Auditing Network System Assets

Auditing system assets is a structured process that verifies whether security policies and procedures are being implemented effectively across an organisation’s technology environment. By examining both hardware and software assets, audits provide assurance that controls align with organisational requirements, compliance obligations, and industry best practices.

Purpose of System Asset Audits

System audits are not one-off inspections, but part of a recurring governance cycle. They are designed to:

• Establish a Baseline: Define the organisation’s current security posture against which future changes can be evaluated.
• Identify Vulnerabilities: Expose weaknesses in systems, configurations, or processes that could be exploited.
• Ensure Compliance: Confirm that systems adhere to internal policies (such as patch management and access control) and meet external standards or regulatory requirements.
• Evaluate Effectiveness: Assess whether existing technical and administrative controls perform as intended and deliver expected protections.

Hardware Asset Audit

This audit focuses on the identifying the physical components of the network, including servers, workstations, routers, switches, and other devices. This includes a focus on:

• Inventory Verification: Reconciling actual hardware against official inventories to ensure no unmanaged or rogue assets exist.
• Physical Security: Reviewing protections for critical system locations (server rooms, network closets), including access restrictions, CCTV, and secure storage.
• Configuration Review: Confirming secure settings such as BIOS passwords, disabled unused ports, and locked hardware management interfaces.
• Lifecycle and Supportability: Identifying hardware that is end-of-life or unsupported, as these assets no longer receive security or firmware updates and may create risk.

Software Asset Audit

This identifies the software installed on all systems, from the operating system to individual applications. This is a crucial step as outdated or unauthorised software can be an entry point for attackers. This include:

• Software Inventory: Establishing a full catalogue of installed applications and detecting unauthorised or unsanctioned applications (“shadow IT”).
• Patch Management: Ensuring operating systems, applications, and firmware are kept current in accordance with the organisation’s patching policy.
• Protective Software: Verifying that antivirus, anti-malware, and endpoint detection tools are active, updated, and centrally managed.
• Licensing Compliance: Confirming that licensing terms are respected to avoid both legal and operational risks from unsupported or unauthorized deployments.

Documenting Findings

Once the audit is complete, the findings must be documented in a clear and concise manner. This documentation should be prepared according to organisational procedures and then lodged with the required personnel. The audit process formally concludes with structured reporting and accountability measures:

• Documentation: Findings should present vulnerabilities, control gaps, and non-compliant assets alongside recommended remediation actions. Reports should be technical enough for IT teams but clear enough for senior managers or auditors to understand.
• Reporting and Review: Reports are submitted to the appropriate roles in the organisation (security manager, governance committee, or senior management), ensuring that actions are prioritised, assigned, and tracked to completion.
• Follow-Up Actions: Corrective work should feed into risk registers, action plans, and the ongoing monitoring processes to ensure continuous improvement.

Network and System asset auditing strengthens both organisational resilience and policy enforcement. By reviewing hardware and software against organisational standards, identifying vulnerabilities, and ensuring documentation, audits support policy frameworks with measurable assurance activities. Regular, detailed audits (and registrars) are a governance requirement and an operational necessity for maintaining a secure organisational environment.