08 Feb What is a Cyber Security Audit and Why Do I Need One?

What is a cyber security audit and why do I need one? Rob Childs, Puzzle Technology

A cyber security audit is an assessment of an organization’s information security system to identify potential risks and vulnerabilities. It is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the organization’s security policies, procedures, and controls.   Puzzle Technology are expert at assessing the cyber security of UK businesses.  We help a wide range of clients to assess and neutralise potential threats to their business by providing professional IT support and its associated services.  Find out more about what we do.

5 Reasons to Perform a Cyber Security Audit:

1. Identify Weaknesses: An audit can help identify any weaknesses in the organization’s security system that could be exploited by malicious actors such as hackers, competitor businesses or rogue states. Whilst we all feel that this will never happen to us, the reality is that almost every computer or network is vulnerable. Why leave it to chance?

2. Ensure Compliance: A Puzzle Technology cyber security audit can help ensure that the organization is in compliance with any applicable laws and regulations. This is essential because your business could face stiff penalties from the government or regulatory authorities if you are exposing your client’s personal data.  This is especially important for companies that handle and store their clients’ data. If that data were to be exposed to a malicious action such as a hack, there may be grounds for your clients to sue your company.

3. Protect Data: A security audit can help protect the organization’s sensitive data from unauthorized access. Whilst similar to the previous point, it’s critical to every business that your data stay secure away from prying eyes or invasive data harvesting software.  Not only do you need to prevent outside sources from gaining access to sensitive data, but you need to protect the data internally too.  Not every member of staff should have access to sensitive data.  We can set up and maintain network permissions across all machines and devices that your company uses to access client data.

For example, the data breach at Capital One (2019): Over 100 million people’s personal information was compromised in a data breach at Capital One, a significant bank in the United States. A poorly set firewall was the root of the problem, giving a hacker access to private information such as names, addresses, credit scores, and bank account details. The result was enormous monetary losses and settlements as well as reputational harm to the business.

4. Improve Security: A cyber security audit can help the organization improve its security posture by identifying areas that need to be addressed. Then we can help you to take the most appropriate steps to secure your business. Saving you thousands of pounds in the long run.  By analysing your security software, hardware and usage need, we can help you put in place a set of measures that will improve working practices and protect your business from potentially damaging legal action.

5. Reduce Risk: Reduce the risk of a security breach by identifying potential threats and vulnerabilities, such as Firewall misconfiguration or outdated hardware and software. With our help your team will also become more aware of the types of vulnerabilities your business suffers from and what kinds of cyber threats to look out for,

Convinced? Talk to Puzzle Today

We hope we haven’t worried you too much. Regardless though, our team are happy to discuss the benefits of a cyber security audit with you further. We will provide you with all the information you need to make informed decisions about your IT support and should you choose to work with us, will provide a first-class service to suit your needs. Get in touch today!