What type of security policy is aimed at directing employees in maintaining and configuring systems?

The correct answer is centered on the system-specific security policy, which focuses on providing guidelines and directives for employees regarding the configuration, maintenance, and security of particular systems within an organization. This type of policy is essential because it outlines how to manage specific systems in a secure manner, ensuring that employees understand their responsibilities and the best practices necessary to protect those systems from vulnerabilities.

A system-specific security policy typically includes the required security measures, configurations, and maintenance procedures that are tailored to specific technologies or systems, allowing organizations to mitigate risks associated with system misconfigurations or improper maintenance. By setting these guidelines, the organization ensures that employees are aware of their roles in keeping the systems secure.

Other types of policies mentioned, such as the user awareness policy, focus more on educating employees on security best practices and threats, while the incident response policy outlines how to react to and manage security incidents. Physical security policy pertains to protecting physical assets and environments rather than the configuration and maintenance of information systems. Thus, the system-specific security policy is uniquely designed to address the nuances of system maintenance and configuration, making it the best choice for the question posed.