Cyber Security Audit

As organisations continue to embark on their digital transformation, more sensitive data is at risk of cyber threats than ever before. To ensure that data and other digital systems are not vulnerable to threats, organisations need to routinely test their cyber security posture to determine any weak points or other vulnerabilities.

This routine probing of an organisation’s digital systems and services is what’s known as a cyber security audit. In this article, we will take a look at everything you need to know about cyber security audits, including what they are, the benefits of performing them, and the frequency with which you should perform them.

What is a Cyber Security Audit?

A cyber security audit is a comprehensive assessment of an organisation’s information systems, policies, and procedures to evaluate their vulnerabilities and effectiveness against potential threats. The aim of a cyber security audit is to identify weaknesses, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, and make recommendations to enhance the organisation’s overall cyber security posture.

For organisations that are required to be in compliance with regulatory requirements, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), cyber security compliance audits aim to ensure all elements of the organisation’s security posture are in adherence to requisite regulations.

Benefits of a Cyber Security Audit

Information security audits are integral to any organisation’s cyber security posture. Therefore, the regular administration of a cyber security audit comes with a number of benefits. Five common benefits realised by organisations that perform these audits include:

Identify and address security vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.
Ensure adherence to regulatory and industry standards, thus reducing the risk of legal or financial penalties.
Improve overall cyber security measures and policies, rendering the organisation more resilient to threats.
Increase trust among clients, partners, and key stakeholders through demonstrating a commitment to security.
Optimise resources through the prioritisation of security investments.

What Does a Cyber Security Audit Cover?

As cyber security audits are intended to be comprehensive reviews of an organisation’s IT infrastructure, policies, and procedures, they can cover a considerable amount. Key components of a cyber security audit include:

Asset Inventory – Identifies the hardware, software, and data assets within the organisation.

Risk Assessment – Evaluates any potential threats and vulnerabilities to the organisation’s IT systems.

Policy Review – Assesses the efficiency and effectiveness of existing security policies and controls.

Compliance Check – Ensures adherence to relevant laws, regulations, and industry standards.

Penetration Testing – Simulates cyber-attacks to identify exploitable vulnerabilities.

User Access Review – Examines user access permissions and controls to ensure appropriate access levels.

Security Controls – Evaluates the implementation of and effectiveness of technical, administrative, and other security controls.

Incident Response Evaluation– Assess the organisation’s ability to identify, respond to and recover from security incidents.

Reporting – Provides a detailed report of findings, including detected vulnerabilities, compliance gaps, and recommendations for improvement.

Follow-up – Monitors the implementation of recommended improvements and the re-assessment of security practices on a periodic basis.

Types of Cyber Security Audits

While comprehensive audits of your organisation’s entire information security posture are recommended, some audits are aimed at one or two aspects of the wider posture. These include:

Cyber Security Compliance Audits

One of the most common types of cyber security audits, compliance audits focus on identifying regulatory requirements and comparing them to existing security measures to detect gaps.

Penetration Audits

Penetration audits consist of simulating cyber-attacks to detect any existing vulnerabilities and how they might be exploited. This helps to develop steps to eliminate any weaknesses within an organisation’s systems and policies.

Risk Assessment Audits

Risk assessment audits focus on potential threats, the likelihood of a threat occurring, and what will happen if a threat does occur. While risk assessment audits focus more on potential outside threats than an organisation’s internal systems and policies, they are integral to mitigating damage from attacks.

How Often Should You Conduct a Cyber Security Audit?

The frequency with which you should perform a cyber security audit depends on factors such as the size of your organisation, the resources available to you to dedicate to an audit, and the requirements and standards your organisation is legally required to adhere to.

For large organisations with abundant resources, annual cybersecurity audits are recommended to reduce the likelihood of attacks and mitigate damage when they do occur. Should a successful attack occur, a post-attack audit may be necessary to identify the exploited weak point and make any necessary fixes.

Smaller organisations may not have the money, time, or resources to dedicate to an annual audit. If such is the case, they should still perform a comprehensive audit to build their initial posture. If attacks happen, they can perform smaller audits to understand their vulnerabilities and make adjustments.

Regardless of size, if an organisation is regularly dealing with sensitive data or is legally required to adhere to regulations, audits need to be considered in annual budgets and performed with some regularity to ensure compliance.

Is your organisation looking to get started with a cyber security audit? Check out our cyber security audit checklist to get a better understanding of what you should include.