cybersecurity audit basic concepts and process by CISA auditor
The basic concepts of a cybersecurity audit by a CISA auditor focus on risk-based assessment, strong access controls, and continuous monitoring of security policies and compliance with regulations. The audit process involves planning and scoping risks, evaluating cybersecurity controls like firewalls, encryption, and multi-factor authentication, and assessing the organization's incident response and recovery capabilities. A CISA auditor examines vulnerabilities, analyzes their impact, tests controls, reviews logs for unusual activities, and provides recommendations to improve security posture and ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information assets.
### Basic Concepts of Cybersecurity Audit by CISA
- Risk-based approach: Identifying, analyzing, and mitigating cybersecurity risks to protect business assets.
- Access controls: Ensuring only authorized users have access to sensitive data and systems through mechanisms like multi-factor authentication.
- Continuous monitoring: Regular review of system logs and security policies to detect and respond to suspicious activities.
- Compliance review: Checking adherence to standards (ISO 27001, GDPR, SOC 2) and regulatory requirements.
- Control evaluation: Assessing effectiveness of controls such as firewalls, encryption, and vulnerability management.
### Cybersecurity Audit Process by a CISA Auditor
- Planning and Scoping: Defining audit objectives, audit scope, and methodology based on risks and business needs.
- Risk Assessment: Identifying threats, vulnerabilities, and their potential impacts.
- Control Testing: Verifying logical, physical, and environmental security controls are effective.
- Evidence Collection and Analysis: Gathering audit evidence through testing and review of policies, processes, and logs.
- Reporting and Recommendations: Communicating findings, providing mitigation advice, and following up on implementation.
- Continuous Auditing: Incorporating ongoing monitoring practices to keep security posture updated with evolving threats.
### CISA Auditor Role in Cybersecurity Audit
- Implementing a risk-based audit strategy that aligns with organizational goals.
- Executing audits to evaluate the protection and management of IT assets.
- Reviewing incident response plans and security awareness training.
- Advising on improvements to strengthen governance and security controls.
- Performing follow-up audits to ensure remediation measures are effective.
This comprehensive approach by CISA auditors helps organizations proactively manage cybersecurity risks and enhance resilience against cyber threats
✅ Cybersecurity Audit – Key Points to Remember (CISA Exam)
1. Understand the Cybersecurity Governance Frameworks
- NIST CSF – Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, Recover
- ISO/IEC 27001 – Information Security Management System (ISMS)
- COBIT 2019 – Governance & management of enterprise IT
- CIS Controls – Prioritized set of 18 controls
- ITIL – Service management; incident/problem/change management
CISA may ask to identify which framework best supports governance, risk, or controls.
2. Cybersecurity Policies & Procedures
- Information security policy → High-level, approved by board
- Standards → Mandatory rules
- Procedures → Step-by-step instructions
- Guidelines → Recommended practices
Key policies:
- Acceptable use policy (AUP)
- Incident response policy
- Access control policy
- Data classification & retention policy
3. Risk Management in Cybersecurity
- Steps: Identify → Analyze → Evaluate → Treat → Monitor
- Risk = Threat × Vulnerability × Impact
- Risk treatment options: Avoid, Mitigate, Transfer, Accept
- CISA focuses on:
- ALMOST (Annualized Loss Expectancy)
- SLE (Single Loss Expectancy)
- ARO (Annual Rate of Occurrence)
4. Cybersecurity Controls
A. Preventive Controls
- Firewalls
- Encryption
- MFA / 2FA
- Access control (RBAC, ABAC, MAC, DAC)
- Endpoint protection
B. Detective Controls
C. Corrective Controls
- Incident response actions
- Patching
- Backups & restoration
5. Endpoint & Network Security Basics (Exam Favorite)
- Firewall types: Packet filtering, Stateful, Proxy, NGFW
- IDS vs IPS:
- IDS → Detect only
- IPS → Detect + block
- VPN: Ensures confidentiality + integrity
- DMZ: Hosts public-facing systems, isolates internal network
6. Identity & Access Management (IAM)
- Authentication factors:
- Something you know / have / are
- Authorization models:
- RBAC → Roles
- ABAC → Attributes
- MAC → High security environments
- DAC → Owner decides
- Least privilege and Segregation of duties (SoD)
- Privilege creep → common exam question
7. Cryptography Essentials
- Encryption: AES, DES/3DES, RSA
- Hashing: SHA-256, MD5 (weak)
- Digital signatures: Integrity + Authentication + Non-repudiation
- Key management: Most critical control in cryptography
8. Vulnerability & Penetration Testing
- Vulnerability assessment: Identifies weaknesses
- Penetration test: Attempts exploitation
- Types: Black box, White box, Grey box
- Steps: Planning → Discovery → Attack → Reporting
- Evidence must be properly documented for the audit trail.
9. Cybersecurity Incident Management
- Phases (NIST 800-61):
Preparation → Detection → Containment → Eradication → Recovery → Lessons learned - Key roles:
- Incident Response Team (IRT)
- Forensics experts
- Chain of custody is essential to maintain evidence integrity.
10. Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery
- Cybersecurity audit checks:
- Backup strategy
- DR plan testing
- RPO & RTO
- Alternate sites: Hot, Warm, Cold
- Focus on resilience, redundancy, recovery.
11. Security Logging & Monitoring
- Logs must be:
- Complete
- Tamper-proof
- Time synchronized
- Reviewed regularly
- SIEM helps correlate events & detect anomalies.
12. Cloud Cybersecurity Controls
- Shared responsibility model (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS differences)
- Cloud risks:
- Misconfiguration
- Vendor lock-in
- Data residency
- Controls:
- CASB
- Encryption
- IAM
- Logging & monitoring tools
13. Auditing Cybersecurity – What CISA Expects
- Determine control design effectiveness.
- Test operating effectiveness.
- Ensure alignment with business objectives.
- Evaluate compliance with:
- Policies
- Standards
- Regulatory requirements (GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS)
14. Common Cyber Attacks (Must Memorize)
- Phishing / Spear-phishing / Whaling
- DoS / DDoS attacks
- Man-in-the-middle (MITM)
- SQL injection / XSS
- Ransomware
- Zero-day exploits
Know: attack → threat → control to mitigate.
🎯 Exam Tips (Golden Rules)
- In CISA questions, auditors DO NOT perform operational security tasks (like patching). They evaluate controls.
- The best answer typically focuses on:
✓ Risk-based approach
✓ Governance & management-level controls
✓ Policies > Procedures
✓ Preventive > Detective > Corrective (if choosing best control) - When asked “What should the IS auditor do FIRST?”
→ Answer typically involves understanding, reviewing, or risk assessment, NOT execution.
Define the audit scope and objectives for a CISA cybersecurity audit
The audit scope for a CISA cybersecurity audit defines the boundaries and extent of the evaluation, specifying which systems, networks, processes, and organizational units will be covered. It includes identifying the IT infrastructure components that will be assessed, such as network security, application security, data handling, access controls, and compliance with relevant regulations. The scope is risk-based and aligned with business and regulatory requirements to focus on areas of highest risk and importance.
The audit objectives clarify why the audit is conducted and what it aims to achieve. Common objectives include identifying vulnerabilities and weaknesses in cybersecurity controls, evaluating the effectiveness of existing security measures, ensuring compliance with laws and standards (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, ISO 27001), assessing incident response preparedness, and verifying that information assets are adequately protected from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. Objectives should align with the organization's cybersecurity and protection goals and be realistically limited to a manageable scope.
In summary:
- Audit Scope: Specifies the systems, processes, and locations included in the audit, based on risk assessment and compliance needs.
- Audit Objectives: Defines the purpose such as vulnerability detection, control effectiveness evaluation, regulatory compliance, risk reduction, and security assurance.
This clear definition guides the audit planning and execution phases to ensure focused, effective cybersecurity assessment by CISA auditors
Feel free 🆓 to discuss with me if you have any questions ‼️ Call or Text on 9773464206
www.gmsisuccess.in
No comments:
Post a Comment