What is Systems Security Engineering?

Understanding Systems Security Engineering

An interdisciplinary approach to designing and building trustworthy computer systems using engineering principles. Systems security engineering is a specialized engineering discipline that focuses on integrating security considerations throughout the system development lifecycle applying scientific and engineering principles to identify vulnerabilities and implement controls that will protect systems against threats. This discipline ensures security requirements are addressed from the earliest stages of design rather than retrofitted later. Systems security engineering is described in standards like NIST SP 800-160 and ISO/IEC 15288. Organizations implement systems security engineering through dedicated security engineering roles architectural risk analysis security requirements engineering supply chain risk management and security testing methodologies. For example a defense contractor might employ systems security engineers who work alongside systems engineers to specify security requirements develop secure architectures identify potential attack vectors verify security control effectiveness and ensure that security objectives are achieved in the final system design. Related terms Security architecture Security requirements engineering Hardware security Secure design Architectural risk analysis Defense in depth Supply chain security Security controls.