Retour 
Over the past two decades, data has become a critical asset for nearly every organisation. Consequently, a variety of regulations and industry standards now govern business operations. In today’s data-driven age, certification through security audits serves as a testament to an organisation’s adherence to industry standards, regulations, and security measures.
However, despite their importance, organisations often fall into the trap of treating these audits merely as a procedural checkbox exercise, rather than recognising it as an opportunity to set in place the best practices that are designed to protect an organisation’s data.
The value of security audits
In today’s corporate landscape, the majority of organisations undergo certification by auditors, with this stamp of approval proving to customers, partners, and the broader market that the organisation operates at a level of quality, security, and compliance in line with industry standards and regulatory mandates.
Obtaining these certificates & reports comes at a significant cost–the average security audit can cost an organisation between $1,500 and $100,000, depending on factors like company size, number of servers, the number of certifications being assessed, and other bespoke considerations. Given the considerable investment involved, organisations should be wary that they don’t let auditors’ recommendations sit idly, but instead strive to extract value from their investment by using it as an opportunity to identify areas of vulnerability before a threat actor does. Audits are intricately designed to evaluate compliance with regulations–it’s essential to understand the intent of the regulation and use that to frame discussions on how you should approach these subjects within your organisation.
Embracing auditors’ recommendations
Certain certification security audits such as ISO 27001 typically follow a