What Is A Computer Security Audit? Types And Phases

One of the issues that most concerns companies today is cybersecurity. The significant dependence of businesses on technology, networks, and communications has made security a priority to guarantee business continuity.

The computer security audit is the primary tool to know the security state is about its computer, communication, and internet access systems. These audits allow systems to be improved and cybersecurity to be increased, being essential to guarantee the operation of the business and protect the integrity of the information they handle.

Computer security audit, what is it

A computer security audit is a procedure that assesses the security level of a company or entity, analyzing its processes and checking whether its security policies are complied with.

The main objective of a security audit is to detect vulnerabilities and security weaknesses that can be used by malicious third parties to steal information, prevent the operation of systems, or in general, cause damage to the company.

What are the benefits of performing a security audit

Conducting a security audit is not just the responsibility of large companies and corporations. Today any company depends on technological elements and devices to be able to carry out its business processes, so it is necessary to evaluate its security periodically. The main advantages of carrying out a security audit in a company are:

Improves the company’s internal security controls.
Detect weaknesses in security systems such as errors, omissions, or failures.
Identifies possible fraudulent actions (access to unauthorized data or internal theft).
It helps eliminate weak points in the company in terms of security (websites, email, or remote access, for example).
It allows both physical and virtual (review of access privileges).
It will enable keeping systems and tools updated.

What are the types of computer security audits?

There are different computer audits depending on their objectives, such as forensic, technical, regulatory compliance, or intrusion test audits. Security audits can be divided into:

Internal and external audits

Depending on who carries out the audit, they are called internal when carried out by personnel from the company itself (although they may have external support or advice) or external when carried out by external companies that are independent of the company.

Technical audits

They are those audits whose objective is focused on a specific or limited part of a computer system. We can find regulatory compliance audits that aim to verify if any security standard is met (such as the validation of computerized systems in the regulated industry) or if security policies and protocols are being carried out appropriately.

Audits by objective

These are technical security audits that are differentiated according to the objective they pursue. The most commons are:

Websites. These audits aim to assess the security of web pages and eCommerce to discover possible vulnerabilities that third parties can use.
Forensic. They are audits that are carried out after an attack or security incident has occurred and seek to discover the causes for it, its scope, why it has not been avoided, etc.
Networks. The objective is to evaluate the operation and security of business networks, such as VPN, Wi-Fi, firewalls, antivirus, etc.
Access control. They are audits focused on access controls linked to physical, technological devices such as security cameras, barrier and door opening mechanisms, and specific software for access control.
Ethical Hacking. These are audits that are carried out to measure the security level of a company by performing an external attack simulation (as if it were an actual attack) to evaluate the systems and protection measures, identifying their vulnerabilities and weaknesses.

What phases does a computer security audit contain?

To carry out a security audit of a company in an efficient way that allows obtaining the best results and applying improvements that increase the level of cybersecurity, a series of phases must be followed:

Objectives and planning

In the first place, the objectives to be pursued with a security audit must be established. Designing an audit to validate a security regulation is not the same as creating a technical audit to check whether the security policy is complied with.

Once the objectives have been set, it is necessary to plan the steps to be followed, the tools to be used, the preparation of a schedule of actions, and the areas to be analyzed to achieve those objectives.

Information gathering

In this phase, all possible information was collected to be able to evaluate the operation of the computer systems, technologies, policies, and protocols that were the objective of the audit. The main channels that will use to object to this information are:

Interviews with company personnel.
Documentation review (policies and protocols).
Analysis of hardware and software specifications.
Carry out tests and use tools to measure the security of the systems.

Data analysis

With all the information and documentation collected and the results of the different tests and tests carried out, an analysis will be carried out to find faults, vulnerabilities, and weaknesses in the systems.

Make an audit report.

The audit is closed by making a detailed report of the results obtained during the analysis phase. These results must present the security problems found, proposing solutions and recommendations on how to solve them.

The security audit report must clearly and concisely present its purpose and objective, the results obtained, and the necessary corrective measures in cybersecurity to be applied.

With the audit report, the company’s management will be able to know the actual state of its IT systems and infrastructure, and its security policies. It will be able to make the appropriate decisions to improve them and increase their level of security.

Companies that carry out a computer security audit regularly will be able to assess the state of their cybersecurity and detect any weakness or vulnerability that puts their systems and information at risk.

The report of a cybersecurity audit will include the recommended actions to be carried out by the company in each of the critical points (with high risk) that have been found to eliminate the associated risk. A more secure and agile system will be available when reacting to any external threat or internal security incident with security audits.