Adaptive security: strategic principles for complex socio-technical systems

Abstract Contemporary political and strategic challenges expose the limitations of the traditional security paradigm in socio-technical systems, which focuses on threat prediction, resistance to change and restoration to prior states. This article offers a conceptual perspective on adaptive security in complex socio-technical systems. It introduces the concept of transmorphance—the ability of complex systems to undergo directed architectural transformation while preserving core functions and systemic identity. Building on an interdisciplinary analysis of adaptation in complex systems, it proposes a conceptual model of adaptive security applicable to a wide range of socio-technical contexts. The framework comprises six strategic components aimed at systematically enhancing adaptive potential: entropy management, stimulation of evolutionary dynamics, resource base expansion, development of transformation capabilities, strengthening of self-governance and optimization of inter-systemic integration. Unlike traditional security models oriented towards recovery, transmorphance enables systems to evolve proactively under conditions of instability and uncertainty. The framework offers practical applicability across governance levels—from strategic responses to hybrid threats within the sphere of national security to the long-term resilience planning of local communities facing high-impact stochastic disruptions. The findings offer a scientific foundation for designing systems capable of leveraging uncertainty as a driver of directed evolution in turbulent environments.