Cybersecurity Auditing is the primary method for verifying compliance with security standards that your organization implements.  Whether it’s ISO/IEC 27001 and 27002 or PCI DSS, a cybersecurity audit done by a third party should tell you whether you are compliant to your standards or otherwise.

That third party view adds objective and unbiased assurance to organizations and an additional line of defense for the data entrusted to the organization.  Even the best organizations suffer from selective perception, and it’s often the problem that they didn’t foresee that usually hurts organizations the most.

The cybersecurity assessments we provide helps organizations determine the current level of their cybersecurity, identifies their vulnerabilities, and identifies protection mechanisms against possible threats and attacks.  These audits are performed by seasoned professionals who have all the appropriate tools and software to conduct a thorough audit. Because they are conducted by people outside the business, it also ensures that no business unit is overlooked due to internal biases and similar factors. We also have the advantage of understanding all security protocols and have the experience and training to spot flaws in digital systems.

1. Audit Definition – define the scope of your audit.  Write down the assets and systems that are to be included in the audit.  Normally, one would expect an audit of all assets by default, but the actions of documenting and defining the scope will itself help to ensure that nothing is left out unintentionally.
   
2. Threat Definition – different assets have different vulnerabilities.  Much like audit definition, the action of documenting and defining threats helps ensure that audit coverage is maximized.
   
3. Audit – This is the actual cybersecurity audit — making sure that i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed, so to speak.
4. Assessment  – This lays down all the findings and assesses both the impact of each finding and the possible effort required to mitigate these — effectively prioritizing each one.

Cyberattacks pose significant and continuously evolving threats. Increasingly, many companies’ senior management teams have set expectations for internal teams to understand and assess the organization’s capabilities in managing the associated risks. Our experience shows that an effective first step for internal audit is to conduct a cybersecurity audit and distill the findings into a concise summary for the security team which will then drive a risk-based, multiyear cybersecurity plan.

Operations and IT integrate cybersecurity management into day-to-day decision-making — these two groups hand-in-hand comprise an organization’s first line of defense. The second line of defense includes information and technology risk management leaders who establish governance and oversight, monitor security operations, and take action as needed.

Increasingly, many companies are recognizing the need for a third line of cyber defense — an independent review of security measures and performance done by an impartial 3rd party.