A Cyber Security audit- Look on the bright side!

It’s not uncommon for the people that are most against having a Cyber Security audit to be your IT managers or IT department collectively. We all know how important it is to audit and patch our systems regularly, but there seems to be a school of thought that working within the IT industry means that Security Auditors are going to pick apart all of the systems you spent so long setting up and also ridicule you on best practices.

My aim is to clear up some of the misconceptions and hopefully show you why it is so important to get your security audited regularly by an external team.

Why get a Cyber Security audit?

Fundamentally you don’t know how much of a gaping security flaw you have until you get a professional to try and get into your systems or just to review them. It might seem like an expense that leads to another expense but it’s so essential to ensure you’re not opening yourself up to attacks unnecessarily.

I hear the argument of “we’ve been alright so far, and it costs too much to have a complete overview and make the recommended changes” very regularly. My answer is, how much would it cost you in time and money if all your business data was encrypted and non-recovery, or one of your customers were targeted through one of your systems and you had to explain to them that your lapse in security audits is the reason their accounting team have transferred hard earned money through to an unknown third party. It’s usually such an easy hole to plug if you know about it but you can’t do anything about it if you don’t know.

Why is it important?

It’s crucial to point out that an IT security audit is not there to highlight how poorly your IT department is doing. Completely the opposite, it is there to give you and your management the greatest possible assistance to keep your data, systems and users protected in the best possible way.

Audits play a critical role in helping organisations avoid cyber threats. They are so important as they identify and test your security to ensure that any weaknesses or vulnerabilities are highlighted, and that strategies are then put in place to safeguard against cybercrime.  

Alongside defending against cyber breaches, an audit is also fundamental as part of compliance for small, medium, and large businesses based in Ipswich, Felixstowe, Bury St. Edmunds and across Suffolk whether that is in relation to GDPR, the UK Data Protection Act or any other laws, guidelines, standards, or policies that are specific to your sector.

What are the benefits of a Cyber Security audit?

As I’ve already detailed there’s a number of reasons why a Cyber Security Audit is important, but there’s also an array of benefits that I feel should be noted! In a nutshell the main reason we all conduct a Cyber security audit is to identify and address security and compliance weaknesses, thus avoiding the threat of business disruptions and regulatory fines. However, there are other important benefits:

• Security means credibility

It goes without saying that having high standards attracts those with the same values, but if you are seen to continually improve your security configurations and to streamline your external technology procedures; you will gain strong credibility as a trusted business partner, benefitting your existing customer relations and working as a key incentive when targeting new clients.

• Continuous learning

There’s a rather famous saying in our sector ‘securing IT systems is more like a marathon than a sprint’ It’s such a face paced industry and as much as the technology advances, so do the threats. By using dedicated IT support experts to carry out regular Cyber Security audits it means that you are able to continue to learn the hard facts about the status of security in your business and, will be given positive improvements that Corbel could implement- meaning with the continue cycle of audits your business will get stronger and stronger.

• Building knowledge and awareness

By being involved in a Cyber Security Audit it means there is considerably more direct and increased awareness within your managers and their individual departments of the vulnerabilities that can impact your business. Meaning, they are more likely to adhere to the security measures you put in place. Also, by discussing the methods and findings with your auditors you will be able to learn from their expertise, ultimately sharing and building training amongst your team. 88% of all security breaches are actually made by human error. Ipswich based, Corbel host a training platform that takes your team on a continuous journey of Cyber Security learning and awareness through an initial training video of the threats that are the most prevalent in 2022 and then weekly informational videos with micro quizzes. Knowledge levels can be tested regularly with phishing simulations and comprehensive reporting so you can make sure that you are identifying your risk and enabling your team to be aware of how they can assist.

• Strong strategy

Whilst an audit is likely to uncover some issues that you hadn’t spotted before, you shouldn’t be disheartened as this is exactly what we would expect. As IT support experts, the auditors will present the assessment as a detailed list of threats, along with their risk level and the specific recommendations on how to deal with the vulnerability. The list itself is a valuable basis for a long-term security strategy and means creating a list of actions for your company’s strategy and prioritising those becomes a swift job!

How often should I have a Cyber Security Audit?

There are several factors which may determine how often a business should have a Cyber Security audit. Firstly, it may be very much dependent on the sector that you are in as some insurance policies and regulations set out specific rules for audits to be carried out monthly, quarterly, or annually in certain industries.

Your size may also have an impact. Large businesses, due to having a greater number of systems, more complex procedures, and an increased cyber security risk are more likely to conduct audits more frequently. For small and medium sized business, the need for an audit is just as vital however, due to size and the available resources it is mostly recommended either biannually or annually.  

There are also certain circumstances when an audit should occur:

• When a new version of a compliance standard is released
• When you apply a new IT system
• If you have changed hardware or network devices
• After a substantial increase to your number of employees
• After a data security breach  
• When your last audit was completed more than a year ago  

What actually is involved in a Cyber Audit?

Put very straight forwardly a Cyber Audit is a thorough look into your business’ cyber security.  It will look to highlight risks within your business and show you them in a really clear concise report in priority order along with recommendations for remediation steps.  It can also highlight any gaps in your current defences.  When the audit is concluded you will understand fully your current cyber security position.

A Cyber Security Audit will assess your Data security, including:

• Physical Security – Multi Factor Authentication and Disk Encryption
• Systems Security – Overview of Patching Processes, user access, privileges accounts
• Operational Security – Review of your procedures including controls and policies
• Network Security – Review of how effective your AV is and any online monitoring functionality using penetration testing
• Data Security – will look at your Cyber Security around data during storage and transmission include network access controls

After the audit, what next?

It’s not uncommon for a Cyber Security audit to point to big issues with the way you’re currently operating/managing IT infrastructure. That is a fairly common result of the audit and nothing to be too shocked about.

It’s now time to take action, you can make an informed choice based on the priorities identified, and the expert advice from Corbel, on a roadmap to tackle the issues identified.

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Corbel based in Ipswich are dedicated IT support experts. The specialise in Cyber Security services offering Cyber Security Audits to small and medium businesses across Felixstowe, Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket, Woodbridge and the surrounding Suffolk County. Have a read of our testimonials to see how we have successfully helped other businesses in the Ipswich area, and if you would to have a chat around an audit or a Penetration test of your infrastructure, please call us on 01473 241515 and have a chat with our team.