200 word response 1 reference Due 6/8/2024
Jackson
Discussion 2-2: Conducting an IT Infrastructure Audit for Compliance
IT security policies have a high level of importance for a compliance audit. As defined by Fortinet, and IT Security Policy “identifies the rules and procedures for all individuals and using an organization’s IT assets and resources” (2024). IT security policies provide solid guidelines for an organization on how to protect its assets. They establish acceptable use, incident response plans, and access controls. Having IT security policies in place also helps an organization ensure they are complying with industry regulations. When performing compliance audits, auditors often check that an organization is adhering to specific frameworks, such as HIPAA. Risk management is defined by IBM as “the process of identifying, assessing and controlling financial, legal, strategic and security risks to an organization’s capital and earnings” (2024). With a risk management plan, aside from the obvious benefits, it demonstrates to compliance auditors that the business is taking a proactive approach towards IT security, making them favorable. Having a strong IT policy framework also assists in risk identification and mitigation, as well as the confidence of having structured, protected systems.
Assessing compliance separately in the seven domains of IT infrastructure is essential. It allows for a thorough assessment of each area, ensuring none are overlooked. By identifying specific risks that are particular to each IT domain, mitigation techniques for each are more direct and focused. For example, by having one team focus specifically on the user domain and another focusing on LAN domain, approaches to compliance are tailored increasing success. With this method, there is also a focus on accountability for each team focusing on a domain.
Discussion 2-4: Compliance Within the User Domain: Training
Phishing is “a cyberthreat hackers use to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information, such as passwords and personally identifiable information” (Stouffer, 2023). For example, an individual might get an email from an account that shares the same name as their bank. The email will usually state that some sort of breach has happened and affected the user’s bank account. The email will then ask for specific information, such as bank pin, social security number, or routing numbers. If the user is not familiar with phishing attacks, they might give up sensitive information in response to this faux email, with the result being now an actual security breach. A strategy to combat this for employees is to have annual phishing and social engineering training, to be alert of what the different types of phishing attacks look like and how to identify them. For consumers, the company should send out periodic emails letting consumers know that they would never outright ask for sensitive information, such as a social security number or banking information.
