Security audits involve thoroughly assessing your company’s IT security system, from the infrastructures to security controls, checking compliance with regulations, and more. Not only can these help you to identify weak areas and security vulnerabilities, but they can also ensure you’re investing in the most up-to-date, robust, and effective security tools. Finally, a security audit can identify the potential for a data breach and determine concrete actions you can take to shore up flaws.
So how do you successfully run an audit to protect your company’s brand and your data? Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
Follow These Steps for a Smooth Security Audit
Identify goals.
Before launching a security audit, ensure you know what you want to achieve from one. For instance, what areas will you be assessing, your list of concerns, whether or not you are auditing physical equipment or just IT infrastructure, and what risks or threats do you want to avoid? Keep in mind any new or developing regulations you must comply with.
Make a plan.
Create a team to manage the audit process, defining the tasks and goals of each individual. Also, map out how you’ll monitor, test, and evaluate data security systems and what logistical challenges you might face in the process. Create a timeline for the plan and the deliverables.
Run the audit.
The audit should follow the plan you set out in the first and second steps. If you don’t have the right expertise, hire a certified security auditor to handle the process. This will ensure it’s performed correctly and that any weaknesses are caught before they cause a breach.
Analyze results.
Once the audit work is completed, create a report with the results and an analysis of what was found. The report should include risks and vulnerabilities and concrete action steps for mitigating them.
Follow through and monitor the next steps.
Your audit won’t do much if you don’t take action on the risks and issues you found. So ensure you follow through on managing them and monitoring progress to fix security flaws.
Ready to Address Your Security Concerns?
If you have weaknesses in your records management, let Happy Faces Records Management be a part of the solution. We can safely and securely store or destroy documents and records, so you can prevent a breach and gain more peace of mind. Contact us today to get started.
