Just like normal organisational audits, cyber security audits play an integral part in keeping your company safe and smoothly running. The primary goal of a cyber security audit is to make sure that your organisation is up to standard with the latest and most proficient cyber safeguards on the market. The usual stigma that goes around is that audits usually nitpick at the smallest of details and highlight them to management. However, in the case of a cyber security audit, it’s a good thing to bring even the most minuscule of loopholes to light. The tiniest security risk can lead to a domino effect that can jeopardise the well-being of the entire company. Here we discuss the other important reasons why cyber security audits play such a paramount role in keeping companies safe.
Why regular audits are so important
Regular cyber security audits are very important because they identify your company's biggest security risks and will also provide proactive solutions to combat these risks. However just because your company passes the cybersecurity audit with flying colours 1 year, does not mean it will do the same in the next one. Everything on the internet changes quickly. Every day, hackers on the Internet become more sophisticated and ingenious in the way they bypass cyber security safeguards. And just like how hackers evolve and adapt themselves to penetrate even the most well guarded cyber security protocols, it's up to us to be vigilant and make sure we upgrade and regularly test our company's cyber security so that we can stay one step ahead of any hacker on the internet. As mentioned before hackers seem to get smarter as the days go by. So they can never be a guaranteed cyber security program that would work 100% of the time. However, as long as we employed the market best practices the risk of cyber security threats are kept at a bare minimum.
Your business keeps growing
Besides hackers evolving, your company also grows and changes over time. Perhaps as your business expands you may add new hardware and software and even open up new offices in new locations. Adding new technology and devices to your office is well and good and is integral to the growth of your business. However, it is important to keep in mind that new devices and software also come with their own exploitable vulnerabilities. Even adding one new addition to the hardware or software of your company would require a complete overview after the organisational cyber security for good measure. That’s why a yearly audit is highly recommended to keep track of even the most minute changes to the security architecture of the company.
To conclude, an annual cyber security audit shouldn’t be seen as a pain or a nuisance to deal with. Instead of thinking,” Oh no! They’re nitpicking on the smallest of details!”, think of it like, “It’s good they caught on to that small security risk! It could’ve been an opening for a potential hacker later in the year!”. Remember, by keeping your cyber security up to date, not only do you keep your company safe but you also protect any clients who work with you. When hackers breach your system they can also access your clients’ data as well. So for the betterment of all parties, conducting security audits are extremely important.
