Why Security Audits Are Important

In this digital world, companies rely on the latest technology to run their business, and there is a high risk of cyber -attacks.

Every product, whether it be software or application, should go through a rough security test process. These checks show whether the product is safe or suffering.

A common way to test the process or product is penetration test, but it is especially designed to keep in mind a particular product. On the other hand, a complete security audit has a wider scope and covers the ground much more than the penetration test.

In this article, you will learn what the standard security audit is included and how this process can help keep your software safe. By the end, you will have a better idea of ​​how a security audit can help improve an organization’s overall security currency.

What is a security audit?

Security Audit is an overall overview of an organization’s security controls, policies, standards and procedures that are based on a set of default expectations.

These default expectations are derived from industry standards such as PCIDSS (payment card industry data security standard), which is a mandatory framework for credit card transaction organizations. Similarly, the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) focuses on the privacy and protection of your precision information, which is essential for precision data companies.

In addition to these standards, policies and framework, security audit infrastructure also examines the components of the application and check the backup or recovery method to ensure that the data is safe if accidental or malicious data decreases.

Audit results can help the company aware of its existing security currency, and can also provide details about potential risks and compliance risks.

Generally, security audit is done by a group of security specialists. They already plan well to make sure that it will hinder the company’s daily business.

There are two types of security audit:

1. Inner audit

2. Outer audit

In this article, we will discuss internal audits. The main difference between the two processes is that the internal audit is done by people belonging to the organization, while the external audit is done by a security team outside the organization.

Elements of internal audit (process flow)

A well -made security audit provides transparency and ensures that there is a systematic approach to evaluate the effectiveness of security policies and procedures.

The internal audit process usually follows these five steps:

1. The establishment of goals and goals

2. Conducting risk assessment

3. Complete the control assessment

4. Guessing compliance

5. Talking to stakeholders

To understand the elements of the internal audit in more detail, let’s break the process by working through a case study. It will show you how a company or team can plan an internal audit using a systematic approach.

Security Audit Case Study

Let to understand this process more clearly, for example, consider an e -commerce website called “Wakin.com”.

Case Study: Is an e -commerce website named Wakjan.com Which mainly sells shoes through his website. Users can order by login using their usernames and passwords and pay by using credit/debit card or UPI. To make the user better experience, the website seeks user name, age, gender and location for personal information and design.

Keeping this information in mind, let’s audit a security audit for the website.

Step 1: Set goals and goals

This first phase involves identifying all important assets and services needed to run the website. You will also need to explain a set of industry standard expectations.

For our Wakin.com website, the key assets we need to consider include customer data, transaction details, and infrastructure details such as hosting server, database, and so on.

Keeping these initial data points in mind, here are some potential goals and goals:

1. Control of power access: We want to make sure that there are strict verification and permission policies for any users signing in.

2. Maintain the appropriate framework: Since consumers can pay using credit cards, we would like to make sure that the site is complying with standards like PCIDSS for safety.

3. Secure infrastructure: Assets such as hosting servers and databases need to be protected from cyber threats and theft.

Now, the key expectations are that we will maintain compliance with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) to protect customer data as well as monetary transactions for PCIDSS (payment card industry data security standard). We will also need to perform regular maintenance and patch updates for servers and databases.

Step 2: Diagnose risk

Diagnosis of danger helps us identify and prioritize the risks that can potentially affect the key assets of Wakjan. It helps to classify the risks based on their intensity and possibility.

Identifying and classification of risks will be the ultimate goal at this stage, as it will help Wakjan implement effective security measures for important risks compared to low/information risks.

In the previous phase we may have potential risks, from the assets and services we have identified:

1. Customer data leakage: Customer data exhibition such as name, email ID, customer delivery addresses, payment details, and so on.

2. Middle attacks in humans: Login in the login and website to prevent traffic between the website, which causes login credentials, stored payment card details, and so on.

3. Non -compliance with PCIDSS: Failure to meet the standards required to secure the credit card transaction safely.

4. Details of unauthorized transactions or stolen payment: Payment transactions are being made on the compromised accounts by cyber criminals.

5. Server weakness: Host Web Server Configure, Third Party Software, or weakness in Cloud Network Infrastructure.

6. Database exploits: Exploit the weaknesses in the database through SQL injections such as penetration tests, etc.

7. Missing Patch updates: Ignoring/failure in imposing security patches for OS or Wakjan applications.

Note: If you look closely, some of these risks appear to be overlap with others, and some can be praised in the same way. It is called “Risk series link“But deep down they are different from each other.

Once we identify these risks, the next step is to give priority to various factors such as the possibility of being intensified, the possibility of being, the potential loss, and so on the basis of being.

3. Middle attacks in humans
4. Non -compliance with PCIDS
5. Unauthorized transactions or stolen payment details
7. Database exploits | | Medium risk | 6. Server weakness | | Low risk | 7. Refuse of Missing Patch |

Step 3: Complete the control assessment

This step ensures that security checkpoints/controls are implemented for the risks that we have identified while maintaining compliance standards. If a security control is missing, the audit document them and provides better preventing measures to protect the Wakjan website.

In this particular scenario, there may be some control diagnosis:

• Implement Multi -Factor Verification (MFA) or 2 element verification (2FA) using a one -time password (OTP) application to registered mobile number to prevent customer data accident exhibition.

• Data protection using encryption standards such as AES (Advanced Enforcement Standard) -256 and TLS (Transport Layer Security) 1.3 for secure data transmission.

• Also, implementing SEM (Security Information and Event Management tools for event logging.

• The account agreement is often through brutal force attacks when the attacker tries to estimate the user’s password several login. On the Wakjan website, a security plugin has been implemented to prevent numerous login efforts.

• 

• As stated in the “risk of risk link”, the risks of non -compliance with PCIDSS and unauthorized transactions or stolen payment details fall into the same category. We can reduce these risks by activating proper permits during payment transactions, and even more importantly, “Remember my card” option as default, which significantly reduces the risk.

• Server weaknesses and missing patches also fall into the same category of human -based risks. These risks are reduced by periodically updates and reminders to the person in charge of the Wakjan servers. There is a higher possibility that hosted clouds such as Ezor, AWS, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP) can have a server weakness, which can allow us to keep updated in their latest version.

This step helps us understand the real security currency in protecting the website from real -time attacks.

Step 4: Evaluate compliance

Generally, this phase is just a continuation of the previous phase. But in the audit, equal weight is given to both risk and compliance. This means that we will need to take a separate review of compliance for all the steps taken to reduce the risks.

Industry regulations and security standards such as GDPR, PCIDS, CyberScureti Best Practice, and ISO 27001 (Information Security Management System) Wakjan. To estimate whether these standards have been maintained and must be followed-otherwise the website may face risks or heavy fines on non-compliance.

These framework are general and basic framework that, regardless of their working model, should be followed by almost all companies. But there are some frames that are more specific to companies like Wakjan.

A specific framework for Wakjan will be ISO 22301 (Business Continuity Management System – BCMS), which helps to ensure that Wakjan can continue its operation during cyber attacks (if this happens). It also ensures that the company prepares to recover the destruction and reduce risk for the worst situation.

Note: If a security control is effective in reducing the risk but is not in line with the rules, it is considered a red flag in security.

At this stage, 95 % audit is complete. Audit team members should have a clear understanding of administration’s risks, security working models, implemented framework, and security protocols that are following the Wakjan.

Step 5: Talk to stakeholders

This phase eliminates the audit process for Wakjan and provides audit results to relevant security teams and board members, such as founders and CEOs. This report helps them understand the results and determine the next steps of the website, including how many funds should be allocated for necessary security measures.

The report for security teams will have many technical nuances, such as the scope of the website, how risks are identified (with pieces of code), and a detailed walk of each risk. On the contrary, reports for non -technical people, including potentially founder and CEOs, will provide high -level information about the audit and security difference.

Generally, the audit report of Wakjan provides insights such as:

• Summary of identified dangers and armed threats

• Implemented security framework

• Compliance Status: Statements such as “Wakjan meet industry standards like GDPR and ISO 22301.”

• Recommendations and further steps include increasing security, security budget requirements, and relevant action plans for walking.

Conclusion

Companies should conduct a regular security audit. Each time, they should compare the current results with the results of the previous audit to examine the organization’s analysis and security status.

I hope this article has given you a better idea about what is included in the security audit and why they are essential to complete companies on a regular basis. It is important for the company to be flexible against cyber risks, reduce potential and legal risks, and maintain consumer confidence in this evolutionary digital world.