If you happen to’re working a enterprise or managing a mission, the impression of a cybercriminal in your firm may be catastrophic. They will steal buyer knowledge and break your status. It’s one thing many don’t get well from. And, in contrast to within the bodily world, the place dangerous neighborhoods are extra clearly demarcated, IT dangers may be like a computer virus. They will seem pleasant, however when your guard is down they ransack your knowledge.
The risk may be inner, too, comparable to a disgruntled worker sabotaging all the things you constructed for years in seconds. Backside line: know-how is beneficial, but it surely’s additionally weak. That’s why organizations should do an IT audit to verify their knowledge and community are protected from assault. An IT safety audit may be the one factor standing between success and failure.
What Is an IT Audit?
Audits sound dangerous. No one desires to get that letter saying the IRS is about to open an audit in your financials. However an audit solely means an official inspection of 1’s accounts. An info know-how audit is due to this fact an official examination of the IT infrastructure, insurance policies and operations of a corporation. It additionally provides an analysis, to recommend enhancements. IT audits have been occurring because the mid-Sixties and repeatedly developed since that time as know-how advances. It’s an essential a part of a very good IT project management process.
You may consider this as an IT safety audit. The purpose is to see if the IT controls in place are correctly defending the corporate’s belongings, making certain the integrity of the information, and staying consistent with the targets and aims of the corporate. Which means all the things that includes IT is inspected, from bodily safety to the general enterprise and monetary issues.
Why Is It Necessary to Conduct an IT Audit?
An IT audit is essential to ensure that the IT operations, controls, infrastructure and processes of an organization are protected from threats and dealing as supposed. The principle goal of an IT audit is to search out areas of enchancment and vulnerabilities to scale back the probabilities of IT risks and stay compliant with IT safety requirements. Along with this key goal, there are different advantages from conducting common IT audits, comparable to:
- Enhancing current IT service management insurance policies, tips and processes to higher regulate to the enterprise aims of the group.
- Discovering new applied sciences comparable to software program, {hardware} or networking that might assist corporations higher retailer, handle and switch their enterprise knowledge.
- Acquiring certifications comparable to SOC 2 permits corporations to supply their services and products to new markets.
- Guarantee workers throughout departments perceive the IT finest practices of the corporate.
- Keep away from regulatory fines or potential enterprise losses as a consequence of ineffective IT safety practices.
Kinds of IT Audits
In broad strokes, an IT audit may be damaged into two sorts; normal management overview and software management overview. However, if you wish to get extra particular, listed below are 5 classes of a well-executed audit.
- Programs & purposes: This focuses on the programs and purposes inside a corporation. It makes positive they’re applicable, environment friendly, legitimate, dependable, well timed and safe on all ranges of exercise.
- Data processing services: Verifies that the method is working appropriately, well timed and precisely, whether or not in regular or disruptive circumstances.
- Programs improvement: To see if these programs which are beneath improvement are being created in compliance with the group’s requirements.
- Administration of IT and enterprise structure: Ensuring that IT administration is structured and processes in a managed and environment friendly method.
- Consumer/server, telecommunications, intranets and extranets: This spotlights telecommunication controls, comparable to a server and community, which is the bridge between shoppers and servers.All of this may be expedited with the assistance of IT project management software.
What Is an IT Auditor?
An IT auditor is liable for inspecting the interior controls and dangers related to a corporation’s IT infrastructure. A number of the fundamental duties of an IT auditor are figuring out weaknesses, vulnerabilities and threats and suggesting options to forestall safety breaches.
IT auditors assist organizations meet safety requirements, receive certifications and enhance how knowledge is managed. There are certifications for this talent, comparable to licensed info system auditor (CISA) and licensed info programs safety professionals (CISSP).
IT Audit Course of: Methods to Do an IT Audit
In a way, an IT audit is a mission and like every mission, it includes planning, scheduling, reporting and monitoring actions. Right here’s a fast overview of every of the steps of the IT audit course of.
1. Plan Your IT Audit
An IT audit is an intensive course of so you must plan fastidiously. With no strong action plan, your audit may not obtain its key objective which is to precisely discover flaws, inefficiencies and vulnerabilities within the IT setting of your group. To plan your IT audit there are a number of steps you and your group ought to undergo. Listed below are a few of the most essential of them.
- Choose an IT auditor, it might be an in-house inner auditor or an exterior agency
- Set targets and aims on your IT audit
- Outline the scope of your IT audit
- Determine in case your IT audit can be recurrent and in that case, how usually will probably be performed
- Outline a timeframe on your IT audit in addition to an in depth schedule to examine every space of your IT division
- Set up roles and duties on your workers because the audit is executed to verify they’re on the identical web page
- Create an IT audit plan to verify stakeholders perceive the IT audit scope, aims and schedule
2. Execute the IT Audit
After you have a strong IT audit plan, you may transfer on to the execution part of your audit. Throughout this part, group administration is vital to creating positive your IT division and some other workers and stakeholders concerned collaborate with the IT auditor in order that all the things goes based on plan and the IT audit may be accomplished on time.
Associated: IT project management templates
3. Make IT Audit Studies
As defined above, an IT audit is a course of that seeks to search out inefficiencies, vulnerabilities, threats and alternatives for enchancment for your enterprise’ IT operations, so documenting these findings is vital for achievement. As soon as the IT audit is full, it’s important to create an intensive audit report that compiles all of the observations and solutions from the IT auditor. This is likely one of the most essential steps of any audit, because the findings are solely helpful to the group in the event that they’re effectively documented.
4. Comply with Up
Ideally, the IT audit report must be an informative doc with a number of solutions to enhance how your organization manages its IT practices. Now, it’s time to plan put the audit findings into observe by taking actions comparable to coaching workers, procuring belongings and implementing IT risk management frameworks.
IT Audit Guidelines
Now that we’ve outlined the most important steps of the IT auditing course of, let’s overview a few of the key areas that must be inspected throughout an IT audit.
IT Safety Controls
- Antivirus software program
- Community firewall
- Passwords encryption
- Two-factor authentication
- Bodily safety measures
- Unauthorized entry alerts
- Worker IT safety coaching
Requirements & Procedures
- Staff are required to signal IT safety acknowledgment agreements
- IT belongings are disposed of safely to keep away from knowledge breaches
- Paperwork with delicate knowledge are shredded or disposed of safely
- Information backups are accomplished and reviewed continuously
- Information is backed up in a number of places
- There’s a well-defined IT catastrophe restoration plan
Documentation & Reporting
- Safety protocols are well-documented
- Safety protocols are up to date as IT infrastructure modifications
- IT logs are safely saved and reviewed continuously
- IT incidents are documented completely
Efficiency Monitoring
- Outage occasions are recorded
- Arduous drive, RAM and cloud storage are monitored
- Community efficiency is measured constantly
- IT bills are tracked and minimized
Programs Improvement
- There are clear tips for managing the system design and improvement course of
- System testing protocols are established
- There’s a post-implementation overview course of in place
Whereas the objects outlined above are a very good place to begin, there are lots of extra variables that it’s best to think about when planning and executing your IT audit in order that it adjusts to the actual wants of your group.
IT Audit Greatest Practices
The method of conducting an IT audit is complicated and touches on all points of your info system. There are overreaching normal administration points and insurance policies to contemplate. There’s additionally safety structure and design, programs and networks, authentication and authorization and even bodily safety. It includes continuity planning and disaster recovery, like every good danger administration.
There are, too, some overriding finest practices that may steer you thru the maze, so that you begin and end successfully. These 5 suggestions will allow you to conduct an IT safety audit correctly.
- Scope: By figuring out the scope of the audit forward of time, you’re extra more likely to have an audit that runs with out issues. For one factor, you’ll need to contain all related stakeholders when planning. Communicate to those that are working within the IT setting. They may also help you perceive what dangers you’re trying to establish and perceive the present capabilities of the system. This manner you’ll have a greater thought if there’s a must undertake new applied sciences or not. Additionally, know the relevant legal guidelines and laws to be sure to’re compliant.
- Exterior assets: You might need a group assembled in-house who’re capable of run the IT safety audit themselves otherwise you would possibly want to hunt outdoors contractors to assist with elements or the entire thing. This should be decided beforehand. You might need an IT audit supervisor or want to rent a advisor, who can then prepare the group on what to maintain a watch out for in-between IT audits.
- Implementation: Know the stock you might have and put these programs down in an inventory organized by precedence. Know business requirements, strategies and procedures to be sure to’re maintaining with essentially the most present practices. Consider your audit to see if belongings are protected and dangers mitigated.
- Suggestions: IT audit reviews can really feel like they’re in a unique language in the event you’re not an IT skilled. For the audit to be efficient, the audit should be clear to those that are decision-makers. The IT auditor ought to give the report in particular person and subject any questions in order that when accomplished there isn’t a query in regards to the work and no matter vulnerabilities have been found.
- Repeat: An IT audit isn’t a one-time occasion, after all, however in between audits there’s nonetheless work to do. That features providing suggestions going ahead and utilizing IT software program that may mechanically monitor programs, customers and belongings. It’s a good suggestion to have a plan set as much as overview relevant legal guidelines, laws and new developments quarterly, because the know-how area is notoriously fast-moving.
How ProjectManager Facilitates the IT Audit Course of
When doing an IT audit, there are lots of duties that in all probability require a group to execute. Seems like a mission. Whereas there are software program packages which are designed to observe IT safety, an audit is a unique animal and might profit from a mission administration software program to regulate it successfully.
Each audit may be damaged down right into a sequence of duties, simply as you employ a work breakdown structure (WBS) to take a big mission and break it up into smaller, extra manageable items. A process record may be prioritized after which that spreadsheet uploaded into ProjectManager, the place it’s reworked from a static sheet to a dynamic instrument.
Visualize the Workflow With Kanban Boards
As soon as imported, the duty record may be seen in a wide range of methods. There’s the kanban view to handle workflows. The varied duties are particular person playing cards, that are organized by columns that state whether or not the work is to be began, in progress or accomplished. These playing cards may be assigned to a number of group members, who can remark straight on them to collaborate. Recordsdata and pictures will also be connected.
Make an Audit Schedule With Gantt Charts
One other view is the Gantt chart. This reveals your process record to the left and populates these duties throughout a timeline to the proper. The duties can once more be assigned, collaborated on and tracked. ProjectManager is a cloud-based software program, so all standing updates are immediately mirrored. Activity dependencies may be linked to keep away from blocking group members and if deadlines want to vary that may be accomplished with a easy drag and drop of the duty timeline.
Mission Dashboards for Monitoring the Audit
When it comes to monitoring the progress of the IT safety audit and reporting again to administration, ProjectManager has a real-time dashboard. It retains the mission chief abreast of what’s going to and crunches the numbers mechanically, displaying mission metrics in clear and colourful graphs and charts. These can then be filtered to mirror the information you need and shared or printed out for a presentation.
ProjectManager additionally has many free templates to help with varied phases of any mission. Our IT risk assessment template is a good place to start out when doing an IT audit.
Data know-how is a part of nearly each group. The advantages are nice, however so are the dangers. ProjectManager is a cloud-based mission administration software program that helps IT professionals handle the complicated duties concerned in an IT audit. Try it free today with this 30-day trial.
