Technology plays a significant role in business today. For most businesses technology is inherent to many of their business processes, including finance, time management, communication, and workforce productivity, among many others. As technology advances at a rapid pace, the need to protect businesses from cyber threats increases as well. IT audits are an amazing way of ensuring that your digital assets, data and systems are protected and running safely. In this article, we’ll look at the key components of a comprehensive IT audit and how beneficial they can be for your business.
The importance of an IT audit
Regular IT audits ensure that a business can focus on their day to day functions knowing that their IT infrastructure is functional, competitive, and completely secure. Businesses who don’t undergo IT audits put themselves at significant risk of cyber threats of all kinds.
Understanding IT Audits
From an overview perspective, an IT audit is an evaluation of your business’ IT systems, infrastructure, policies, and operations, based on how secure each of them is. The key outcome of an IT audit for a business is to determine if their existing IT infrastructure and systems are effectively protecting their business’ digital assets. The systems and structures put in place to keep your business safe are often called controls. Generally speaking, IT audits are used to ensure that information and asset-related controls and processes are working properly so that corporate assets are sufficiently protected.
When we look at IT audits in detail, the primary objectives are:
- Evaluating the systems and processes currently in place that work to secure company data.
- Safeguarding all IT assets.
- Determine inefficiencies in IT systems and associated management.
- Determining if there are potential risks to the company’s information assets and finding ways to minimise them.
- Verify that IT controls are being regularly practised and maintained.
- Ensure information management processes are in compliance with IT-specific laws, policies, and standards.
Key Components of a Comprehensive IT Audit
When an IT audit commences, there are specific components that are covered, to ensure that the audit offers a comprehensive and complete set of results. Below, we’ll go into each one in detail –
Risk Assessment
A risk assessment is a topline overview of your controls, technology, policies and procedures which identifies any gaps in security and areas of potential risk for your business.
Compliance Review
A compliance review is an evaluation of your practices, policies, and tools related to cybersecurity, to ensure that your organisation is following all applicable compliance requirements.
Systems and Processes Evaluation
A large part of an IT audit is the evaluation of the systems and processes your business has in place to secure its data. These systems and processes are important for protecting your company data in the event of a cyber attack.
Security Assessment
A security assessment is a comprehensive evaluation of your business’ processes and digital infrastructure. These assessments include penetration testing, network scanning and a vulnerability assessment, all of which result in the identification of any gaps in your security.
Performance Analysis
A performance analysis is an audit report that you receive as a business. It summarises all of the controls examined, all of the evidence obtained, the analysis of your IT department’s compliance, any areas where controls were not achieved, and recommendations for mitigating any inefficiencies.
Benefits of a Thorough IT Audit
There are many benefits to an IT audit. Here are a few of the most significant ones. An IT audit will:
- Help you patch any gaps relating to the availability, integrity, and confidentiality of your business’ data.
- Improve the reliability, effectiveness, and efficiency of your current IT systems.
- Help you assess any potential risks and give you a clear set of actions you need to take to eliminate them.
- Help you ensure all your business’ laws, regulations, and compliances are met by every employee within your business.
Fortifying your business from the inside out
A comprehensive IT audit gives you the data and insights you need to ensure that your infrastructure, policies, and operations are all running as efficiently and effectively as you expect them to. As cyberthreats become more and more advanced, ongoing IT audits will keep your business ahead of any potential issues.
Evologic has years of experience identifying what cyber security risks are unique to businesses, and developing and implementing custom solutions to protect their networks and data. Once in place, we perform regular audits, scans and security checkups to maintain a business’ resilience against cyber attacks and data leakage. Get in touch with a member of our team today and let us help you fortify your business from the inside out.
