1. Pre-Audit Planning
- Define audit objectives and scope aligned with ISO/IEC 27001 or equivalent
- Identify systems, departments, and data flows to be audited
- Assemble internal audit team or third-party experts
- Review previous audit findings and incident logs
2. Data Access and Control Review
- Verify user access controls and authentication methods
- Check for inactive or unauthorized accounts
- Evaluate privilege escalation and admin role segregation
- Review firewall rules, IDS/IPS logs, and encryption policies
3. Physical & Network Security Inspection
- Inspect server rooms and access logs for physical security
- Test endpoint protection, patch management, and software updates
- Audit backups, disaster recovery plans, and failover procedures
- Review Wi-Fi segmentation, VPN access, and remote policies
4. Compliance & Risk Documentation
- Document identified threats, vulnerabilities, and impact levels
- Evaluate compliance with regulatory standards (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2)
- Log audit results and assign mitigation owners
- Update risk register and report findings to leadership
5. Final Reporting and Action Plan
- Create an audit report summary with key metrics
- Provide recommendations for improvement and deadlines
- Set review dates and ongoing monitoring cadence
- Schedule follow-up audit or quarterly risk review