Transparency, Usability, and Compromise Recording

This skill combines three design principles that ensure security is transparent, usable, and observable.

Open Design

Principle: Security mechanisms should not depend on secrecy of design. Protection relies on securely managed keys and credentials, not on hidden algorithms or architectures.

Key Aspects

• No security through obscurity: Do not rely on attackers not knowing how the system works. Assume the design is known.
• Transparency: Open sharing of source code, development processes, and security mechanisms promotes understanding and enables external review
• Scrutiny and engagement: Broader community review improves quality and catches vulnerabilities that internal teams miss
• Comprehensive documentation: Provide architecture diagrams, component descriptions, interface specifications, and security mechanism documentation. Undocumented systems cannot be reviewed for design flaws or security gaps.

Application