The digital age, we are living in now, provides us with a plethora of benefits. However, that doesn’t matter that there are no obstacles. Since the majority of businesses are now online, it is not uncommon to feel insecure. In a world where cyberattacks are so frequent and the technology behind them is so advanced, it’s no wonder that a lot of businesses invest a lot of money into this kind of protection.
Therefore, if you have any uncertainties about the security your IT infrastructure has, you should look for the best solution to these problems. One of the ways you can resolve these problems most efficiently is to choose an IT security audit. It needs to be said that they are widely different from risk management audits, which can leave the data unprotected.
The approach we are talking about has a completely different modus operandi, and you cannot expect your data to be unprotected in this capacity. On Digital Fire, you can read why these are so crucial in a wide array of different situations. Therefore, we would like to provide you with this guide of ours, which will show you IT security audit’s modus operandi and why they are so important.
What is it?
The first thing you will need to know about IT security audits is that there are two main approaches in its modus operandi, automated, and manual. When we’re discussing the manual approach, it needs to be said that it means that an internal or external auditor conducts in reviewing access controls, vulnerability scans, and handling interviews with the staff members and candidates for a certain position.
An automated approach means that the organization will be provided with reports, which will be done over a certain period. However, you shouldn’t make the mistake of believing that incorporating this type of data is the only thing these automated processes provide you with. Plus, you can expect them to respond by providing solutions to a wide array of different issues.
How Does it Work?
We are talking about the process that inspects all the most important aspects of the IT system within a company. Through this inspection, the management staff will be provided with crucial information about how each part of the company is complement with the standards. By doing that, it is much easier to understand what are the parts that need to be updated to the latest standards of security.
It means that the person who has handled this task needs to be well-informed about all the latest updates in this field. While this may seem like a pretty straightforward process that repeats itself over and over, it needs to be said that this is not true. Therefore, we would like to provide you with some of the crucial steps in this process.
What are the Steps?
Let’s see what are the most important steps in this IT security audit process.
1. Defining the Goals
Before this process can be as effective as you need it to be, you need to define the goals. That way, you will need what are the most important points. Plus, clarifying the business value of every objective is something that will help you to make them compliment the objectives your company has. Not only that, having a focus will help you to have a much better understanding of the process itself.
2. Plan out the Process
The next step we believe is crucial in creating the plan that will make the process as smooth as it can be. Simply said, including a couple of variables will surely provide a crucial insight into the situation. Point out what is the most important aspects you want to inspect and what is considered proper and what isn’t. Make sure that all the members of the team who work in this field have all the information.
3. The Actual Process
Now that you have decided on the most important points in this process, you should start an IT security audit. Usually, this means performing scans in fields like database servers, file-sharing services, and SaaS applications. While you are waiting for the results, you should think about talking with other employees and see how much they know about security concerns, or even better, provide them with a lecture.
4. Inspect the Results
At the end of the process, you will have all the reports in your hands. Use all of these documents and put them inside one, large report. After that, it is handled by the director or business owner. Inside this one, that person will have a complete insight into all the potential vulnerabilities of the current system. Also, it will consist of many solutions to these problems.
What are the Benefits?
Now that we had a look at the complete process, let’s see what are the benefits.
1. Points out the Weaknesses
Every digital system is compiled of a plethora of different elements and features. With so many of them being involved in the process, it can be quite hard to understand where problems lie. IT security audit will provide you with all of these points and what you need to do to overcome them.
2. Provides Crucial Solutions
Data is the most vital resource every business has. Therefore, it needs to be secured by implementing efficient measures of protection. After the weak points have been discovered, the report will provide the staff with some solutions that can help them protect it even more efficiently.
3. Thorough Inspection
Many people don’t understand how effective this process can be if done properly of course. IT systems are complex and it is not easy to have an insight into all the segments. IT security audit will do just that. It should be performed at least twice a year.
To Conclude
Executing an IT security audit from time to time can provide you with numerous benefits. However, you need to be aware of all the elements in this process to do it successfully. Here, you can take a look at the most significant ones.