How To Perform Your Own IT Audit

Audits are not a process that many businesses relish – but they are incredibly insightful and useful. They have also become increasingly vital in the context of IT security, as the range and breadth of threats has continued to expand. If you’re regularly conducting an IT audit then you’ll be able to establish a baseline of security so that you can track your business’ security performance. You’ll also have a much better chance of ensuring compliance and being able to establish the reality of your security situation – as well as a robust strategy going forwards.

4 Steps to Performing an IT Audit:

1. Establish the Scope of the Audit

Getting clear about what the audit needs to cover is an essential first step, whether that is general security or something like a specific network audit. Before you do this you will need to establish a security perimeter around all your most valuable assets so that you know what the audit needs to focus on. This will help you to avoid wasting time too, as you know you’ll need to audit everything within the perimeter but nothing outside of it.

2. What are the Threats that your Data Faces?

There are lots of different types of threats to consider and it’s vital to quantify each one in terms of how big a threat this is for you, as well as the impact it’s likely to have on the bottom line of your business. When you’re making a list of the various threats that could be a problem don’t forget to cover all the most obvious ones, such as malware and hacking attacks (some of the biggest threats that most organisations face today) as well as ransomware, which is the type of malware that tends to be most frequently used right now. It’s also important to consider the impact of natural disasters and physical breaches, as well as what a malicious insider could do. Phishing and social engineering are also key data threats, as well as simple human error.

3. Use the List of Threats to Calculate the Risks to your Business

This process of risk assessment is designed to help your organisation allocate a potential cost to each of these threats so that you can prioritise those that are the most likely to do damage. There are a number of factors that will be key here, including your past experience, the general cyber security landscape and the current threats that your competition – and the wider industry – face.

4. Create an IT Audit Checklist of Controls that Need to be Implemented

Look at the controls you currently have (and whether they need to be revised) as well as any controls that are missing. Some controls to consider include restricting access to physical servers, regularly backing up data, firewalls and anti-virus controls, anti-spam filters and access control.

Need Help Performing an IT Audit?

If you’re going to invest time and resources into performing an IT audit then it’s important to get this process right. The results could help protect your organisation for many years to come. Get in touch with S.A.D.S. Ltd, and get invaluable assistance in performing an IT audit.