Audits are systematic processes to evaluate compliance, effectiveness and adequacy of security controls in an organization.

What are Audits?

Audits are systematic and independent processes to evaluate and verify compliance with policies, procedures and security controls, as well as the effectiveness of management systems.

Audit Types

By Scope

  • Internal Audit: Internal audit
  • External Audit: External audit
  • Third-party Audit: Third-party audit
  • Regulatory Audit: Regulatory audit

By Objective

  • Compliance Audit: Compliance audit
  • Security Audit: Security audit
  • IT Audit: IT audit
  • Financial Audit: Financial audit

By Frequency

  • Annual: Annual
  • Quarterly: Quarterly
  • Monthly: Monthly
  • Ad-hoc: Ad-hoc

Audit Process

Phase 1: Planning

  • Scope Definition: Scope definition
  • Objective Setting: Objective setting
  • Team Assembly: Team assembly
  • Timeline Planning: Timeline planning

Phase 2: Execution

  • Data Collection: Data collection
  • Testing: Testing
  • Analysis: Analysis
  • Documentation: Documentation

Phase 3: Reporting

  • Findings Documentation: Findings documentation
  • Recommendations: Recommendations
  • Action Plans: Action plans
  • Reporting: Reports

Standards and Frameworks

ISO 27001

  • Information Security Management: Information security management
  • Risk Management: Risk management
  • Control Implementation: Control implementation
  • Continuous Improvement: Continuous improvement

NIST Framework

  • Identify: Identify
  • Protect: Protect
  • Detect: Detect
  • Respond: Respond
  • Recover: Recover

COBIT

  • Governance: Governance
  • Management: Management
  • Control Objectives: Control objectives
  • Maturity Models: Maturity models

Audit Areas

Security

  • Access Control: Access control
  • Data Protection: Data protection
  • Network Security: Network security
  • Incident Response: Incident response

Compliance

  • Regulatory Compliance: Regulatory compliance
  • Policy Compliance: Policy compliance
  • Procedure Compliance: Procedure compliance
  • Standard Compliance: Standard compliance

Operations

  • Process Effectiveness: Process effectiveness
  • Resource Utilization: Resource utilization
  • Performance: Performance
  • Quality: Quality

Tools

Audit

  • Audit Software: Audit software
  • Assessment Tools: Assessment tools
  • Compliance Tools: Compliance tools
  • Risk Assessment Tools: Risk assessment tools

Documentation

  • Documentation Tools: Documentation tools
  • Reporting Tools: Reporting tools
  • Collaboration Tools: Collaboration tools
  • Project Management: Project management

Use Cases

Compliance

  • Regulatory Compliance: Regulatory compliance
  • Industry Standards: Industry standards
  • Best Practices: Best practices
  • Certification: Certification

Risk Management

  • Risk Assessment: Risk assessment
  • Risk Mitigation: Risk mitigation
  • Risk Monitoring: Risk monitoring
  • Risk Reporting: Risk reporting

Continuous Improvement

  • Process Improvement: Process improvement
  • Performance Optimization: Performance optimization
  • Quality Enhancement: Quality enhancement
  • Efficiency: Efficiency

Best Practices

Preparation

  • Clear Objectives: Clear objectives
  • Stakeholder Engagement: Stakeholder engagement
  • Comprehensive Planning: Comprehensive planning
  • Resource Allocation: Resource allocation

Execution

  • Systematic Approach: Systematic approach
  • Objective Analysis: Objective analysis
  • Thorough Documentation: Thorough documentation
  • Quality Assurance: Quality assurance

Follow-up

  • Action Implementation: Action implementation
  • Progress Monitoring: Progress monitoring
  • Regular Reviews: Regular reviews
  • Continuous Improvement: Continuous improvement

Certifications

Audit

  • CISA: Certified Information Systems Auditor
  • CIA: Certified Internal Auditor
  • CISM: Certified Information Security Manager
  • CISSP: Certified Information Systems Security Professional

Specialized

  • ISO 27001 Lead Auditor: ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
  • PCI DSS Auditor: PCI DSS Auditor
  • SOX Auditor: SOX Auditor
  • HIPAA Auditor: HIPAA Auditor
  • CISO - Role that oversees audits
  • ISO 27001 - Standard that requires audits
  • SGSI - System that is audited
  • ISMS - System that is audited
  • GDPR - Regulation that requires audits
  • CIS Benchmarking - Audit standard
  • BIA - Analysis that is audited
  • GAP Analysis - Assessment that is audited
  • SIEM - System that is audited
  • SOAR - System that is audited
  • Firewall - Device that is audited
  • Logs - Logs that are audited

References