it-audit-policy-and-plans-ENGLISH-homework-help

Discussion Number 1.

Choose one of your two audit plans

  • employee awareness of IT security policies
  • assessment of the IT policy system

Prepare a one page briefing statement for the IT Governance board which explains the purpose of the audit and provides the following details:

  • who will conduct the audit
  • what will be covered by the audit
  • when will the audit be conducted
  • where will the audit be conducted (locations)
  • how will be audit be conducted

Provide in-text citations and references for 3 or more authoritative sources. Put the reference list at the end of your posting.

2. IT Audit Policy and Plans

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:
  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.
  • Executive Summary
  • “Approval Drafts” for
    • Issue Specific Policy for IT Security Policy Compliance Audits
    • Audit Plan for IT Security Policy Awareness & Compliance (Employee Survey)
    • 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.

Submit For Grading

Submit briefing package in MS Word format (.docx or .doc file) for grading using your assignment folder. (Attach the file.)

the following link should be helpful in writing an explanation for the control family.

Class,

I reviewed NIST SP 800-100, Information Security Handbook: A Guide for Managers, Annex 11, and I don’t think the definitions will be very useful. I would suggest the Tenable site at https://www.tenable.com/sc-report-templates/nist-800-53-rev-4-report.

You should also review the control families in NIST SP 800-53 Rev 4, especially the Supplemental Guidance section. I would take the Tenable information and add more detail from 800-53 Rev 4. Remember, the requirement is for you to write a paragraph explaining the control family and to summarize the controls in the family. Last page of the Project #3 document has the details.

Also, do not cut and paste from the NIST document. You need to paraphrase.

Rubrics

Executive Summary

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.

The Executive Summary provided an outstanding summary of the policy package’s purpose and contents. Information about the case study company was integrated into the summary. Each policy in the briefing package was individually introduced and briefly explained. The material was well organized and easy to read.

The Executive Summary provided an acceptable overview of the contents of the policy package. Information about the case study company was used in the summary. Each policy in the briefing package was named and briefly explained.

The Executive Summary provided an overview of the policy package. Information about the case study company was mentioned.

An executive summary was provided but lacked details as to the purpose and contents of the policy package. (Or, inappropriate or excessive copying from other authors’ work.)

No work submitted.

Policy for IT Security Policy Compliance Audits

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.

The policy contained an outstanding introduction which addressed three 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.

The introduction for the policy was customized for the case study company. Three or more specific characteristics of the company’s business, legal & regulatory, and/or enterprise IT environments were incorporated into the policy. Compliance requirements were addressed.

The introduction to the policy mentions the case study company and compliance requirements.

The policy was built from a sample template or list of “recommended” audit policy contents without customization for the case study company. (Or, inappropriate or excessive copying from other authors’ work.)

No work submitted.

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.

The issue specific policy provided outstanding 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 addressed all required content.

The issue specific policy provided adequate 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 included all required content.

The issue specific policy mentioned at least 3 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 issue specific policy was disorganized and difficult to understand. OR, the policy was significantly lacking in content. (Or, inappropriate or excessive copying from other authors’ work.)

No work submitted.

Audit Plans

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.

The Security Awareness audit plan contained an outstanding background section which identified and discussed 3 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.

The Security Awareness audit plan contained an acceptable background section which discussed one 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 discussed. Contact information was provided for the audit manager. Some information from the case study was integrated into the background material.

The background section mentions risks as drivers for the Security Awareness audit. Security controls and compliance requirements were mentioned. Information from the case study was used.

The Security Awareness audit plan was built from a sample template or list of “recommended” audit plan contents without customization for the case study company. (Or, inappropriate or excessive copying from other authors’ work.)

No work submitted.

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).

A well written set of audit objectives were presented. The audit objectives addressed (and named) 4 or more security controls in the Awareness & Training (AT) family (as listed in NIST SP 800-53).

Three or more audit objectives were presented. Each objective was mapped to a specific security control from the Awareness & Training (AT) family (as listed in NIST SP 800-53).

Audit objectives were mentioned and discussed. But, the objectives were not clearly identified or were not tied to security controls from the Awareness & Training (AT) family.

Audit objectives were mentioned but not clearly identified or expressed. (Or, inappropriate or excessive copying from other authors’ work.)

Missing or no work submitted.

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.

The Audit Approach clearly identified 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 clearly stated.

The Audit Approach adequately addressed the data collection strategy and provided sufficient information that the reader could understand how the effectiveness of the security controls implementation would be determined.

Organization and appearance need improvement. The Audit Approach addressed the data collection strategy and provided some information about how compliance would be measured.

The Audit Approach was disorganized and difficult to understand. OR, the approach was significantly lacking in content (data collection strategy was not clearly identified). (Or, inappropriate or excessive copying from other authors’ work.)

No work submitted.

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.

The IT Security Policies audit plan contained an outstanding background section which identified and discussed 3 or more risks which drive the requirements and objectives for this audit.

At least 12 IT security policies & procedures security controls (e.g. AC-1, AT-1, etc. in NIST SP 800-53) were identified and discussed. Three 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.

The IT Security Policies audit plan contained an acceptable background section which identified 3 or more risks which drive the requirements and objectives for this audit.

At least 10 IT security policies & procedures security controls (e.g. AC-1, AT-1, etc. in NIST SP 800-53) were identified and discussed. Three 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 integrated into the background material.

The background section mentions risks as drivers for the IT Security Policies audit. Security controls and compliance requirements were mentioned. Information from the case study was used.

The IT Security Policies audit plan was built from a sample template or list of “recommended” audit plan contents without customization for the case study company. (Or, inappropriate or excessive copying from other authors’ work.)

No work submitted.

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).

A well written set of audit objectives were presented. These objectives addressed (and named) at least 12 of the policy & procedures security controls (e.g. AC-1, AT-1 as listed in NIST SP 800-53).

Three or more audit objectives were presented. These objectives addressed (and named) at least 10 of the policy & procedures security controls (e.g. AC-1, AT-1 as listed in NIST SP 800-53).

Audit objectives were mentioned and discussed. But, the objectives were not clearly identified or were not tied to policy & procedures IT security controls from NIST SP 800-53.

Audit objectives were mentioned but not clearly identified or expressed. (Or, inappropriate or excessive copying from other authors’ work.)

Missing or no work submitted.

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.

The Audit Approach clearly identified 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 clearly stated.

The Audit Approach adequately addressed the data collection strategy and provided sufficient information that the reader could understand how the effectiveness of the security controls implementation would be determined.

Organization and appearance need improvement. The Audit Approach addressed the data collection strategy and provided some information about how compliance would be measured.

The Audit Approach was disorganized and difficult to understand. OR, the approach was significantly lacking in content (data collection strategy was not clearly identified). (Or, inappropriate or excessive copying from other authors’ work.)

No work submitted.

Professionalism

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.)

Work is professional in appearance and organization (appropriate and consistent use of fonts, headings, color).

Work contains minor errors in word usage, grammar, spelling or punctuation which do not significantly impact professional appearance. All quotations (copied text) are properly marked and cited using a professional format (APA format recommended but not required.)

Work is professional in appearance and organization (minor issues allowable but overall the work contains appropriate and consistent use of fonts, headings, color).

Errors in word usage, spelling, grammar, or punctuation which detract from professional appearance of the submitted work. All quotations (copied text) are properly marked and cited using a professional format (APA format recommended but not required.)

Submitted work has numerous errors in formatting, organization, word usage, spelling, grammar, or punctuation which detract from readability and professional appearance. Punctuation errors may include failure to properly mark quoted or copied material (an attempt to name original source is required).

Submitted work is difficult to read / understand and has significant errors in formatting, appearance / organization, spelling, grammar, punctuation, or word usage. Significant errors in presentation of copied text (lacks proper punctuation and failed to attribute material to original source).

No work submitted. OR, work contains significant instances of cut-and-paste without proper citing / attribution to the original work or author.

Overall Score

 
Do you need a similar assignment done for you from scratch? We have qualified writers to help you. We assure you an A+ quality paper that is free from plagiarism. Order now for an Amazing Discount!
Use Discount Code "Newclient" for a 15% Discount!

NB: We do not resell papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.