Review the weekly readings including the example audit assessment report.
Project #4: IT Audit Policy and Plans
Company Background & Operating Environment
Use the assigned case study for information about “the company.”
Policy Issue & Plan of Action
The corporate board was recently briefed by the Chief Information Officer concerning the company’s IT Security Program and how this program contributes to the company’s risk management strategy. During the briefing, the CIO presented assessment reports and audit findings from IT security audits. These audits focused upon the technical infrastructure and the effectiveness and efficiency of the company’s implementation of security controls. During the discussion period, members of the corporate board asked about audits of policy compliance and assessments as to the degree that employees were (a) aware of IT security policies and (b) complying with these policies. The Chief Information Officer was tasked with providing the following items to the board before its next quarterly meeting:
(a) Issue Specific Policy requiring an annual compliance audit for IT security policies as documented in the company’s Policy System
(b) Audit Plan for assessing employee awareness of and compliance with IT security policies
a. Are employees aware of the IT security policies in the Employee Handbook?
b. Do employees know their responsibilities under those policies?
(c) Audit Plan for assessing the IT security policy system
a. Do required policies exist?
b. Have they been updated within the past year?
c. Are the policies being reviewed and approved by the appropriate oversight authorities (managers, IT governance board, etc.)?
Your Task Assignment
As a staff member supporting the CISO, you have been asked to research this issue (auditing IT security policy compliance) and then prepare an “approval draft” for a compliance policy. You must also research and draft two separate audit plans (a) employee compliance and (b) policy system audit. The audit policy should not exceed two typed pages in length so you will need to be concise in your writing and only include the most important elements for the policy. Make sure that you include a requirement for an assessment report to be provided to company management and the corporate board of directors.
· For the employee compliance assessment, you must use an interview strategy which includes 10 or more multiple choice questions that can be used to construct a web-based survey of all employees. The questions should be split between (a) awareness of key policies and (b) awareness of personal responsibilities in regards to compliance.
· For the policy system audit, you should use a documentation assessment strategy which reviews the contents of the individual policies to determine when the policy was last updated, who “owns” the policy, who reviewed the policy, and who approved the policy for implementation.
Research:
1. Review the weekly readings including the example audit assessment report.
2. Review work completed previously in this course which provides background about the IT Policy System and specific policies for the case study company.
3. Find additional resources which discuss IT compliance audits and/or policy system audits.
Write:
1. Prepare briefing package with approval drafts of the three required documents. Place all three documents in a single MS Word (.doc or .docx) files.
2. Your briefing package must contain the following:
· Executive Summary
· “Approval Drafts” for
o Issue Specific Policy for IT Security Policy Compliance Audits
o Audit Plan for IT Security Policy Awareness & Compliance (Employee Survey)
o Audit Plan for IT Security Policies Audit (Documentation Review)
As you write your policy and audit plans, make sure that you address security issues using standard cybersecurity terminology (e.g. 5 Pillars of IA, 5 Pillars of Information Security). See the resources listed under Course Resources > Cybersecurity Concepts Review for definitions and terminology.
3. Use a professional format for your policy documents and briefing package. Your policy documents should be consistently formatted and easy to read.
4. Common phrases do not require citations. If there is doubt as to whether or not information requires attribution, provide a footnote with publication information or use APA format citations and references.
5. You are expected to write grammatically correct English in every assignment that you submit for grading. Do not turn in any work without (a) using spell check, (b) using grammar check, (c) verifying that your punctuation is correct and (d) reviewing your work for correct word usage and correctly structured sentences and paragraphs.
Submit For Grading
Submit briefing package in MS Word format (.docx or .doc file) for grading using your assignment folder. (Attach the file.)
Grading Rubric:
Executive Summary for the Policy Briefing Package 10 points
The Executive Summary provided an excellent summary of the policy package’s purpose and contents. Information about the case study company was well integrated into the summary. Each policy was individually introduced and clearly explained. The material was well organized and easy to read.
Policy Introduction 10 points
The policy contained an excellent introduction which addressed five or more specific characteristics of the company’s business, legal & regulatory, and/or enterprise IT environments and addressed the reasons why employees must comply with this policy. Compliance requirements are addressed and contact information is provided for questions about the policy.
Policy Content 10 points
The issue specific policy provided excellent (clear and concise) coverage of the following:
· policy issue (do required policies exist and have they been properly vetted & approved)
· policy solution (auditing all IT security policies to determine compliance with security controls)
· applicability (to what and to whom the policy applies)
· compliance requirements
· point of contact (for more information)
The policy was easy to understand and thoroughly covered the required content.
Security Awareness Audit Plan: Audit Background 10 points
The Security Awareness audit plan contained an excellent background section which identified and discussed 5 or more risks which drive the requirements and objectives for this audit. IT security controls for security awareness (AT family of controls from NIST SP 800-53) and related compliance requirements were identified and discussed. Contact information was provided for the audit manager. Information from the case study was well integrated into the background material.
Security Awareness Audit Plan: Audit Objectives 5 points
A clear and concise set of audit objectives were presented. These objectives addressed (and named) each security control in the Awareness & Training (AT) family (as listed in NIST SP 800-53).
Security Awareness Audit Plan: Audit Approach 15 points
The Audit Approach clearly and concisely identified and described the major elements in the data collection strategy (what data will be collected, how it will be collected, what will be measured). The data collection strategy was supported by a checklist (for a document review) or list of questions (for a survey). The relationship between the audit approach and the measurement of the effectiveness of the security controls implementation was explained.
IT Security Policies Audit Plan: Audit Background 10 points
The IT Security Policies audit plan contained an excellent background section which identified and discussed 5 or more risks which drive the requirements and objectives for this audit.
The 18 IT security policies & procedures security controls (e.g. AC-1, AT-1, etc. in NIST SP 800-53) were identified and discussed. Five or more additional controls from the PM & PL families were also addressed. Contact information was provided for the audit manager. Information from the case study was well integrated into the background material.
IT Security Policies Audit Plan: Audit Objectives5 points
A clear and concise set of audit objectives were presented. These objectives addressed (and named) all 18 policy & procedures security controls (e.g. AC-1, AT-1 as listed in NIST SP 800-53).
IT Security Policies Audit Plan: Audit Approach 15 points
The Audit Approach clearly and concisely identified and described the major elements in the data collection strategy (what data will be collected, how it will be collected, what will be measured). The data collection strategy was supported by a checklist (for a document review) or list of questions (for a survey). The relationship between the audit approach and the measurement of the effectiveness of the security controls implementation was explained.
Execution 10 points
Work is professional in appearance and organization (appropriate and consistent use of fonts, headings, color).
No word usage, grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors. All quotations (copied text) are properly marked and cited using a professional format (APA format recommended but not required.)
