A cybersecurity program without well-defined policies and procedures is like a building without a foundation. You might have the best security technology money can buy, but without clear policies that govern how that technology is used, who is responsible for what, and how your organization responds to incidents, your security posture is fundamentally fragile. According to the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, the majority of breaches involve some element of human error or policy failure, whether it is an employee clicking a phishing link, a system administrator failing to patch a critical vulnerability, or a lack of access controls that allows an attacker to move freely through a network.

Petronella Technology Group helps Research Triangle businesses develop, implement, and maintain the cybersecurity policies and procedures that form the backbone of an effective security program. Our policy development services are grounded in industry frameworks including NIST, ISO 27001, and CIS Controls, and are tailored to your specific industry, regulatory requirements, and organizational culture.

Why Policies and Procedures Matter

Cybersecurity policies and procedures serve multiple critical functions:

• Compliance: Every major compliance framework, including HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOC 2, CMMC, and NIST 800-171, requires documented security policies and procedures. Without them, you cannot pass an audit or achieve certification.
• Consistency: Policies ensure that security practices are applied consistently across the organization, regardless of which employee or department is involved.
• Accountability: Clear policies define roles, responsibilities, and expectations, ensuring that everyone in the organization understands their part in maintaining security.
• Risk reduction: Well-crafted policies address the human and procedural factors that technology alone cannot control, reducing the likelihood of security incidents caused by human error or negligence.
• Legal protection: Documented policies and procedures demonstrate due diligence and can provide legal protection in the event of a breach, regulatory action, or litigation.
• Incident response: Procedures provide step-by-step guidance for responding to security incidents, ensuring that your team can act quickly and effectively under pressure.

Our Policy and Procedure Services

Requirements and Documentation

We develop comprehensive security policy documentation tailored to your organization and aligned with applicable compliance frameworks. Our documentation services cover the full range of security policies, from acceptable use and access control to incident response and business continuity.

Standard Operating Procedures

We create detailed, step-by-step standard operating procedures that translate high-level policies into practical, actionable instructions your team can follow. SOPs ensure consistency and quality in critical security operations like patch management, user provisioning, backup verification, and incident response.

Core Policy Areas We Address

• Information Security Policy: The overarching policy that establishes the organization's commitment to security and defines the scope and governance of the security program.
• Acceptable Use Policy: Defines how employees may use organizational technology resources, including computers, email, internet, and mobile devices.
• Access Control Policy: Establishes requirements for user authentication, authorization, account management, and privileged access.
• Data Classification and Handling Policy: Defines how data is classified based on sensitivity and establishes handling requirements for each classification level.
• Incident Response Policy: Defines the organization's approach to detecting, reporting, containing, and recovering from security incidents.
• Password and Authentication Policy: Establishes requirements for password complexity, rotation, multi-factor authentication, and credential management.
• Remote Work and BYOD Policy: Addresses security requirements for remote workers and personal devices used for business purposes.
• Vendor Management Policy: Establishes requirements for assessing and managing the security posture of third-party vendors and service providers.
• Change Management Policy: Defines the process for requesting, reviewing, approving, and implementing changes to systems and infrastructure.
• Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Policy: Establishes the organization's approach to maintaining operations and recovering from disruptive events.
• Physical Security Policy: Addresses physical access controls, visitor management, and physical security of IT assets.
• Security Awareness Training Policy: Defines requirements for employee security awareness training, including frequency, content, and accountability.

Our Policy Development Process

Assessment: We begin by understanding your organization, your industry, your compliance requirements, and your current policy landscape. We identify gaps between your existing policies and what is required by applicable frameworks and best practices.

Development: We draft policies and procedures that are tailored to your organization's size, culture, and risk profile. Our policies are written in clear, understandable language, not dense legalese, because policies only work if people actually read and follow them.

Review and Approval: We work with your leadership team to review each policy, ensure it aligns with business objectives, and obtain formal approval. We address any concerns and make revisions as needed.

Implementation: We help you communicate and deploy new policies across your organization, including employee training on policy requirements and expectations.

Maintenance: Policies must be reviewed and updated regularly to remain current with evolving threats, technologies, and regulatory requirements. We provide ongoing policy maintenance services to ensure your documentation stays current.

Build Your Policy Foundation Today

Strong cybersecurity starts with strong policies. Petronella Technology Group helps Triangle businesses develop the policy and procedure foundation that effective security programs require.

Contact us today at 919-348-4912 to discuss your policy and procedure needs. We will help you build the documentation foundation that supports your security program, satisfies your compliance requirements, and protects your business.