How Internal Audits can Help You Prevent Data Breaches?

Introduction

A data breach is an event in which unauthorised individuals gain access to a company’s computers, networks or mobile devices and steal sensitive data. The goal of theft may be to sell the information on the dark web or use it for identity theft. A successful data breach can have serious consequences for both, that is the companies and their customers because it affects more than just personal information like social security numbers and credit cards; it often includes vital business files as well.

What is an Internal Security Audit?

An Internal Security Audit is a process of evaluating an organisation’s security program and practices. It is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organisation’s operations. These audits are conducted by trained auditors whose aim is to provide management with useful information regarding the effectiveness of the organisation’s information security program.

Security audits can be performed on an ongoing basis to ensure that an organisation’s information security procedures stay in line with best practices as well as when there are changes made in the company’s infrastructure (e.g., new software implementation).

Security audits are performed as part of an organisation’s risk management strategy and to ensure that they comply with any laws or regulations that may apply. The audit process includes assessing the organisation’s security posture, identifying risks or areas of non-compliance with policies or procedures, making recommendations for improvement (e.g., eliminating vulnerabilities) and measuring the effectiveness of those improvements over time.

Should Your Company Be Concerned About Data Breach?

The short answer is Yes. Data breaches are a serious matter and can have devastating effects for a business. A data breach is an event in which unauthorised access of information occurs, often due to the actions of malicious attackers or system administrators. Data breaches may expose sensitive personal information such as account numbers, credit cards numbers and social security numbers. They could also expose other confidential documents containing intellectual property or trade secret information that could be used by competitors to gain unfair advantage over your company in the marketplace.

Data breaches can lead to lawsuits, fines and loss of customer trust and loyalty with the potential cost estimated at billions per year globally.

Data Breach: What Causes Them?

Data breaches can be caused by a variety of factors, including human error, malware, and cyber criminals. Data breaches can happen to anyone, but not all data breaches are treated equally. The type of data that was exposed and the number of people affected can determine whether a company is liable for a data breach. In addition, there are laws in place that hold companies accountable for not taking reasonable steps to protect sensitive information from unauthorised access or disclosure.

Data breaches can be caused by human errors such as the accidental loss or theft of a device containing confidential information, as well as malicious intent such as hacking. The most common cause of data breaches is human error, which can happen in any Organisation. For example, an employee might accidentally send an email with confidential data to the wrong recipient or leave a device containing sensitive information unattended and accessible to others.

Data breaches are also caused through malware and viruses that can infect computers and network systems. Malware is a form of software designed to disrupt or damage computers and computer networks. It’s often used by cybercriminals to steal personal data and financial information, such as credit card numbers, Social Security numbers and bank account details.

How to Avoid Data Breach

Conducting regular internal audits is essential to preventing data breaches. Internal audits can help you ensure that your company’s security policies are being followed, that employees are taking precautions to protect sensitive information and that you’re aware of any vulnerabilities in your network. Conducting regular internal audits on your systems and software is one of the best ways to identify vulnerabilities.

Here are just some of the things that regular internal audits help you identify:

• Usage of strong passwords.
• How well employees are trained on information security aspects.
• Usage of antivirus software to protect against viruses and malware and keeping all systems up-to-date.
• Usage of two-factor authentication whenever possible to prevent unauthorised access to your account.
• Implementation of information security systems such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems and encryption to protect data.
• Protection of physical access to your network with secure facilities and controlled building access.
• Implementation of an effective incident response plan for security incidents and training of employees on how to respond to such events, etc.

How to Avoid Breaches Caused by Phishing

Phishing is the most common way for hackers to gain access to your personal data. To avoid being phished, never open emails from unknown senders, click links in unsolicited emails or open attachments in unsolicited emails. Don’t provide any personal or sensitive information via email – instead, go directly to the website you are trying to reach and enter your information there. It’s also important to keep your anti-virus software up-to-date and running. This will help prevent any malware from entering your system.

Security Internal Audit and data breach prevention

An Internal Security Audit is an internal control review of your IT and information security systems. It can be performed on a regular basis (e.g., every year) or in response to specific events such as data breaches or cyber attacks that you may have experienced.

What is the purpose of an Internal Security Audit?

There are several reasons why companies need to conduct an Internal Security Audit. Some of them are:

• Before conducting any new project, it is important to ensure that the current state of your system meets the requirements for what you want to achieve with this project;
• If there are any violations in the way your company handles personal data, then these violations need to be addressed;
• You might want to assess whether all employees understand their information security responsibilities within the organisation and if their behaviours match their understanding;

One of the most important reasons for conducting an Internal Security Audit is to identify vulnerabilities in your IT and information security systems. If you want to make sure that your organisation stays one step ahead of cyber criminals, then regular audits should become part of your security strategy. Some examples of vulnerabilities that may be uncovered during an audit include: 

• Outdated software or hardware
• Lack of encryption
• Incorrect configuration settings

If all security weaknesses are fixed before they get exploited by cyber criminals, then you can significantly reduce the risk of a data breach. An Internal Security Audit can help you find and fix these vulnerabilities, thereby minimising your risk of suffering a costly data breach. What’s more, you will be able to show that you take your security responsibilities seriously if an external auditor comes knocking at your door.

The consequences of a data breach can be severe for any organisation, as well as for the people whose private information gets exposed. Even if you aren’t responsible for breaching anyone’s data, you can still suffer from reputational damage that may take years to recover from. If your business suffers a data breach, then you could see your profits drop significantly and maybe even go out of business.

How to Prevent Password Loss, Theft, and Cracking

Another way to prevent the loss, theft and cracking of passwords is to use strong passwords. A strong password is one that:

• Is long and complex, with at least 13 characters
• Does not contain your name, birth date or any other personal information
• Has a mixture of letters, numbers and special characters (e.g., !@#$%^&*)

If you can’t remember your current password, consider writing it down in an encrypted file on an external hard drive or USB stick. You can also set up a secure desktop password manager like LastPass which gives you a random string of characters when needed. Always change your passwords regularly (once a month is best) as well as using multi-factor authentication where possible so that even if someone gets hold of one set of credentials they won’t be able to get into everything else in your online life.

How to Stop Ransomware Security Breaches

You may have heard of ransomware, a type of malware that encrypts files on your computer and then demands payment in order to decrypt them. The ransom is usually paid in the form of bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies, which can be more difficult for law enforcement to trace than cash. But there are ways to protect yourself from ransomware. 

The first is to ensure that you have a strong antivirus program installed on your computer. It can help detect and remove malware before it has a chance to encrypt your files. Next, make sure your operating system is up to date. Many ransomware attacks exploit known vulnerabilities in older versions of Windows, so it’s important that you have the latest security patches installed. Finally, keep a backup copy of all your important files somewhere outside of your computer’s hard drive (such as on an external drive or cloud storage). This way, if your computer does get hacked and encrypted by ransomware, you won’t lose any data—just reinstall from your backup copy!

How to Stop Spyware Infiltrations

Spyware is malicious software that instals itself on your computer and collects information about you, such as your passwords, credit card numbers and other personal details. It can also be used to monitor your activity on the web. Spyware is often bundled with free programs that people download from the internet or receive via email attachments.

Once installed, spyware will run in the background of your computer without any indication that it’s there. The most common types of spyware will make themselves known when they start displaying ads on websites that you visit or popping up messages asking for additional permissions (which should never be granted). Once these advertisements start appearing, chances are high that the system has been compromised by some form of malware infection or virus attack; this needs urgent attention if users want to avoid losing their data altogether!

The best way to avoid spyware is to install a quality antivirus program on your computer. These programs are designed specifically to detect and remove any form of malware infection, including spyware. If you already have an antivirus program installed on your system and find that it isn’t protecting you from spyware infections, then it’s time to switch to another one (or upgrade if necessary).

How Configuration Management Can Help You Prevent Data Breaches

Configuration management is a process that ensures that all devices are configured in the same way. Configuration management helps you to prevent data breaches by ensuring that all devices are configured in the same way. It also helps you to identify unauthorised changes to your network.

How to Prevent Data Breaches from Third and Fourth Parties

The best way to prevent data breaches from third and fourth parties is to avoid sharing your data with them. However, if you are required by regulation or law to provide data to another Organisation, then you should take steps to ensure that the data is protected against unauthorised access. One of the simplest ways to do this is by using encryption.

It is also important to verify the security of third parties before engaging with them. If you are not sure how secure a third party is, then you should ask questions before entering into any agreement with them. Conducting in-depth due diligence on third parties can help you to identify potential risks and protect your business. You should also ensure that you carry out regular reviews of all third parties, both internal and external, in order to ensure that they are operating securely.

Conclusion

In this article, we have discussed how internal audits can help you prevent security breaches. The first step is to identify the areas where vulnerabilities exist and then implement the appropriate controls to address them. If your company doesn’t have an internal audit team, then it’s time to start looking for one! 

Neumetric, a products and services company, helps Organisations conduct effective internal audit programs to prevent data breaches and cyber attacks. We provide state-of-the-art security solutions that help organisations meet their compliance requirements and protect their most valuable asset: Data! To know more about our Information Security Programs, click here.

FAQs

Why is auditing important in cyber security?

Auditing is important in cyber security because it helps to identify and quantify risks. It also allows you to assess the effectiveness of your security measures and determine whether they are adequate or need to be improved. Auditing can be performed manually or with the use of software tools.

Why is auditing important for networks?

A network audit is important for network security because it allows you to identify the vulnerabilities in your infrastructure and take measures to reduce them. It also helps you understand how data flows through your network so that you can implement policies that restrict unauthorised access.

How do you conduct an internal security audit?

To start, you should conduct a security audit. This is the process of examining your network and computer systems to find possible weaknesses in your defences.

Next, you should conduct a risk assessment. This is an analysis of the potential consequences of a breach or other cyber attack. Risk assessments help determine the probability that an attack will occur and what type of damage can result from it.

After conducting both audits and risk assessments, you can then decide whether or not to move forward with additional actions such as penetration testing or vulnerability scanning on top of everything else you’ve already done so far!

How can security breaches be prevented in the workplace?

Security breaches can be prevented to a great extent by using the right tools and by ensuring that your employees are trained in cybersecurity best practices.

How do you prevent security breaches and ensure that company data is secure?

Having a security policy in place helps in preventing data breaches. This is not just any other document that you will file away in your hard drive, but rather a living document that must be reviewed and updated regularly. You should also have a strong password policy, as well as patch management processes, user education programs, and IT governance processes.