ORSM Insights¶
Analysis, observations and developing thinking around security architecture, operational resilience and related disciplines.
ORSM Insights provides a space to explore ideas surrounding the framework without turning every observation into an additional framework requirement.
The articles may examine architectural complexity, operational resilience, security assurance, Secure by Design, human factors, emerging technology and lessons drawn from real-world security architecture.
Insights and the ORSM Framework
ORSM Insights are intended to encourage discussion, reflection and constructive challenge.
They do not form part of the normative ORSM framework and do not introduce additional assessment requirements.
Latest Insight¶
The 90-Day Island Test¶
Could your security architecture survive 90 days without the outside world?
Insight 004 explores operational independence: whether an environment can continue to operate securely when external connectivity, cloud services, vendor support, update infrastructure or other dependencies are unavailable for an extended period.
The test is not about eliminating dependencies. It is about understanding them, their consequences, and how long the architecture can continue to operate without them.
Control Fatigue¶
Does it really need to be this way?
Insight 002 explores control accumulation, architectural complexity, operational burden and whether every control we continue to operate still provides proportionate security value.
Individually Rational Controls Can Produce Collectively Irrational Architectures¶
Security controls are rarely introduced without reason.
Each may address a legitimate threat, regulatory obligation, audit finding or recognised security practice.
The difficulty can emerge when individually reasonable decisions accumulate into an architecture that is increasingly difficult to understand, operate, recover or change.
Constructive Challenge¶
ORSM is intended to encourage architectural judgement rather than prescribe universal answers.
Different experiences, environments and conclusions are therefore valuable.
Questions, practitioner feedback and constructive challenge are welcome at:
hello@orsmframework.org
Please do not send classified, commercially sensitive, customer-identifiable or security-sensitive information.