Security Audit

Access control management

Security audits may include the management of access control, such as policy review and key security processes. Tools for authorization, authentication, password management, and access monitoring are evaluated.
Additionally, we can verify whether users' access privileges correspond to their designated roles to ensure effective security levels where required.

Data protection

We prioritise the complete safeguarding of sensitive information by taking advanced measures to secure data through a variety of means.
This includes:● Identifying the types of sensitive data we handle, such as trade secrets, intellectual property, personal health information, and cardholder data.● Determining where it is stored (such as on company servers, in the cloud, on end-user devices, or shared with third-party systems).● Verifying that sensitive data is being properly secured and in compliance with applicable regulations and standards (such as HIPAA, PCI DSS and PCI Software Security Framework, ISO 27001, ISO 9001, ISO 13485, GDPR).

Secure configuration for hardware and software

● Assessing hardware and software configurations to ensure that insecure default security settings are not being used and evaluating the effectiveness of current security settings.● Identifying unnecessary applications, features, and user accounts that should be disabled or removed to minimise the attack surface.

Security log management

Examining security logs to detect signs of unauthorised access, changes to settings, software installation or deletion, and system or application errors.

Continuous vulnerability management

Continuously scanning for vulnerabilities and promptly addressing any security flaws that are found.

Security policy and procedure review

Review of the organization's security policies and procedures to determine if they are adequate, up-to-date, and being followed.

Incident response planning and testing

Creating and testing plans for responding to security incidents, such as data breaches or cyber attacks.

Other

● Malware defenses● Data recovery● Security awareness and skills training● Incident response management● Service provider management

Why is security audit important?

Conducting security audits is crucial because they help safeguard important data, detect security vulnerabilities, develop new security measures, and evaluate the effectiveness of existing security strategies. Regular audits can also help ensure that employees adhere to security practices and identify new vulnerabilities that need to be addressed.

There are several goals involved in a security audit:

Identify security weaknesses and gaps.

Create new security policies.

Improve the effectiveness of a cybersecurity system.

Comply with regulations.

Prevent data breaches and cyberattacks.

Compliance Audit

This audit evaluates whether the organisation is complying with relevant laws, regulations, and standards, such as GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI DSS. This type of audit may be required by regulatory bodies, clients, or stakeholders to ensure that the organisation is meeting its legal and contractual obligations.

Operational Audit

This audit evaluates the effectiveness and efficiency of an organisation's security controls and procedures, including how thoroughly they are being followed and any gaps or weaknesses in their implementation. This type of audit may be needed when an organisation wants to assess the efficacy of its security programme or identify areas for improvement.

Financial Audit

This audit evaluates the financial aspects of information security, such as the cost of security measures, the return on investment, and the impact of security incidents on the organisation's financial performance. This type of audit may be needed when an organisation wants to understand the financial implications of its security programme or justify investments in security measures.

Risk Assessment Audit

This audit evaluates the organisation's risk management processes and identifies potential risks to information security, such as vulnerabilities, threats, or regulatory compliance gaps. This type of audit may be required when an organisation wants to identify and prioritise risks, or when preparing for an external audit.

Technical Audit

This audit evaluates the technical aspects of information security, such as the effectiveness of firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and other security controls. This type of audit may be required when an organisation wants to assess the efficacy of its technical controls or identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers.

Network Security Audit

This audit focuses specifically on an organisation's network security, including perimeter defences, access controls, and monitoring systems. This type of audit may be required when an organisation wants to identify and mitigate risks to its network infrastructure.

Application Security Audit

This audit focuses specifically on an organisation's application security, including vulnerability assessments and code reviews. This type of audit may be required when an organisation wants to identify and reduce risks to its software applications.

Physical Security Audit

This audit evaluates an organisation's physical security controls, such as access controls, security cameras, and security personnel. This type of audit may be required when an organisation wants to assess the efficacy of its physical security measures or identify areas for improvement.

Social Engineering Audit

This audit evaluates an organisation’s susceptibility to social engineering attacks, such as phishing or pretesting.
This type of audit may be required when an organisation wants to assess the efficacy of its security awareness training programme or identify areas for improvement.

Vendor Security Audit

This audit evaluates the security controls of third-party vendors who have access to an organisation's systems or data.
This type of audit may be required when an organisation wants to ensure that its vendors are meeting its security requirements or to identify potential risks from vendor relationships.

Stage 1. Planning and scoping
During this initial stage, we collaborate with the customer to establish audit objectives and strike a balance between optimal audit scope and available budget. This involves deciding on the specific security controls to be audited, selecting appropriate auditing tools, determining the audit timeline, and establishing budget.
Stage 2. Preparation
Next, we collect all relevant information regarding the company and targets to be audited. This may include details about the security team and IT users, existing security policies and procedures, hardware and software supplies, and third-party service providers.
Stage 3. Audit
Our team of information security engineers conducts the audit within the agreed scope and timeline, utilising selected auditing tools.

Stage 4. Reporting
After completing the audit, we carefully document and analyse the findings to provide a thorough final report for the customer. This report includes a list of any absent or immature security controls and an assessment of the associated risks, as well as recommended remediation actions.
Stage 5. Remediation (optional)
Finally, upon request from the client, we can assist with closing any identified security gaps through remediation activities. These may include:● enhancing existing or developing new security policies● configuring hardware and software to ensure secure settings● implementing access permissions and hierarchy● deploying and configuring security tools such as firewalls, antivirus, IDS/IPS, DLP systems, SIEM, email security tools● conducting security awareness training for staff.

Companies wishing to avoid financial and reputational losses, demonstrate to customers, employees, shareholders and regulators the highest cybersecurity standards to keep their data safe.

Organizations that handle a lot of sensitive data, use corporate networks, have their own website, use Internet payment technologies, or as part of the audit of data protection controls.

An organization should conduct a special security audit after a data breach, introducing new software, system upgrade or data migration, or when changes data security regulations, or when the company grows and number of employees.

Personalised Approach

We recognize that every client's needs are unique, and we tailor our services to meet the specific requirements of each business, ensuring a customised and effective solution for each and every client.

Cutting Edge Technology

We utilise the latest tools and technologies to perform comprehensive security audits, identifying potential vulnerabilities and providing actionable recommendations for improvement.

Proven Track Record

Our successful completion of numerous projects and an extensive list of satisfied clients are testaments to our expertise and productivity with information security and GDPR compliance.

Ongoing Support

We believe in building long-term relationships with our clients, providing continuous support and guidance to help them maintain and enhance their information security posture and stay compliant with GDPR requirements.

Industry Knowledge

Our team stays ahead of emerging trends and regulatory changes, ensuring that we provide the most relevant and up-to-date guidance to our clients.

What is Security Audit?
A security audit is a systematic evaluation of the security of a company's information system by measuring how well it conforms to an established set of criteria. A thorough audit typically assesses the security of the system's physical configuration and environment, software, information handling processes and user practices.
What are the types of security audits?
Internal audits. In these audits, a business uses its own resources and internal audit department. Internal audits are used when an organization wants to validate business systems for policy and procedure compliance.
External audits. With these audits, an outside organization is brought in to conduct an audit. External audits are also conducted when an organization needs to confirm it is conforming to industry standards or government regulations.● Second-party audits are conducted by a supplier of the organization being audited.● Third-party audits are done by an independent, unbiased group, and the auditors involved have no association with the organization under audit.
What is the difference between test and assessment and audit?
Audits are a separate concept from other practices such as tests and assessments. An audit is a way to validate that an organization is adhering to procedures and security policies set internally, as well as those that standards groups and regulatory agencies set. Organizations can conduct audits themselves or bring in third parties to do them. Security audit best practices are available from various industry organizations.
A test, such as a penetration test, is a procedure to check that a specific system is working as it should. IT professionals doing the testing are looking for gaps that might open vulnerabilities. With a pen test, for instance, the security analyst is hacking into the system in the same way that a threat actor might, to determine what an attacker can see and access.
An assessment is a planned test such as a risk or vulnerability assessment. It looks at how a system should operate and then compares that to the system's current operational state. For example, a vulnerability assessment of a computer system checks the status of the security measures protecting that system and whether they are responding the way they should.
How often the security audit should be performed?
How often an organization does its security audits depends on the industry it is in, the demands of its business and corporate structure, and the number of systems and applications that must be audited. Organizations that handle a lot of sensitive data - such as financial services and heathcare providers - are likely to do audits more frequently. Ones that use only one or two applications will find it easier to conduct security audits and may do them more frequently. External factors, such as regulatory requirements, affect audit frequency, as well.Different departments may have different audit schedules, depending on the systems, applications and data they use. Routine audits - whether done annually or monthly - can help identify anomalies or patterns in a system.
Quarterly or monthly audits may be more than most organizations have the time or resources for, however. The determining factors in how often an organization chooses to do security audits depends on the complexity of the systems used and the type and importance of the data in that system. If the data in a system is deemed essential, then that system may be audited more often, but complicated systems that take time to audit may be audited less frequently.
An organization should conduct a special security audit after a data breach, system upgrade or data migration, or when changes to compliance laws occur, when a new system has been implemented or when the business grows by more than a defined amount of users. These one-time audits may focus on a specific area where the event may have opened security vulnerabilities.