How cybersecurity audits are important for businesses and it’s types
Cyber Security audits give the 360-degree security check view of an organization or a company. These days all the well know companies like Tata, Google, IBM, Microsoft and Master Card etc. do their audits with the help of their internal team (Internal Auditor) and in some cases external team (External Auditor).
Also, it’s important for businesses of all sizes as they can help identify security gaps in an organization’s defence and ensure that possible steps can be taken to mitigate those risks and gaps.
Why does an organization do Cyber Security Audits?
A cybersecurity audit’s goal is to provide an assessment of an organization’s security posture to management, vendors, and customers.
Also, regulatory compliance is the main reason why businesses do Cyber Security Audits.
As well as it helps in boosting credibility, identifying weak areas in security systems, protecting endpoints, investigating how data flow, social engineering audits, providing feedback on new security policies, and incident management.
Types of Cyber Security/IT Audits?
There are several different types of cybersecurity audits, each has its strengths and weaknesses.
1. Compliance audit
A cybersecurity audit covers a comprehensive analysis and review of the IT infrastructure of a business.
It is necessary for businesses like finance, retail, healthcare, or government who must comply with certain regulations.
Compliance audits are to show that a company meets the laws required to conduct business safely in its sector.
Without compliance audits, a company can be susceptible to fines according to the law which can lead to clients leaving to work with companies who are fully compliant with required standards.
Cybersecurity compliance audits will examine if regulations are being followed, access controls and company policies.
2. Vulnerability assessment
Vulnerability assessment works to identify weaknesses and possible risks, however, more specifically looks into a business’s security procedures, design, and implementation of internal controls. A vulnerability assessment will reveal areas that could be exploited to harm an organization.
Vulnerability assessment can be performed on a specific software, website, mobile application and network etc.
3. Risk assessment
Risk assessments focus on identifying potential threats and assessing their likelihood. Risk assessments may be useful in identifying potential security problems. In addition, it is a more expensive and time-taking process than other audits.
4. Penetration testing
A penetration test is also known as pen test, these are authorized attacks performed on a computer system or network to evaluate its security.
Penetration testers use many techniques, tools, and processes as attackers to find and demonstrate the business impacts of weaknesses in a system and network.
Penetration tests usually perform different types of attacks that could threaten a business.
It examines whether a system is robust enough to defend against attacks from authenticated and unauthenticated positions, as well as a range of system roles and with different privileges.
References:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penetration_test
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_security_audit
4. https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/definition/compliance-audit
6. https://www.indusface.com/blog/what-is-cyber-security-audit-and-how-it-is-helpful-for-your-business/
