In many organizations, observability and security still operate in separate worlds. That’s a missed opportunity. Precisely at the intersection of these disciplines lies real value. While observability provides insight into system behavior and performance, it can also help identify anomalies and risks at an early stage.
But working together is not always easy. Who gets to see which data? How do you avoid security teams blocking performance analysis? And how do you set up observability without introducing new risks? In this blog, we explore the tension — and show how observability and security can work hand in hand.
The Promise of Observability for Security
Observability was originally focused on performance — monitoring metrics, traces and logs to prevent bottlenecks and outages. But the same data streams can also offer critical value for security:
- Measurement is knowledge: Sudden spikes in CPU or network usage can indicate suspicious behavior.
- Behavioral patterns: Observability helps detect anomalies in user interactions or API calls.
- Faster response: Real-time visibility makes it easier to respond quickly and effectively to incidents.
For security teams, this means better signals, fewer false positives, and more informed decisions.
The Real-World Challenges
Despite the potential, collaboration between observability and security teams often remains limited. In conversations with clients, we keep hearing the same dilemmas:
One recurring question: who gets access to what? Observability reveals a lot. From system performance and user behavior to underlying code and configuration. But that transparency can raise concerns. Security teams want to control access to sensitive data, and that is understandable.
There is also fear that too much insight becomes a risk. What if dashboards or telemetry data are exposed to malicious actors — either due to weak internal controls or insufficiently secured public endpoints?
And then there is trust. Without shared goals and clear ground rules, silos deepen. Security is seen as a blocker, observability as a potential leak.
The result? Fragmented tooling, duplicated monitoring, poor communication, and missed opportunities.
How to Make Observability and Security Work Together
At MeasureWorks, we believe in collaboration with clear rules of engagement. Observability does not have to be a liability, if you design it smartly. We follow three core principles:
1. Start with shared ownership
Bring performance and security teams together around the same question: What do we want to prevent, and what do we need to know when something goes wrong? This reduces blind spots and avoids redundant measures.
2. Set up permissions properly
Use tools like Dynatrace with fine-grained access control. That way, engineers get what they need to do their job — without exposing sensitive data unnecessarily.
3. Embed collaboration into your process
Connect observability to incident response. Let security provide input on dashboards and alerts. And involve performance experts in root cause analysis after security incidents.
MeasureWorks x Observability Governance
At an increasing number of clients, we are helping move observability beyond just performance — positioning it as a strategic enabler of security and control. Together, we design observability practices that comply with the strictest regulations (like DORA), but also directly support incident response and end-to-end visibility.
Our approach? We make insights tangible, give teams a shared foundation, and ensure observability becomes not just a tool — but a trusted source of truth.
Ready for the Next Step?
Curious how observability can strengthen your security posture — without losing control? Let’s talk. We are happy to share examples, dashboards or best practices. Looking for guidance or support in your observability setup? Get in touch.
