Therefore, let us look at how we fashion an approach to
auditing networks and ensuring that they are secure.
It is also good to emphasize at this stage that in the overall
information systems audit framework, the audit of networks is
one piece of the puzzle, with the other notable pieces being
audit of application software, audit of operating systems and
databases, audit of physical and environmental security and
audit of business continuity (these have been dealt with in
earlier issues of the IT Audit Basics column). To obtain a
comprehensive assurance about systems, it is important to
assess and evaluate all the parts. In this issue, we will focus on
auditing network security.
A network could be as simple as a small local area network
(LAN) connecting a few computers inside a single room or a
building, or it could be something that connects computers at
factories and offices spread over a number of cities or even
countries. A network could also be connected to other networks,
such as the networks of customers or vendors or a public
network like the Internet.