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Playbook 21 of 22 · Secure by Default · Guided Protection

Transparent security posture

A clear dashboard light: are we in a safe state, and how do we get back if not?

Guided ProtectionSecure by Default
CyberForte's summary · not ENISA text

In plain words

People weaken security by accident all the time, usually without knowing. This playbook asks you to make the security state of your product visible, like a warning light on a car dashboard.

Define what "secure" looks like, show clearly when the product drifts into a weaker state, warn in plain language when someone switches a protection off, and give them a simple button or path to return to the safe baseline.

Picture this: "Remote access is open to the internet. This lets anyone try to log in. Turn it off?" is far more useful than a tiny toggle buried in a settings page.

Your turn

Practical checklist

A short, practical version for small teams, written by CyberForte from the ENISA playbook. The full ENISA checklist, evidence list and release gate are in the original text below. Your ticks are saved only in this browser.

Original text · unchanged

The full ENISA playbook

Source: ENISA Secure by Design and Default Playbooks, 21-transparent-security-posture.md, European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Reproduced word for word; only converted from Markdown to this page.

Transparent security posture

Principle

(secure by default)

Make the system’s security posture visible and understandable. Clearly inform users when security protections are weakened and provide a simple path to return to a secure baseline.

Objective

Reduce risk arising from accidental or uninformed misconfiguration by ensuring that users understand the security state of the system and can easily correct insecure settings.

Checklist

Define security states and baseline

  • Define the secure baseline and any degraded or unsupported security states.
  • Document which configurations cause a transition between states.

Expose current security status

  • Indicate clearly whether the system is operating in a secure or degraded security state.

Warn on changes that reduce security

  • Show clear warnings when users disable security features or apply configurations that increase risk.

Explain impact in plain language

  • Explain to the user the security implications of a change in non-technical terms.

Provide a simple path to recovery

  • Offer the user a simple interaction path to return to the secure baseline.

Minimum evidence

  • Security states defined: documentation identifies the secure baseline and degraded or insecure states, including the configuration changes that trigger such states.
  • Security status visible: screenshot, CLI output or documentation clearly shows the current security state.
  • Warnings triggered on risk increase: screenshots, prompts or test evidence shows warnings when users apply security-reducing changes.
  • Impact explained clearly: warning messages, screenshots or documentation demonstrates that security implications are described in plain, non-technical language.
  • Baseline restore available: screenshots, commands or configuration shows a simple action exists to return to the secure baseline.

Release gate

  • [ ] Secure baseline and degraded security states are defined and documented
  • [ ] Current security state is clearly visible to the user
  • [ ] Users are warned when security protections are reduced
  • [ ] Security impact is explained in clear, non-technical language
  • [ ] A simple action can be taken to restore the secure baseline
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