Across the Veil with the Fear Dearg: Trust, Neurodiversity, and the Otherworld of Human Security

Cybersecurity rarely fails because a system is weak; it fails because people misunderstand each other. This session explores trust as a measurable human security control by bringing together research on neurodiversity as an evolutionary cognitive difference, OSINT-style verification, and the storytelling power of Irish folklore.

At the centre stands the Fear Dearg, the red-capped trickster who appears wherever ambiguity, unclear ownership, or shifting expectations take hold. In modern security teams, he shows up in vague instructions, half-shared context, poorly defined roles, and assumptions no one stops to test. These are the organisational “thin places,” where the veil between intention and perception weakens and small errors transform into larger risks.

Opposing him is the murdúchann, the perceptive Irish sea-folk who sense hidden currents beneath the surface. They symbolise the strengths of neurodivergent colleagues, who are extremely highly effective at tasks such as anomaly spotting, deep pattern recognition, and ethical consistency—yet who may struggle when environments lack clarity, predictability, or stable communication rituals.

The session introduces a practical Trust Engine that explains how clarity, consistency, transparency, and shared context can be operationalised to improve collaboration and reduce cognitive strain. Drawing on The Trust Project’s Trust Indicators®, we adapt principles like evidence transparency, method disclosure, role clarity, and organisational accountability to internal security work, showing how these practices help “thicken the veil” and reduce the conditions in which modern tricksters thrive.

Blending humanist ethics, OSINT techniques, and a touch of folklore, this talk gives attendees a usable framework for strengthening trust, communication, and neuroinclusive practice—ultimately improving resilience when pressure rises and decisions matter most.