Security Architect
Design security from the ground up. Learn threat modeling, security design principles, cloud-native architecture patterns, and how to communicate risk to stakeholders.
Who this path is for
This path is for experienced security engineers, cloud architects and senior analysts who are ready to design systems instead of only operating them. You should have several years of hands-on security or infrastructure experience. The target role is a security architect who shapes designs early, makes trade offs visible and gets stakeholders to agree on risk.
What you'll be able to do
- Run a threat model with a method such as STRIDE and turn the results into concrete design requirements.
- Apply design principles like defense in depth, least privilege and secure defaults to real architecture decisions.
- Choose cloud native security patterns for identity, network isolation, data protection and logging.
- Write architecture decision records that explain the risk, the options considered and why one was chosen.
- Present risk to executives and product owners in terms of business impact and cost, not tool names.
What you'll cover
Threat Modeling
Structure your security thinking with STRIDE, PASTA, and Attack Trees to find design flaws before attackers do.
Security Design Principles
Defense in depth, separation of duties, fail-safe defaults, and economy of mechanism: the timeless principles that underpin every good security design.
Cloud-Native Security Architecture
Design secure-by-default cloud architectures using Well-Architected Frameworks, landing zones, and workload isolation.
Risk Communication & Stakeholder Alignment
Translate technical risk into business language. Present security architecture decisions to boards, CISOs, and product teams.
Knowledge Check
Related certifications
Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect Expert
The Microsoft architect level exam, focused on security strategy, Zero Trust and design across Microsoft cloud services.
Free SC-100 course →ISC2 CISSP
A broad, vendor neutral credential that appears in many senior security and architecture job postings.
AI security for architects
Architects are increasingly asked to review AI features. The free course is written with architects in mind.
Free AI Security course →Frequently asked questions
How long does the Security Architect path take?
About 15 hours across the four topic areas and the quiz. Applying threat modeling to a system you already know is the best way to practice.
Is this path suitable for beginners?
No. It is marked Advanced and assumes you already understand identity, networking and cloud security. Start with the Cloud Security Engineer or Zero Trust Architect paths if you need that base.
What job titles does this path lead to?
Relevant titles include security architect, cloud security architect, enterprise security architect and principal security engineer.
Path Summary
- Level
- Advanced
- Estimated time
- 15 hours
- Topics
- 4
- Resources
- 12
- Quiz questions
- 10
- Passing score
- 70% (7/10)