Here’s why we’re embracing the blue duck!
The security industry isn’t exactly known for being exciting or innovative. If we’re being honest, security fog technology hasn’t really changed in decades. At its core, we’re still using big heaters that vaporise a liquid into fog—the same basic process that’s been around for 30 years. That’s just the reality of physics. The technology works, and it works well. But if we were only focused on the hardware, we’d be stuck selling the same thing repeatedly, just with a slightly shinier box.
That’s where creativity comes in.
Just because we work in a technical field doesn’t mean we can’t experiment, push boundaries, or do things differently. If the tech isn’t evolving, then the way we use it, think about it, and integrate it into the world absolutely should.
A while back, I was reminiscing about a scene from a film I watched as a kid—Billy Madison. It’s not exactly highbrow cinema, but there’s one moment that stuck with me far longer than I ever expected. Billy, played by Adam Sandler, is in a grade-school classroom, working on a crayon drawing of a blue duck. When asked why he made it blue, his answer is simple:
“I drew the duck blue because I’ve never seen a blue duck before, and to be honest with you, I wanted to see a blue duck.”
That throwaway line—delivered in a goofy comedy—somehow summed something up. It’s okay to make things just because you want to see them exist. You don’t need permission. You don’t need to justify it. It’s a philosophy that Smoke Screen are proud to employ.
Finding New Ways to Push Forward
That’s why we don’t just make security fog generators—we rethink how security itself is approached. It’s why we challenge the way performance is measured in the industry. It’s why we call out the nonsense of outdated metrics and regulations that don’t actually help anyone. And it’s why we developed Sentience, our cloud-based monitoring platform.
Sentience takes something that’s been fundamentally the same for decades and gives it a whole new dimension. It’s not about making the fog itself better—it’s about making security smarter, more connected, more aware, more proactive. It gives users real-time insight into their security systems, turning standalone fog generators into a cohesive, monitored network that reacts to threats before they escalate. In short, it’s the difference between just making fog… and making fog that thinks.
Draw the Duck Blue
It’s easy to assume that creativity belongs to artists, writers, or musicians. But it belongs everywhere—even in security. Even in an industry where the core technology hasn’t changed in decades, there’s always room to experiment, to challenge, to push forward in ways no one else has thought of. Sometimes that means drawing inspiration from something new. Other times, it means making something completely from scratch, inspired by nothing at all.
And sometimes, it means drawing the duck blue—just because you want to see it that way.
*As a side note, although we didn’t expect it, people are feeling the need to share images of their blue ducks with us. And, we dont mind this at all! So please share your images of your blue duck with us!
