When was the last time you conducted a cybersecurity audit? If it's been a while or hasn't happened at all, you're probably vulnerable to a cyberattack. Cybercrime shows no signs of slowing down and is expected to cost the world $10.5 trillion per year by 2025.*
Are you confident that your organization is secure with the current remote and hybrid work environments? This is where a cybersecurity audit can give you peace of mind. A cybersecurity audit is a thorough analysis and assessment of an organization's IT infrastructure, policies, and procedures.
Importance of Cybersecurity Audits
Here are some reasons why a cybersecurity audit is essential to organizational resilience and overall success:
- Detects security vulnerabilities before hackers do
- Ensures that the organization is up to date on security measures
- Establishes the foundation for the organization's new security policies
- Validates whether current cyber defenses are working or not
- Prepares the organization to respond quickly and effectively in the event of a cyberattack
- Helps maintain compliance with various security regulations
Benefits of Cybersecurity Audits
Comprehensive cybersecurity audits have three key benefits:
- Intelligence - No Surprises
IT systems and applications that we use and trust every day may have hidden threats that we can easily overlook. If not addressed early on, such threats can quickly escalate into a full-fledged data breach. An audit is extremely beneficial when it comes to addressing this particular concern.
A properly planned auditing process creates a map of your IT environment that helps you understand how everything connects and which areas expose you to threats. This allows you to focus your remediation efforts where they are needed the most.
Consider this: What if one of your top employees was secretly selling all your intellectual property ideas to your main competitor? That could sink your company or significantly reduce your profit potential. Unmapped and unaccounted-for technology landscapes can lead to similar outcomes.
To avoid this, regularly monitor, update, patch, and clean up the proverbial dust in your infrastructure. You might soon discover that someone intentionally or unintentionally downloaded a piece of malicious code that's spreading like wildfire across your network, waiting for the perfect moment to demand a ransom or continue spying and stealing your best ideas.
- Data-Driven Decision Making & Budgeting
A properly conducted audit will provide you with valuable data that you can use to make core business decisions. Its value extends to security budgeting as well. A data-driven approach to developing cybersecurity strategies can assist you in making more informed budget decisions. You'll have a better idea of where to spend your money.
An audit can also help you prioritize your goals based on what's most pressing, exposing vulnerabilities or what’s causing productivity loss.
- A Competitive Differentiator
Once an audit has been performed and any key gaps have been addressed, you’ll have the confidence to move forward with your business knowing that you have a cybersecurity program that is aligned with your business needs. It's a powerful tool that can be used as a marketing differentiator with current and future customers.
Armed with a thorough understanding of your cybersecurity program's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, you can confidently move forward with new strategies, customers, partnerships, and opportunities.
Why wait until you've been a victim to know what your cybersecurity protection is like? Schedule a free consultation with us today.
ForceNow offers comprehensive 24x7 military and enterprise-grade managed detection and response for small businesses as low as $19/month which can be deployed in 5 minutes. We also offer a wide range of other cybersecurity consulting and managed security services, uniquely tailored for small businesses. We bring the best cybersecurity technologies and the best cybersecurity professionals to you, so that you can focus on the rest.
