Systems Engineering Announces SE PolicyAdvisor: New Service to Help Businesses Defend Against Cyberattacks

Cybersecurity Protection Service Addresses Growing Need for Businesses to Prioritize and Create Effective Security Policies and Business Continuity Plans

PORTLAND, Maine — March 13, 2017 — Systems Engineering, Northern New England’s leading IT strategy integrator and managed IT services provider, announced today the launch of SE PolicyAdvisor, a service-based solution that helps businesses to prioritize and create effective security policies and business continuity plans. These foundational documents help companies build strong corporate security cultures focused on protecting their information technology assets and customer data.

A recent Ponemon Institute study (2016 State of Cybersecurity in Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses) revealed that there is an acute and growing national need for businesses to create effective security policies and continuity plans and that many businesses are unprepared to do so. Only a small number of the companies surveyed – 14 percent – ranked their companies’ ability to mitigate cyber risks, vulnerabilities and attacks as effective, and 69 percent of businesses reported they did not have the in-house expertise adequate for achieving a strong cybersecurity posture.

“It’s clear that there is a growing urgency for businesses to develop a strong security culture within their organizations – and that process starts with creating strong security policies or plans on how a company plans to protect its information technology assets,” said Adam Victor, Systems Engineering’s Director of Professional Services.

SE PolicyAdvisor delivers the following:

• Information Security Policy defining the standards and processes your firm uses to secure your network and data.
• Technology Acceptable Use Agreement articulating acceptable employee uses of your firm’s technology, in addition to the consequences of misuse.
• Business Continuity Plan that demonstrates to your clients, shareholders and partners that your business is prepared for the worst.
• Tabletop Business Continuity Exercise to challenge the integrity of your plan in a safe environment, with a written recap advising opportunities for improvement.

“These comprehensive policies and actions set the stage for organizations not only to comply with their regulated responsibilities, but also to lay the foundation for a stronger security culture within their organization,” Victor said.

According to Victor, “Security policies and continuity plans are too-often created as point-in-time solutions – in some cases for the sole purpose of “checking a box” for an audit.  That approach degrades their value to the organization. When supposedly ‘living documents’ are created this way, they typically end up gathering dust on a shelf some place, because they don’t offer tactical or strategic value – they’re just placeholders for your next audit.”

By offering SE PolicyAdvisor, Systems Engineering offers its customers a recurring service model that ensures security policy and business continuity documents remain relevant while simultaneously creating a sustained and consistent focus on improving both network security and employee behavior. “Unfortunately, safeguarding a firm’s most precious information assets is not just a technical matter, and the most vulnerable layer remains the employees. Enhancing a firm’s focus and attentiveness on security and continuity – at the policy level – elevates the dialogue and raises the cultural bar for security awareness. Ultimately, SE PolicyAdvisor could prevent an employee from making that one careless click that exposes a company to cyberattack and to potential serious collateral damage,” explained Victor.

Victor concluded, “We’re excited to bring SE PolicyAdvisor to the market.  It’s a great intersection of work that our clients don’t always prioritize, but that we can deliver with excellence.  That’s a win-win.”

To learn more about this new service, click here and fill out the form, or call 888.624.6737.