Skip to main content

My InfoTech Journal!

MyInfoTechJournal: Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste: The Ultimate Business Continuity Plan (BCP) for Thriving in Any Situation (Part 3 of 3: EXAMPLE)

MyInfoTechJournal: Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste: The Ultimate Business Continuity Plan (BCP) for Thriving in Any Situation  (Part 3 of 3: EXAMPLE)
Post a Comment

Playbook for Conducting a Comprehensive IT Infrastructure Audit

Playbook for Conducting a Comprehensive IT Infrastructure Audit


An IT Infrastructure Audit is a comprehensive assessment of the technology systems, processes, and controls that an organization has in place to support its operations. 


Here's a playbook for Auditing IT Infrastructure:


1.  Establish the Scope

Define the scope of the audit, including the technology systems, processes, and controls that will be evaluated. 

Consider the criticality and sensitivity of the systems being audited.


2.  Review Policies and Procedures

Review the organization's policies and procedures related to IT, including security, data management, disaster recovery, and business continuity. 

Determine whether they align with industry best practices and regulatory requirements.


3.  Evaluate Physical Security

Evaluate physical security controls, such as access controls, visitor management, and environmental controls, to determine whether they are effective.


4.  Assess Network Infrastructure

Assess the organization's network infrastructure, including the design, architecture, and configuration of routers, switches, firewalls, and other devices. Evaluate whether the network is secure, resilient, and scalable.


5.  Evaluate System Security

Evaluate the security controls of the organization's systems, including servers, workstations, and other endpoints. 

Evaluate whether security controls are in place to protect against malware, unauthorized access, and data breaches.


6.  Review Data Management 

Review the organization's data management practices, including data classification, storage, and retention policies. 

Determine whether data is protected against loss, corruption, and unauthorized access.


7.  Assess Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity

Assess the organization's disaster recovery and business continuity plans to determine whether they are effective and can ensure the continuity of operations in the event of a disruption.


8.  Review Third-Party Contracts

Review contracts with third-party vendors to determine whether the organization has proper controls in place to ensure the security and confidentiality of data shared with them.


9.  Evaluate compliance

Evaluate the organization's compliance with relevant regulations, such as HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and GDPR. 

Determine whether the organization is taking appropriate steps to maintain compliance.


10.  Prepare audit report

Prepare a comprehensive report that includes the findings of the audit, recommendations for improvement, and a risk assessment. 

The report should be presented to management for review and action.


11.  Follow up

Follow up with management to ensure that the recommendations for improvement have been implemented and are effective. 

Conduct periodic reviews to ensure ongoing compliance and security.


In summary, an IT Infrastructure Audit is a complex undertaking that requires a thorough and detailed approach. 


By following this playbook, you can ensure that the audit is comprehensive and effective, and that the organization's IT infrastructure is secure, resilient, and compliant with relevant regulations.


Disclaimer 

This article is a result of my personal research and is not a substitute for legal advice. Please consult your Information Security Team, Legal Team, Ethics & Compliance, or Regulatory Team for the interpretation of  specific Information Security requirements.




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

POPULAR: My InfoTech Journal

Network Security: How to minimize the Risk of your Wireless Network

My InfoTech Journal: What you can do to minimize the risk of your wireless network? Access Points are usually targets for unauthorized access. You have to ensure that your access points are secured to prevent unauthorized access.  There are several ways of securing your wireless access points.  Here is a Security Tip from the US CISA. Change default password. Restrict access. Encrypt the data on your network. Protect your Service Set Identifier (SSID). Install a Firewall. Maintain Anti-Virus software.I Use file sharing with caution. Keep your access point software patched and up to date. Check your internet provider’s router or router manufacturers wireless security options. Connect Using Virtual Private Network (VPN). A more detailed discussion of this tip can be found in this post:   US CISA: Security Tip (ST 005-003) Securing Wireless Networks End Notes  US CISA: Security Tip Disclaimer   This article is a result of my personal research and is not a substitute for legal advise.  Ple
Post a Comment
MORE of My InfoTech Journal »

Information Security Tenets (The CIA Triad)

My InfoTech Journal:   Information Security Tenets The CIA Triad The   three tenets or fundamental principles of Information Security are  Confidentiality ,  Integrity , and  Availability .  This is also commonly known as the CIA Triad . The Information Security  programs refers to the controls designed and implemented to protect these three tenets:  Confidentiality ,  Integrity , and  Availability .   What is Confidentiality? Confidentiality ensures that private information remains private and that these private information can only be accessed or viewed by authorized individuals on need to know basis. Information Security controls must therefore be put in place to protect the data from unauthorized disclosure.  Examples of  Information Security controls  to ensure Data Confidentiality : Access Control List (ACL) Username and Password  Encryption  Two-Factor Authentication (Password, Token, PIN, Biometric, etc) What is Integrity? Integrity refers to the accuracy and completeness of t
Post a Comment
MORE of My InfoTech Journal »

Network Security: How to Secure Your Network

My InfoTech Journal: Network Security  To set the context of this domain, I have here several definitions from different service providers. Network Security  refers to the practices of protecting computer network from intruders, including both wired and wireless connections. - US CISA Network Security  is any activity designed to protect the usability and integrity of your network and data. It includes both hardware and software technologies. Effective network security manages access to the network. It targets a variety of threats and stops them from entering or spreading on your network. - Cisco Network Security  combines multiple layers of defenses at the edge and in the network. Each network security layer implements policies and controls. Authorized users gain access to network resources, but malicious actors are blocked from carrying out exploits and threats. - Cisco Network Security  are measures taken to protect a communications pathway from unauthorized access to, and accidenta
1 comment
MORE of My InfoTech Journal »

Introduction to SOX Compliance

 My InfoTech Journal:  Introduction to SOX Compliance  Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is defined as “An Act to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities laws, and for other purposes.” 1 Sarbanes-Oxley Act  or more commonly known as  SOX , is a Federal Law which was enacted on 30-July-2002.  The Sarbanes-Oxley Act  was known in the US Senate as the “ Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act ” and known in the US House as the “ Corporate and Auditing Accountability, Responsibility, and Transparency Act ”. This law was enacted as a response to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals including Enron and WorldCom. 2 The Sarbanes-Oxley Act  defined “ A violation by any person of this Act, any rule or regulation of the Commission issued under this Act, or any rule of the Board shall be treated for all purposes in the same manner as a violation of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15
Post a Comment
MORE of My InfoTech Journal »

How to Improve Employees’ CyberSecurity Awareness (From Weakest Link to Fist Line of Defence)

My InfoTech Journal: How to Improve Employees’ CyberSecurity Awareness (From Weakest Link to Fist Line of Defence) Your Employees may be the weakest link in the CyberSecurity chain,   BUT, You can train them to be part of your first line of defence.  Improving Employees’ CyrberSecurity know-how will depend greatly on your company’s CyberSecurity Awareness Program. This must be aimed to strengthen your first line of defence. There must be a CyberSecurity Awareness Program to ensure everyone is aligned with the company’s principles, policies and procedures. The CyberSecurity Awareness Program should promote everyone’s inclusion and a culture that CyberSecurity is everyone’s responsibility. The CyberSecurity Awareness Courses will also help everyone in the company to be in the same page against malicious attacks. The CyrberSecurity Training should be regularly deployed to the Employees. The CyberSecurity courses should be   designed to include training  Employees on the different human-ba
Post a Comment
MORE of My InfoTech Journal »

What is General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

My InfoTech Journal:  General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) The  General Data Protection Regulation , also known as  GDPR  is regulation under the  European Union (EU) Law  that mandates data security and privacy.  The  General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR)  was passed by the European Parliament in 14-Apr-2016 and which became  effective on 25-May-2018.  The main objective of GDPR is to ensure that individuals under the European Economic Area (EEA) have control and rights over their personal information. The GDPR also aims to simplify the regulatory requirements for international business. GDPR Protection Principles  1 Lawfulness, fairness and transparency  —  Processing must be lawful, fair, and transparent to the data subject.  Purpose limitation   — You must process data for the legitimate purposes specified explicitly to the data subject when you collected it.  Data minimization   — You should collect and process only as much data as absolutely necessary for the purposes s
Post a Comment
MORE of My InfoTech Journal »

Information Security

My InfoTech Journal: Information Security Information Security is always a very interesting domain for discussion.  Over the years, Information Security has evolved as a domain that requires more and more stringent security controls in order to comply with growing compliance requirements and most importantly to protect corporate sensitive data, confidential, personal information, and other critical data. There are several Information Security Standards or Frameworks available in the industry to choose from.  But there is no one standard that can claim the title of being an all-in-one package solution. So if you are into Information Security compliance, you need to understand your organization to know what standards will best fit your compliance requirement.  In some cases, you will have to implement combinations of industry standards for your compliance governance program. Back in the days, I was involved in an outsourcing project as an Account Security Officer (ASO) for a large corpo
Post a Comment
MORE of My InfoTech Journal »

CyberSecurity Predictions for 2022 and Beyond

My InfoTech Journal: CyberSecurity Predictions for 2022 and Beyond     Today’s post will focus on the latest report released by Mandiant titled “ 14 CyberSecurity Predictions for 2022 and Beyond ”. Mandiant identified 14 predictions which are focused on seven main CyberSecurity threat areas: 1. Ransomware and multifaceted extortion in the spotlight 2. Outlook on major nation-state actors: The Big Four 3. Events in the Afghanistan trigger espionage and information operations 4. Deepfakes: Not just for information operations 5. Cyber outsourcing increases velocity and impact of malicious operations  6. Cloud and Third Parties introduce new chokepoints 7. More internet of things devices, more vulnerabilities, more attacks   14 CyberSecurity Predictions for 2022 and Beyond Here’s a snapshot of the 14 CyberSecurity Predictions for 2022 and Beyond Ransomware and multifaceted extortion in the spotlight 1. No End in Sight: Increased Frequency and Expanding Tactics The Ransomware Threat will c
Post a Comment
MORE of My InfoTech Journal »

Unlock the Secrets of the Top 10 Information Security Solutions and Safeguard Your Digital World!

{color: #000000; } My InfoTech Journal: Unlock the Secrets of the Top 10 Information Security Solutions and Safeguard Your Digital World!
Post a Comment
MORE of My InfoTech Journal »

Are You Safe? The Shocking Truth About Privacy Risks and How to Protect Yourself

My InfoTech Journal: Are You Safe? The Shocking Truth About Privacy Risks and How to Protect Yourself
Post a Comment
MORE of My InfoTech Journal »