K.I.S.S. principle for cyber security: what does this acronym mean?
The K.I.S.S. principle for cyber security is a design approach introduced in the United States of America over the twentieth century, firstly in 1938 on the Minneapolis Star as an abbreviation of “keep it short and simple” then adapted in the US Navy as the most famous “keep it simple, stupid” around 1960.
What’s the meaning of this acronym? More variations were added and used later, such as “keep it super simple”, “keep it stupidly simple” or “keep it simple and straightforward”, but it appears clear that the K.I.S.S. principle highlights that simplicity must be a key factor in design as most systems and products just work their best if they’re kept simple rather than complicated.
In practical terms, the K.I.S.S. principle was probably the competitive factor that made the most disruptive innovations possible in sectors like science and technology. No wonder it’s possible to perceive how simplicity can be much more powerful than complexity through the words of a modern genius like Steve Jobs: “Simple can be harder than complex: you have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple”.
The IT field represents the most interesting sector where to apply the K.I.S.S. principle and test the effectiveness of this famous design approach. Specifically, the challenge is to connect the K.I.S.S. principle with cyber security aiming to make online security practises simpler, and so stronger.
K.I.S.S. principle for cyber security: simplicity is the way
The K.I.S.S. principle can play a key role in cyber security, indeed in this context it’s possible to assume this acronym with a new variation which stands for “keep information security simple”. This emphasizes how simplicity is the way to improve effectiveness and efficiency for designing cyber security measures, while on the other hand complexity just reduces security making things more difficult to understand and handle.
Some key aspects of the K.I.S.S. principle for cyber security concern topics like:
- Security design simplicity – complicated security systems are more vulnerable, so it’s key to keep security designs simple, straightforward, easily and effectively usable by everyone to avoid errors and identify cyber security threats; indeed, applying the K.I.S.S. principle encourages user-friendly cyber security practices and reduces the odds of breaches actually occurring;
- Attack space reduction – simplifying cyber security systems reduces the potential vulnerabilities by cutting down unnecessary elements that might be weaknesses, thus limiting the possibilities to attack and making it harder for cyber criminals to exploit resources and get access to private data and information;
- Efficient resource allocation – simple cyber security systems require fewer resources in terms of hardware and software infrastructure, thus this efficiency factor contributes to improve the effectiveness of performances and allocation of resources specifically for security purposes;
- Manageability – complex cyber security systems are harder to maintain, update, and adapt to evolving cyber threats, that’s why to keep information security simple can ensure that security measures remain effective for users, updating to new emerging vulnerabilities and attacks and developing simple solutions.
How to use the K.I.S.S. principle for cyber security design
The K.I.S.S. principle is usable for cyber security design. In particular, simplicity plays a major role regarding some key features about the whole development of cyber security systems, like:
- System architecture – the K.I.S.S. principle promotes the use of simple, usable and straightforward security mechanisms in the making of cyber security systems architectures and logics; this applies especially introducing AI to cyber security;
- Access control – designing access control mechanisms, models and policies is key for security systems to perform as expected, this includes clear information about user roles, permissions and authentication methods which must be easy to manage to minimize potential risks;
- Secure coding practices – the development phase of cyber security systems is extremely delicate and developers should consider the application of secure coding practices as the way to make the whole system easier to review and maintain and reduce unnecessary complexity;
- Configuration management – simplifying cyber security configurations makes it easier to review and validate the whole security system and reduces potential settings errors, which are often exploited by cyber attackers as breakthrough points;
- User education and awareness – simple cyber security solutions must pair with simple security guidelines, policies and training materials, this helps users to understand and use cyber security best practices, reducing overall risks and chances for cyber criminals to attack devices and networks;
- Responsiveness – it’s not always possible to prevent cyber security breaches, but it’s essential to prepare simple and well-defined incident response plans setting up clear procedures aiming to mitigate the impact of the attack.
A key point to consider is that the application of the K.I.S.S. principle is a powerful factor to improve cyber security performances, but it shouldn’t compromise the actual completeness of security measures. Thus, the main keyword for developers is “balance” where simplicity effectively and efficiently meets specific security requirements.
