What is the best way to ensure systems engineering meets security requirements?

1 Adopt a security mindset

The first step to ensure systems engineering meets security requirements is to adopt a security mindset throughout the system life cycle. This means that you consider security as a key quality attribute, not an afterthought or a separate task. You should identify and analyze potential threats, vulnerabilities, and impacts of your system, and define security objectives and measures. You should also involve security experts and stakeholders in your system development and review process, and communicate security issues and decisions clearly and regularly.

3 Use secure engineering methods and tools

The third step to ensure systems engineering meets security requirements is to use secure engineering methods and tools that support your system design and implementation. Secure engineering methods and tools help you to apply security principles and techniques, such as encryption, authentication, authorization, and auditing, to your system components and interfaces. They also help you to test and verify your system security, and to detect and resolve security issues. Some examples of secure engineering methods and tools are threat modeling, secure coding, static and dynamic analysis, and penetration testing.

4 Monitor and update system security

The fourth step to ensure systems engineering meets security requirements is to monitor and update your system security throughout its operation and maintenance. This means that you collect and analyze security data and metrics, such as logs, alerts, and incidents, to evaluate your system security performance and identify any gaps or weaknesses. You should also implement security patches and updates, and conduct periodic security audits and reviews, to address any changes or new threats that may affect your system security.

5 Learn from security incidents and feedback

The fifth step to ensure systems engineering meets security requirements is to learn from security incidents and feedback that may occur during your system life cycle. This means that you investigate and document the root causes, impacts, and lessons learned from any security incidents that affect your system or its users. You should also solicit and incorporate feedback from your system stakeholders, such as customers, users, operators, and regulators, to understand their security needs and expectations, and to improve your system security accordingly.

6 Continuously improve system security

The sixth and final step to ensure systems engineering meets security requirements is to continuously improve your system security based on your monitoring, learning, and feedback activities. This means that you implement corrective and preventive actions, and make necessary changes or enhancements, to your system design, implementation, and operation, to address any security issues or gaps, and to meet any new security requirements or standards. You should also update and refine your security objectives and measures, and communicate and document your security improvements and achievements.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?