Yes, but the misunderstanding was that an option like "Permissive Security" wouldn't exist - that you would have no possibility of anything but MacOS. It does exist, but Apple's just not going to help you with that.

Also, to unlock your Mac: 1. `csrutil disable` to disable SIP 2. `sudo spctl --master-disable` to disable Gatekeeper and allow apps from anywhere

And finally, the whole thing about MacOS Spying on every app you opened and bypassing VPNs - turns out, both stories had some fake news to them. It was actually the developer certificate (not the actual app), and Apple has announced they are building a new protocol with more failsafes to prevent a repeat of the previous incidents. As for the "bypassing VPNs," that's actually not true at all. System-wide VPNs still do work in Big Sur, it's just that the API that Little Snitch used for app-specific traffic redirects doesn't work on system apps (although system apps still respect system-wide VPN settings).