Security Architect Lessons Learned
Lessons learned from building and scaling security architectures - from tool selection to team building.
Originally published on Red Canary Blog
Read the full article: Security Architect Lessons Learned
Key Lessons
Start with Use Cases, Not Tools
Don’t buy tools and figure out how to use them later. Start with:
- What problems are you trying to solve?
- What use cases matter most?
- What capabilities do you actually need?
Build for Scale from Day One
Design architectures that can grow:
- Automation over manual processes
- APIs over GUIs
- Centralized over distributed
- Documented over tribal knowledge
Invest in Your Team
The best architecture is useless without skilled people:
- Hire for aptitude and attitude
- Invest in training and development
- Build a culture of learning
- Share knowledge across the team
Measure What Matters
Track metrics that drive improvement:
- Mean time to detect (MTTD)
- Mean time to respond (MTTR)
- Detection coverage
- False positive rates
Common Mistakes
Tool Sprawl
Buying too many tools without integration strategy.
Over-Engineering
Building complex solutions when simple ones work better.
Ignoring Operations
Designing systems that are impossible to operate at scale.
Forgetting the Basics
Chasing advanced threats while missing basic hygiene.
Practical Advice
Document Everything
- Architecture decisions and rationale
- Runbooks and procedures
- Integration details
- Lessons learned
Automate Relentlessly
If you do it twice, automate it.
Test Continuously
Validate your defenses regularly with tools like Atomic Red Team.
Read the full article: Security Architect Lessons Learned