# What is a Security Audit?

> A security audit is a systematic, independent, documented, and evidence-based examination of security-related activities, controls, records, or management systems against defined criteria.

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## Content

Its purpose is to determine the extent to which those criteria are met and to report findings that support accountability and corrective action. Audits may be conducted internally by personnel independent of the activity being audited, for a customer, or by an independent third party.

A credible audit defines its objectives, scope, criteria, methods, evidence needs, responsibilities, and reporting process in advance. Auditor competence, objectivity, conflicts of interest, sampling choices, and follow-up all affect the value of its conclusions.

### Key points

- **Criteria:** Identify the policies, standards, contractual duties, control requirements, or regulatory provisions being tested and the systems, locations, periods, and organizations in scope.
- **Evidence gathering:** Review records and configurations, interview responsible people, observe processes, sample transactions, and test selected controls using methods appropriate to the audit objective.
- **Reporting and follow-through:** Separate evidence from interpretation, describe conformity and findings clearly, assign corrective actions and owners, track resolution, and retain records needed for oversight.
- **Important limitation:** An audit provides time-bounded assurance about defined criteria and sampled evidence. It cannot certify that no vulnerability, fraud, breach, or nonconformity exists outside the scope, nor that controls will remain effective after the audit.

### Related terms

[Penetration testing](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/penetration-testing/>) · [Vulnerability assessment](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/vulnerability-assessment/>) · [Information security policy](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/information-security-policy/>) · [Security architecture](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/security-architecture/>) · [Cyber risk](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/cyber-risk/>) · [COBIT](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/cobit/>) · [International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 27001](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/international-organization-for-standardization-international-electrotechnical-commission-27001/>) · [Compliance automation](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/compliance-automation/>)

### Sources

[ISO 19011:2026, Guidelines for auditing management systems](https://www.iso.org/standard/19011) · [NIST SP 800-53A Rev. 5 Release 5.2.0](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/53/a/r5/final) · [NIST SP 800-115, Technical Guide to Information Security Testing and Assessment](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/115/final)

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