Читать книгу Hacking For Dummies - Kevin Beaver - Страница 17

Many people confuse security testing via vulnerability and penetration testing with security auditing, but big differences exist in the objectives. Security auditing involves comparing a company’s security policies (or compliance requirements) with what’s actually taking place. The intent of security auditing is to validate that security controls exist, typically by using a risk-based approach. Auditing often involves reviewing business processes, and in some cases, it isn’t as technical. Some security audits, in fact, can be as basic as security checklists that simply serve to meet a specific compliance requirement.

Not all audits are high-level, but many of the ones I’ve seen — especially those involving compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) — are quite simplistic. Often, these audits are performed by people who have no technical security experience — or, worse, work outside IT altogether!

Conversely, security assessments based on ethical hacking focus on vulnerabilities that can be exploited. This testing approach validates that security controls don’t exist or are ineffectual. This formal vulnerability and penetration testing can be both highly technical and nontechnical, and although it involves the use of formal methodology, it tends to be a bit less structured than formal auditing. Where auditing is required (such as for SSAE 18 SOC reports and the ISO 27001 certification) in your organization, you might consider integrating the vulnerability and penetration testing techniques I outline in this book into your IT/security audit program. You might actually be required to do so. Auditing and vulnerability and penetration testing complement one another really well.