An IT Audit Checklist Can Reduce Costs and Improve IT Processes

Disruptions to a business’ IT infrastructure can be costly and ineffective, leading to unnecessary expenditure and inefficient processes. An IT audit can help lower these costs while simultaneously improving IT processes.

An IT audit involves an examination of your company’s data backup and restoration processes as well as security protocols and policies. This article will focus on four primary aspects of an extensive IT audit checklist: 1. Access control.

1. Access control policy
Flaws in an IT infrastructure can cripple business operations and drain both time and resources as your employees wait for repairs to take place. A comprehensive IT audit checklist helps ensure your IT team has everything needed to safeguard your information technology environment.

Access control policies serve as the framework that guides how your IT team handles data, applications and equipment. They help your team meet regulatory compliance requirements while mitigating security risks. Furthermore, these policies define restrictions according to risk assessments.

Each policy document should include these components:

2. Access control system
Access control systems verify credentials such as passwords, keys and proximity cards carried on one’s person and biometric features such as fingerprints or irises used to gain entry to areas. The verification can take place either onsite or remotely and grants or denies entry depending on whether an area allows entry.

Regulated standards like HIPAA, SOX and PCI DSS mandate companies adhere to stringent processes for handling customer data. IT audits should assess whether these processes are being followed.

An effective access control system can save both time and money by minimizing downtime caused by vandalism or theft, and by providing more powerful access control capabilities for hybrid and multi-cloud setups.

3. Access control device
An electronic access control device is a form of physical security used to manage who can enter a location at any one time. These devices verify a person’s credentials – whether these be physical such as a security badge or digital like an ID code entered into mobile apps – before sending this data off to an access control system, which authorizes or unlocks doors accordingly.

A proper access control system should monitor all doors, reporting any changes in status to an access server computer and providing daily reports with all persons entering and leaving the building – an invaluable feature for public companies who must meet regulations like Sarbanes-Oxley or Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard requirements.

4. Access control software
An IT audit allows companies to assess how secure their computer networks and IT infrastructure are – from logs to systems development procedures.

Your IT team should establish clear protocols for developing and testing software products, while an IT audit should assess their effectiveness. Thorough testing of complex IT applications is essential to prevent security breaches or compliance gaps.

Password management is one of the easiest internal control measures you can implement to protect your IT system against unauthorized access. An IT audit should review password policies and confirm that employees are adhering to best practices – for instance, passwords should be unique and changed regularly; role-based access control (RBAC) grants permission based on business functions for accessing IT resources.

5. Access control hardware
Physical security of IT infrastructure is an integral component of IT audits. This involves inspecting hardware’s location, looking into any security measures in place to prevent theft, and testing data backups regularly.

IT audits must also evaluate what happens after a cybersecurity incident has taken place. Employees should adhere to proper procedures so as to minimize financial damage and avoid fines, including checking whether all licenses for software have been obtained; systems in development follow established standards, which is crucial because complex software requires rigorous testing; etc.