployed environment.
Are You Ready to Move Beyond Compliance?
The time for merely "checking boxes" is over. The evolving threat landscape demands rigorous, structured, and engineering-driven security design. This requires more than just compliance; it requires engineered security.
Join us in exploring why structured architecture models and engineering concepts are essential for a truly secure future. It’s time to reassess your approach to cybersecurity. Let’s move from "good enough" to genuinely defensible.
