WHAT IS A CYBERSECURITY AUDIT AND HOW WILL IT HELP MY BUSINESS?

With cyberattacks on the rise and criminals continuing to find new and innovative ways to breach networks, regular cybersecurity audits are vital to ensuring your company, client, and user data is secure! 

If you don’t prioritise cybersecurity, you place yourself and your business at risk of an attack. While it’s likely you already have several strategies in place to combat cybercrime; it’s essential that you feel that the measures you have in place are sufficient. 

In this article, we’ll explain what a cybersecurity audit is, why they’re so valuable, and what’s involved in conducting one for your business. 

WHAT IS A CYBER SECURITY AUDIT?

Think of a cybersecurity audit as a comprehensive analysis and review of every cybersecurity strategy you’ve ever put in place for your business! It detects vulnerabilities and threats, displaying any weak links and high-risk practices. 

Essentially, you have two main goals when conducting an audit: the first is to identify any gaps in your system so you can fill them. The second goal is to create a detailed report that you can use to demonstrate your readiness to defend against cyber threats.

WHY SHOULD I CONDUCT A CYBERSECURITY AUDIT?

Cybersecurity audits give you the opportunity to evaluate your security protocols!

They help you identify issues and ensure that you’re up to date regarding the latest cybersecurity threats. And without them, a business runs the risk of using outdated software to protect itself against ever-evolving attacks.

Conducting regular cybersecurity audits plays a crucial role in helping your business avoid cyber threats and can provide you (and your customers) with confidence in the effectiveness of your cyber security measures in keeping all your data safe. 

WHAT’S INVOLVED IN A CYBERSECURITY AUDIT FOR MY BUSINESS?

Now that we’ve shown you how valuable conducting regular cybersecurity audits can be for your business, we’ll talk you through what they actually involve. 

Typically, a cybersecurity audit will contain three phases. 

1. The Assessment Phase

The aim of the assessment phase is to examine the existing systems you have in place. This involves assessing your business’s computers, servers, software and databases. It is also worth reviewing how you assign access rights and examining any hardware or software you’re currently using to protect yourself against cybercrime. 

This assessment phase will most likely highlight the security gaps that you need to act upon, and with this information, you move into the next stage. 

2. The Assignment Phase 

In the assignment phase, you’ll review the gaps that you previously identified in the assessment phase and figure out what solutions are required to address these gaps. 

Although you may be able to figure out and manage these solutions internally, you may find that you need to bring external contractors on board if you’re unsure how to fix your security gaps. 

3. The Audit Phase 

Finally, you conclude the three phases with an audit! This will take place after you’ve implemented your proposed solutions and will serve as a final check of your new systems. This audit will predominantly focus on making sure that all installations, upgrades, and patches operate as expected.

THE ALL IT AUDIT  

If you’d like to conduct a cybersecurity audit but you’re unsure about whether you have the time or tools to do so correctly, we would love to help!

Here at ALL IT, we offer a comprehensive cybersecurity audit that includes a full review and report of the following:

• End-Point Security
• Network security
• Back-up audit (schedule, restoring, on-site and off-site backups).
• Systems audit (accounting, access, permissions)
• External access audit
• Cyber Security discussion with staff
• Educational Training – Simulated cyber email attacks to test staff and their knowledge levels