Cyber incidents are the top global business risk across all company sizes. The increasing sophistication of cyber threats — and the growing dependency on technology — forces organizations to protect their IT infrastructures.
That’s where IT audits come in.
This procedure discovers vulnerabilities and keeps your cybersecurity defenses up to date. Our goal is to help you hit the ground running with a carefully tailored IT audit questionnaire that covers all aspects of the process.
Let’s take a look!
40+ questions for your IT audit questionnaire
We compiled a list of IT audit questions for client-focused cybersecurity firms and internal IT teams assessing their own digital infrastructure. In each case, feel free to adjust this list to make it more suitable for your specific use case.
| Note: We’ll add a few sample screenshots to show what these questions look like in our ready-made IT audit questionnaire. You can access it for free through the Content Snare template library. |
Network security
This section enables you to assess the strength of firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and the overall network.
1. Do you have firewalls in place at key network entry points?
If yes, please explain their configuration.
2. How often do you update intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS)?
This can be monthly, quarterly, annually, or never.
3. Do you monitor network traffic for suspicious activities in real time?
4. Do you use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for remote access?
If yes, let us know the name of your VPN provider.
Access control and identity management
These questions help you analyze user account settings and authentication mechanisms.
5. Do you base user access permissions on the principle of least privilege?
6. Do you implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all critical systems?
7. Do you promptly deactivate user accounts after employee termination or role changes?
8. How frequently do you review access control lists (ACLs)?
This can be monthly, quarterly, annually, or never.
User awareness
According to the report, 43% of employees have compromised their firm’s cybersecurity at some point. These questions help you evaluate the effectiveness of user training programs that educate employees on cybersecurity risks.
9. How often do you organize security training sessions?
This can be monthly, quarterly, annually, or never.
10. Are cybersecurity awareness programs mandatory for all employees?
11. Is there a process for reporting suspicious activity?
If yes, are employees aware of this process?
Data protection
Investigate how sensitive data is stored, transmitted, and protected through encryption.
12. Do you encrypt sensitive data both at rest and in transit?
13. Are encryption keys stored securely and rotated regularly?
14. Did you develop a clear process for consistently applying encryption standards across all systems?
If yes, please provide details regarding this process.
Incident response and recovery
This set of questions allows you to review the company’s preparedness for detecting, responding to, and recovering from security incidents.
15. Do you have a formal incident response plan?
If yes, please upload your incident response plan.
16. How often do you conduct simulated security incidents to test response capabilities?
This can be monthly, quarterly, annually, or never.
17. Did you establish communication protocols for internal and external stakeholders during a breach?
If yes, please provide more details to explain these protocols.
18. Do you perform post-incident analysis to identify root causes and improve response procedures?
Vulnerability and patch management
These questions examine the procedures for identifying and addressing system vulnerabilities.
19. How often do you conduct vulnerability scans on all IT systems?
This can be monthly, quarterly, annually, or never.
20. Is there a process for prioritizing and remediating discovered vulnerabilities?
If yes, please provide more details to explain this process.
21. Are patches applied promptly after their release?
Endpoint security
It’s also important to analyze the tools and measures for securing devices such as laptops, desktops, mobile devices, and servers from malware and unauthorized access.
22. Are all endpoints protected with anti-virus and anti-malware solutions?
23. Do you regularly scan endpoint devices for malware or unauthorized software?
24. Do you use mobile device management (MDM) solutions to control corporate device usage?
25. How do you monitor unauthorized access to endpoint devices?
Third-party risk management and cloud security
This section focuses on the security posture of third-party vendors, contractors, service providers, and cloud systems that have access to company data.
26. Are third-party vendors required to undergo security assessments before being granted access to the company’s systems?
27. Do you create service-level agreements (SLAs) to outline security responsibilities for third parties?
28. Do you regularly monitor third-party risks throughout the relationship?
29. Is there a formal process for terminating third-party access when contracts expire or are terminated?
If yes, please provide more details about this process.
30. Do you restrict access to cloud resources based on user roles and responsibilities?
31. Do you review cloud access logs for suspicious activity?
Application security
This segment of an IT audit explores the procedures for securing software applications.
32. Are third-party applications reviewed for vulnerabilities before integration?
33. Do you perform penetration testing on critical applications?
If yes, how frequently do you do that?
Compliance
Investigate how the organization complies with applicable cybersecurity regulations and industry-specific legal requirements.
34. What frameworks or regulations does the organization comply with?
For example, these can be GDPR, HIPAA, and so on.
35. Is there a system in place to monitor and track changes in relevant cybersecurity regulations?
If yes, please provide more details regarding your monitoring system.
36. How often do you conduct compliance audits?
This can be monthly, quarterly, annually, or never.
Backup and disaster recovery
Use this set of questions to examine the backup procedures, storage locations, and disaster recovery plans.
37. How frequently do you perform backups?
38. Do you have a formal disaster recovery plan?
If yes, please explain how your disaster recovery plan works.
39. How long does it typically take to restore operations after a major incident?
Physical security
The last section focuses on physical security measures designed to protect the overall IT infrastructure.
40. Do you have an inventory of all physical IT assets?
If yes, kindly upload this file.
41. Do you have physical access controls for data centers and server rooms?
42. Did you install security cameras to monitor critical areas?
If yes, how long is the footage retained?
Create a perfect IT audit questionnaire with Content Snare
You can use our questions as they are, but a much better solution is to customize the list with Content Snare.
All it takes is to sign up for a free trial to get access to the editable IT audit template with all the questions listed above. This gives you a whole lot of customization features to design a perfect questionnaire for your IT inspections.
For instance, Content Snare enables you to:
- Quickly rearrange questions, sections, and pages using a drag-and-drop builder
- Guide clients with instructions and in-form conversations
- Create specific field types to make your questions more intuitiveÂ
- Send form reminders automatically, so you don’t have to waste time chasing clients for responses
Most importantly, you can do all this (and much more) in a safe digital environment because Content Snare uses multiple cybersecurity mechanisms to protect your data.
