Data Security Audits: Self-Assessments to Strengthen Your Defenses

With the growing threat of cyber attacks, data security is even more important for businesses. If you don’t know where the weak points are in your data security, you will not be able to properly address them. Data security audits and self-assessments, when performed as part of your overall cybersecurity plan, can help strengthen your defenses by allowing you to identify areas of vulnerability before a breach happens.

What is a Data Security Self-Assessment?

A data security self-assessment is a tool that allows you to look at all your security practices and determine where your risk factors are. A self-assessment, which can be performed by your team, will allow you to go through all your security practices and determine the weak points and what can be done to increase data security. Data security self-assessments can be very effective after getting an initial data security audit done by an external party.

Getting an External Data Security Audit

Data security audits can be done either internally or externally. In an external security audit, a third party will be brought in to test the current security practices and identify potential weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Knowing where your weaknesses are will show you exactly where data security can and should be improved and can also point out risky behavior that needs to be addressed. In an external audit, the third party can be objective and offer an unbiased assessment.

The external auditor can also make sure that all the services your business is using for data security are configured correctly and working as they should. In some cases, an external audit will include a member of the team doing penetration testing, where they behave using the same tactics and tools as a hacker, giving your business a true test of how it would respond to a real threat to data security. If the “hacker” is able to gain access to your systems, you will know where you need to improve your defenses to prevent a real attack from someone with poor intentions.

How Often Should You Conduct an Audit?

Audits of your data security should be done on a fairly regular basis. Cyber threats are constantly evolving, and your data security needs to evolve to stay on top of these changing threats. Generally speaking, you should do either an internal or an external data security audit at minimum once a year, but as often as once per quarter if you are especially concerned about your data. It’s also important to do a data security audit after any major change to your IT system or policy, as implementing a new system can have an impact on your security.

This can include adding new servers to your network, transitioning to new software, and onboarding new employees. In addition, if a security audit turns up any significant weaknesses, an additional audit should be scheduled for after those weaknesses have been addressed in order to make sure the remedies were effective.

Regular Assessments are Important

Human error is one of the top causes of data security breaches. Even if your employees have been trained in cyber security best practices, it is very easy for a simple mistake or lapse in judgment to become a very costly security breach. An external audit or internal assessment can help you determine whether or not your employees require additional training in security measures. For example, employees may be presented with a “phishing scam” simulation to see how they would respond to a message in their email. Do the employees verify the sender or check the validity of the link before clicking? If employees are able to fall victim to the scam, they may need to be retrained in recognizing potential threats, and the precautions that should be put in place before clicking on any external links.

Best Practices for Data Security Audits

The best practices for data security audits all follow the same formula more or less: know what you are looking for and how you’re going to look, and identify what you found and how you’re going to address those findings. Before you begin a data security audit, you need to have a clear picture.

• Determine what the assessment criteria will be and identify the goals of the audit. You can be very specific as to which areas of security you want to focus on. While the general goal is to make sure that your security is effective, you do need to figure out which systems, processes, and threats you want to focus on.
• Determine the type of audit you will perform or will contract a third party to perform. You can do an audit that focuses on vulnerability assessments, network security assessments, log analysis, penetration tests, policy compliance, or any combination of these tests.
• Identify areas of vulnerability. Make sure to report on all threats that are potential entry points for hackers.
• Develop a plan to address any vulnerabilities and threats that were found during the audit. 

Many organizations fall victim to data breaches because they did not know they were vulnerable. When you feel you are completely protected, it can be easy to let your guard down, and that is when you can be most vulnerable. Without knowing where the weaknesses are in the system, it is impossible to know where you need additional layers of security, review of employee training, or software updates. When you know where the gaps are, you can mitigate the risk before it becomes a real problem.

AccuShred can help. We’ve partnered with the CSR Readiness Program to help you identify and assess the weak points in your data security. After a self assessment you can adjust and improve your security practices. In the case of a breach, CSR has a breach reporting service that can help you through your data breach recovery plan. Contact us today to learn more!