How to Prepare for a Cybersecurity Audit

Whether you work in healthcare, finance, education, or the nonprofit sector, chances are your organization will face a cybersecurity audit — if not now, then soon. Regulatory requirements are increasing, and stakeholders expect transparency. The good news? With the proper preparation, a cybersecurity audit doesn’t have to be stressful. In fact, it can strengthen your security posture and reduce risk.

At Sovran, we help Minnesota-based businesses and nonprofits prepare for, navigate, and learn from audits of all kinds. Get started with this blog full of preparation tips! If you’re interested in personalized assistance, fill out our contact form or call (651) 686-0515.

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Understand What You’re Being Audited Against

Before you start gathering documents or scanning systems, ensure you understand the framework or regulation that drives the audit. Are you being evaluated for HIPAA, SOC 2, PCI-DSS, CMMC, or another standard? Each has different technical and procedural requirements.

  • HIPAA: Healthcare industry standards for information privacy
  • NIST-800: US Department of Commerce information privacy standards
  • PCI-DSS: Standards for protecting consumer card payment information
  • CMMC: CMMC stands for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification. Information privacy standards for manufacturers who deal with the US Department of Defense

Sovran helps clients map their existing controls to compliance frameworks — so you’re not guessing what counts and what doesn’t. If you’re currently working with us as your MSP, even better! We would already have this mapped out.

Sovran is already CMMC compliant, but soon we will be certified, allowing us to do even more to help your business achieve CMMC compliance.

Inventory Your Assets

You can’t protect what you don’t know you have. Before an audit, create a current list of:

  • Devices (servers, workstations, mobile, etc.)
  • Software and operating systems
  • Cloud environments and integrations
  • Data storage locations
  • User accounts and third-party access

This inventory helps auditors assess risk and allows your team to spot gaps quickly. One of the many benefits of having Sovran on your team is that we keep much of this data readily available, saving you time when you need an asset inventory.

Review Access Controls

Audit teams want to see that your organization limits access to sensitive systems and data.  That means reviewing:

  • User roles and permissions
  • Multi-factor authentication (MFA) policies
  • Account provisioning and deprovisioning processes
  • Remote access policies

Make sure only the right people have the proper access, and that old accounts are removed promptly. One of Sovran’s key responsibilities as your MSP is to help you maintain effective access controls, and our team has access to user information for any systems we manage.

Gather Your Documentation

A solid audit trail is key to a smooth process. Pull together documents that demonstrate your security policies and procedures, such as:

  • Security awareness training logs
  • Incident response plan and testing records
  • Patch management reports
  • Backup and recovery procedures
  • Acceptable use policies
  • Vendor risk assessments

If you don’t have these, Sovran can help you build and implement them before the audit begins.

Educate Your Staff

Many audit failures stem from simple human error. Make sure your employees:

  • Know your security policies
  • Understand how to report suspicious activity
  • Recognize phishing and social engineering attempts

Regular cybersecurity training isn’t just good practice — it’s often a requirement.

Partner with Cybersecurity Experts to Prepare for Your Audit

If your internal IT team is stretched thin or unfamiliar with compliance frameworks, don’t go it alone. Sovran collaborates with organizations across various industries to prepare for audits. With the right approach and the right partner, it can serve as a springboard for enhanced protection and long-term resilience.

Ready to take the next step? Contact Sovran to schedule a consultation! Fill out our contact form or call (651) 686-0515 today and ensure your team is ready before the auditors arrive.

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Traci Leffner, President