System Security Plan

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What Does System Security Plan Mean?

A system security plan is a formal plan that defines the plan of action to secure a computer or information system.

It provides a systematic approach and techniques for protecting a computer from being used by unauthorized users, guards against worms and viruses as well as any other incident/event/process that can jeopardize the underlying system’s security.

Techopedia Explains System Security Plan

A system security plan is primarily implemented in organizational IT environments. It can be a proposed plan to protect and control an information system, or a plan that is already in implementation. It is usually created using the organization/IT environment security policy as the benchmark.

Typically a system security plan includes:

  • List of authorized personnel/users that can access the system
  • Level of access/tiered access, or what each user is allowed and not allowed to do on the system
  • Access control methods, or how users will access the system (user ID/password, digital card, biometrics)
  • Strengths and weaknesses of the system and how weaknesses are handled
  • May also include system backup/restoration procedures

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.

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