Using First Principles to Establish an Enterprise Security Access Pattern

Information Security plays a crucial role in safeguarding data, particularly in its different states: at rest, in transit, or in memory. As a Principal Security Architect, I focus on developing an architecture that ensures secure data access to first-party and third-party resources, including users and systems, while minimizing risks and maximizing scalability. In this article, I will guide you through my design thinking process, establishing a framework that can be used to define, measure, and monitor enterprise access risk and security control compliance.

First, First Principles

My design thinking revolves around the process of First Principles. It involves breaking down complex, abstract ideas into their most fundamental elements and reasoning up from there.

Image by @hannahalkadi via Pixabay

I like to use the analogy of nesting dolls, where each layer reveals essential elements and establishes a categorical scaffolding for a repeatable design pattern. This approach helps us understand connections, relationships, and the concepts of dependence, interdependence, and independence. Throughout this article, I will demonstrate how this process works in practice.

1. Start with a Vision or Question