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A network security audit can be difficult to navigate, especially if it’s your first time doing one. It can also be confusing since there are dozens of types of audits, and each one has its specific purpose and goals to achieve.
To make the whole thing less stressful, we’ve developed an all-inclusive checklist that covers the most common things you should look at when conducting a network security audit.
Use this guide to get through the entire process with ease and have your audit results in record time!
- Perform A Security Assessment
A security assessment is an essential first step in auditing your network security. By understanding your current security posture, you can identify areas of improvement and devise a plan to tighten up your security.
- Establish Your Risk Tolerance
How much risk are you willing to take on? This is an important question to answer before starting your audit, as it will help you prioritize which areas to focus on. The most common way of determining the amount of risk a company is willing to take on is using the DREAD test: Damage Potential, Reproducibility, Exploitability, Affected Users, and Discoverability.
- Choose Your External Vendors Carefully
When it comes to network security, you can never be too careful. That’s why it’s so important to choose the rightexternal vendors.. Here are a few things to keep in mind when selecting an external vendor
- Is the vendor a recognized industry leader?
- What is the experience level of the staff?
- How does their pricing compare with other providers?
- What kind of guarantees do they offer for data backup and recovery?
- Audit Your System
No matter how strong your network security is, you can continually improve it. By auditing your system regularly, you can identify weaknesses and take steps to fix them before they’re exploited. Below are some of the essential areas that you should include:
- A password management system to keep all passwords up-to-date and monitored
- An up-to-date antivirus program to protect against viruses
- Data encryption for any data files or backups that are transferred offsite
- A firewall to prevent outside intrusion
- Allocate Budget And Resources To Fix Problems
After you’ve identified all the potential security risks to your network, it’s time to start allocating the budget and resources to fix them. Depending on the severity of the risks, you may need to hire additional staff, purchase new software or hardware, or implement new security protocols. You can help protect your business from future attacks by taking action now.
- Stay Up-To-Date On Developments In Network Security
As the network security landscape evolves, it’s crucial to stay up-to-date on the latest developments. For example, a few things you can keep an eye on are:
- Mirai botnet and its aftermath
- WannaCry ransomware attack
- Cybersecurity legislation in Congress
Partner With Foris IT Management
At Foris IT Management, we focus on three essential network categories: productivity, security, and backup. We offer compliance auditing, where we run agents on all your PCs and servers to look for HIPAA and GDPR compliance violations. Besides network audit services, we also offer backup and disaster recovery solutions and IT security services for dental practices in Texas.
Contact us for a free consultation today.