Competencies: Security > Security Architecture
Security Architecture
Body of Knowledge
| Topic | Description | Relevance | Career Tracks |
|---|---|---|---|
Defense in Depth |
Layered security controls, redundancy, fail-secure design, multiple control types (preventive, detective, corrective). |
Critical |
Security Architect, Security Engineer |
Zero Trust Architecture |
Never trust/always verify, identity-centric, micro-segmentation, least privilege, continuous verification, BeyondCorp model. |
Critical |
Security Architect, Network Architect |
Network Segmentation |
VLAN-based, firewall-based, SDN-based, micro-segmentation, compliance zones, PCI scope reduction. |
Critical |
Security Architect, Network Architect |
Secure Design Principles |
Least privilege, separation of duties, defense in depth, fail-secure, economy of mechanism, complete mediation. |
Critical |
Security Architect, Application Security |
Enterprise Security Architecture |
SABSA, TOGAF security, security domains, capability mapping, security controls catalog, maturity models. |
High |
Security Architect, Enterprise Architect |
Firewall Architecture |
Zone design, rule base management, policy optimization, next-gen firewall features, east-west vs north-south. |
High |
Security Architect, Network Security Engineer |
Identity Architecture |
Identity fabric, federation design, authentication flows, authorization models (RBAC, ABAC), directory services. |
High |
Security Architect, IAM Engineer |
Data Security Architecture |
Classification, encryption at rest/transit, DLP, data masking, tokenization, key management architecture. |
High |
Security Architect, Data Security Engineer |
Cloud Security Architecture |
Landing zones, account structure, network topology, centralized security services, multi-cloud considerations. |
High |
Cloud Security Architect, Security Architect |
Security Monitoring Architecture |
Log collection, SIEM placement, network taps, visibility gaps, retention requirements, correlation strategies. |
High |
Security Architect, SOC Architect |
Resilience and Recovery |
HA design, failover, backup architecture, DR sites, recovery testing, RTO/RPO alignment. |
High |
Security Architect, Infrastructure Architect |
Secure DevOps Architecture |
Pipeline security, secrets management integration, policy as code, automated compliance, shift-left controls. |
High |
Security Architect, DevSecOps Lead |
Personal Status
| Topic | Level | Evidence | Active Projects | Gaps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Firewall Rules & Policy |
Advanced |
VyOS zone-based firewall, pfSense rules, Catalyst ACLs, ISE dACLs; defense-in-depth layering across network segments |
No next-gen firewall (Palo Alto, Fortinet) policy management |