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IT Audits: A Checklist

IT audits need to be as comprehensive as possible. To ensure you hit every area you need to during your IT audits, review this checklist.

1. IT Audits – Physical Security: To ensure that appropriate physical controls are in place to secure technology assets (servers, networking and telecommunications equipment) preventing unauthorized access.
2. IT Audits – Logical Security: To ensure that appropriate software security controls are in place to prevent viruses and unauthorized data access.
3. IT Audits – Logistical and Environmental Controls: To ensure that systems, networking and telecommunications equipment are housed in facilities designed to offer proper environmental conditions (regarding temperature and dust regulation, furniture, racks and physical equipment organization)
4. IT Audits – Configuration Management: To ensure that systems are installed and configured according to established requirements and standards.
5. IT Audits – Systems Administration Procedures: To ensure that security and systems administrative procedures are properly defined and assigned to staff.
6. IT Audits – Hardware Inventory Management: To ensure that all hardware is properly inventoried and that warranty and maintenance records are maintained.
7. IT Audits – Software Licensing Compliance: To ensure that all software usage is in compliance with licensing agreements, and that appropriate licensing records are maintained.
8. IT Audits – Data Backup and Disaster Recovery Procedures: To ensure that data backups are being made and tested on a scheduled basis, sufficient to recover in the event of a systems failure, data loss, or other disaster.
9. IT Audits – Documentation: To ensure that all systems, procedures, and policies are properly documented and updated, including the appropriate retention of systems reports, error, help desk, and other related problem logs.
10. IT Audits – Performance and Capacity Planning: To ensure that all systems are performing according to required levels, considering uptime, systems availability, bandwidth, data storage availability, and the archival of older data files.
11. IT Audits – Change Management: to ensure that all major changes to systems hardware and software are properly documented, tested and verified prior to implementation, with appropriate back-out plans.

The Bottom Line about IT Audits

In this article, you learned more about IT audits. To learn more about IT audits, click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.