Security audits review the adequacy of security in an IT system, including cryptography and human factors. They can be requested by business leadership or government agencies to ensure compliance with laws such as HIPAA or Sarbanes-Oxley. Professional auditors are trained to assess the reliability of security systems.
A security audit is a review of the adequacy of security in an information technology system. Types of general security audits include an IT audit of the company’s entire IT systems or a computer security audit of a partial IT system or process. These types of internal audit processes are carried out to ensure that security is sufficient for any type of IT system in a company.
Those performing a security audit may examine cryptography or other security elements online or on a computer. They can conduct interviews with computer users to determine whether the human factor is a weak link in terms of security. A security auditor may perform a penetration test or other type of security assessment to assess the security of an IT system.
Some types of security audits are requested by business leadership as part of protecting a company’s bottom line. Additional security audits are performed to ensure compliance with federal, state or local laws when corporate data includes an element of public risk. In these cases, government agencies may require periodic security audits to show that a company is protecting public data.
Legislation known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA is the main driver of security audits for medical companies. HIPAA rules ensure strict security of patient data, and all medical-related facilities or businesses must comply with HIPAA regulations. Security audit tasks can include specific attention to ensuring that HIPAA is followed within the enterprise or network.
Financial or other companies may conduct a security audit in accordance with regulations imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Although Sarbanes-Oxley was designed as a safeguard against corrupt accounting practices, its legislation may include elements such as security audits as part of an overall audit process. In other cases, consumer protection legislation may require a business to conduct a security audit.
A company may usually have a security policy that dictates when and how a security audit should be performed. Security auditing can also involve reviewing “checks and balances” in a department or business system. All of this effort is directed towards the overall goal of protecting data and providing competent security for any type of business. Professional auditors are trained in the precise metrics that show whether a security system is reliable and reasonably protected from outside attacks.
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