The research efforts in the field of security strengthens its relevance in conditions of crises, which are not lacking in modern times. Returning to fundamental questions such as why security is important and what makes it difficult to create an acceptable level of security allows, on the one hand, to reveal some erroneous theses, and on the other hand, to add perspectives in the search for rational answers. The material draws a parallel between two types of security balances, defined as productive and counter-productive. Based on the comparison, challenges to finding balanced solutions to security issues viewed as multifactorial functions are presented.