How can you ensure your IT systems are up-to-date and fully secure? It’s not uncommon for an organization to hold an IT compliance audit to ensure they’re meeting their regulatory security standards, as well as check up on their IT systems, data handling, and operational practices.
IT compliance audits are essential for checking on the health of your systems and security, especially in industries with strict regulations and requirements. With that in mind, let’s take a look at IT compliance audits, what goes into an audit, and how Splashtop AEM can help enhance the audit process.
What is an IT Compliance Audit?
An IT compliance audit is an assessment of a company’s technology systems, cybersecurity tools, policies, and practices to ensure they’re meeting their industry and legal standards. This includes reviewing their security measures, data privacy, and so on, with any relevant compliance standards in mind.
For instance, medical organizations need to comply with HIPAA regulations, so any IT compliance audit will look at how their security tools and policies keep sensitive patient information safe. Similarly, any organization that processes credit card information will want to include PCI DSS compliance as part of its audit.
Why IT Compliance Audits are Crucial for Your Business
Now that we know what an IT compliance audit is, the next question is: why do they matter?
IT compliance audits are essential for ensuring companies are meeting their security requirements and regulatory compliance. These audits are important, as proper security helps reduce risks and maintain operational security. Failing to meet security compliance, on the other hand, can have legal consequences in addition to increased risks.
Additionally, ensuring your security is up to date helps build trust with clients and customers, who will know their information is safe in your hands. So while the consequences for poor security can be dire, the benefits of IT compliance audits are also well worthwhile.
4 Stages of an IT Compliance Audit
If your company is preparing for an IT compliance audit, there are a few steps you can take. We can break down the audit process into four stages, each of which is important to the overall process.
1. Preparation
The first step in the audit is to prepare by defining its scope and goals, along with what regulations apply to your business. This requires gathering and reviewing relevant documents and setting up an audit timeline, including interviews.
2. Fieldwork
The fieldwork stage is the most intensive step of the audit. This is where the auditor (typically a third party hired by the organization) reviews the company’s IT environment, including systems, security measures, and data processes.
This stage can include multiple steps and tests, such as interviewing employees, verifying encryption, and assessing access controls to ensure sensitive data is properly stored and protected.
3. Audit Report
Once the auditor has done the fieldwork, they review the information and compile it into a report. This report not only determines if the company complies with relevant security standards, but also points out any risks or areas for improvement that the auditor identified and provides recommendations for improvement. As such, it is possible to pass an IT compliance audit while still finding room to improve.
4. Follow-Up
Even once the audit is done, there’s still work to be done. After receiving the report, the company can address any issues or vulnerabilities the auditor uncovered. This could include installing security patches or new systems, improving training, or implementing new security policies.
The auditors will then conduct a follow-up review to ensure the improvements are in place and the company meets its requirements.
What Areas Do IT Compliance Audits Examine?
An IT compliance audit can cover multiple areas, although different industries will have specific criteria based on their regulations. However, nearly every IT compliance audit will cover these areas:
Security policies: When auditors examine security policies, they evaluate the frameworks, internal policies, automation tools, and even employee training. Every aspect of security, both digital and physical, should be analyzed and kept up-to-date.
Data privacy: How is data managed, stored, and protected? The audit analyzes all aspects of data privacy, including encryption, storage, and backup. This is particularly important for organizations that manage sensitive data, which may also have specific regulatory requirements.
User access controls: Who has access to sensitive data and systems? IT compliance audits check how access is managed and restricted, such as with zero trust security or role-based access control, to ensure that unauthorized users are kept at bay.
Risk management strategies: It’s vital to know how to identify, track, and manage risks. Audits include a look at risk assessment procedures to see how the company identifies and addresses vulnerabilities to ensure they’re managing risks properly.
Incident response plan: What does a company do should the worst happen? Organizations need an incident response plan for managing security threats, including reporting and recovery. Employees also need to know their roles should an incident occur and be trained to respond quickly and efficiently.
The audit will evaluate how these policies and controls are implemented across the IT infrastructure. After all, there’s little point in having security policies if they’re not applied consistently throughout an organization.
Examples of IT Compliance Regulatory Frameworks
Organizations often must comply with certain security regulations and frameworks in order to pass their audit. These can vary depending on the industry, but these are some common regulations:
PCI DSS
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is an information security standard for organizations that handle credit cards, designed to protect cardholder data and reduce fraud. Under PCI DSS, companies must meet a standardized minimum level of security when storing, processing, and transmitting cardholder information. As such, most organizations will require PCI DSS compliance as part of their audit.
SOC 2
SOC 2 (which stands for “Systems and Organization Controls”) is a compliance standard that specifies how service organizations manage customer data, covering security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. Audits frequently include SOC 2 reports, which are designed to detail how organizations manage their data security.
ISO/IEC
ISO/IEC is an international information security standard, detailing requirements for establishing, maintaining, and improving an information security management system. It requires that organizations examine their IT security risks, design and implement security controls to address them, and adopt a management process to ensure they continue to meet their security needs. While there are many variants of the ISO/IEC standard, it’s often an important part of compliance audits.
GDPR
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a European Union regulation on information privacy. Organizations that do business in the EU will want to maintain GDPR compliance when managing personal data and include it in their audits.
Steps to Ensure a Smooth Compliance Audit Process
If you’ve got an IT compliance audit on the horizon, you might wonder what steps you can take to prepare and ensure it goes smoothly. If you want an efficient and successful audit, here are a few steps you can follow:
Prepare documentation to demonstrate how your data and security are managed and that you’re meeting your security requirements.
Train your staff to ensure they understand your security protocols and follow security best practices.
Conduct risk assessments and internal audits to identify any threats or vulnerabilities you must address before the audit.
Regularly review your security protocols to ensure you’re up to date and meeting your obligations.
Use compliance management software to monitor your systems and controls and ensure your devices meet your compliance requirements.
The Role of Technology in Simplifying Compliance Audits
Fortunately, IT compliance audits can be made easier and more painless with the right technology.
Using endpoint management solutions, for instance, makes it easy to connect to, manage, and update multiple devices at once. This reduces manual workloads while enabling you to roll out security tools and patches across numerous endpoints simultaneously, keeping all your devices up to date and in line with your security policies.
Compliance audit software, as previously mentioned, is another useful tool. This software can include documents, processes, applications, and internal controls for monitoring and managing an organization’s IT compliance, keeping everything organized and reducing costs while improving efficiency.
Together, these solutions can help companies avoid legal risks, minimize errors, and improve the efficiency of their IT compliance audits.
Streamlined Compliance Audits and Accurate Reporting with Splashtop AEM
If you’re looking for a powerful endpoint management solution before an IT compliance audit, Splashtop AEM (Autonomous Endpoint Management) has what you need.
Splashtop AEM provides comprehensive monitoring, control, and reporting across all your endpoints, making compliance audits easier and more efficient. It provides real-time visibility into all your endpoints, along with asset tracking to help streamline audits.
Key benefits of Splashtop AEM include:
Real-Time Endpoint Monitoring: Stay on top of your endpoints with live tracking and visibility, ensuring all devices are always compliant.
Centralized Endpoint Management: Easily manage and control all devices from a single platform, reducing manual work and ensuring consistency across your IT environment.
Automated Software & Patch Deployment: Roll out security updates and patches across multiple endpoints simultaneously, streamlining your audit preparation and ongoing compliance.
Asset Tracking: Keep an accurate record of all hardware and software assets, making it easier to track compliance with industry regulations.
Enhanced Security Controls: Use built-in security features like multi-factor authentication (MFA) and access controls to ensure your devices and data remain secure.
Efficient Audit Reporting: Generate detailed audit reports with just a few clicks, giving you the documentation needed for compliance assessments.
Scalable Solution: Whether managing a few or thousands of endpoints, Splashtop AEM scales to meet the needs of your organization, making it an ideal solution for businesses of all sizes.
Reduced Downtime: Proactively manage devices and security, reducing the risk of compliance violations and minimizing system downtime.
With Splashtop AEM’s ease of use and system-wide management, IT security and compliance are easier than ever. Want to experience Splashtop for yourself? Get started with a free trial today:
