The July 2025 issue of INSIGHT, the systems engineering practitioners’ magazine, is out now!

This issue tackles a critical and timely theme: "Staying Alive in a Hostile Predatory Environment – Systems Need Engineered with Attitude." It emphasizes the crucial role of security in systems engineering, highlighting that it's not just an add-on, but a foundational element of system design, on par with performance and safety.

Some article highlights include: 

• "Attitudes" by Rick Dove kicks off the issue, exploring how digital controls and Internet connectivity have created a hostile environment where organized crime and nation-states exploit vulnerabilities. He introduces the concept of systems with "attitude," featuring perpetual security systems driven by vigilance and resilience.
• INCOSE’s Systems Security Working Group's "Using Systems Thinking to Advance Security in the Future of Systems Engineering (FuSE), a Progress Report" details a needs-oriented, loss-driven, capability-based analysis for defining security strategies that become functional requirements, fostering stakeholder alignment and effective security tactics.
• Beth Wilson's "Guide to Security Needs and Requirements – Making Security a Functional Requirement" introduces a joint project by the Systems Security Working Group (SSWG) and Requirements Working Group (RWG). This guide aims to help practitioners collaboratively define security needs and functional requirements, ensuring secure systems in operation.
• "When Malicious Actors Control Your Subsystems: A Systems Engineering Approach to Functional Perseverance" by David Hetherington and Ivan Taylor discusses using STPA and system dynamics (SD) to enhance security-aware system engineering, focusing on functional perseverance—the ability of a system to maintain operational integrity despite adversarial threats.
• And so much more! Check out the full issue to deepen your understanding of engineered systems in hostile environments.

INCOSE members receive complimentary access to INSIGHT as a benefit of their membership. We encourage you to explore this insightful issue and share it with your colleagues.

Enjoy!