Emerging Standards, Technology Will Relieve Audit Fatigue

There is light at the end of the tunnel – risk and compliance technologies and standards are relieving auditors and businesses in this age of increased electronic accountability. On the heels of our integration of SolidCore’s technology, researchers from McAfee Avert Labs have laid out the compliance challenges facing organizations, and the new standards which can save thousands of hours, in the latest edition of the McAfee Security Journal.
Organizations Are Suffering from Audit Fatigue
Of the many compliance obstacles facing organizations, the sheer volume of audits is perhaps the most oppressive impediment to returning to “business as usual.” With more than 400 separate sets of requirements facing organizations internationally, global institutions can face more than 40 diverse mandates. Failure or non-compliance is not an option, as reputational damage and severe consequences levied by regulatory agencies can have severe financial consequences for businesses.
 In a McAfee-sponsored survey, one organization estimated that to prepare for their PCI audit, they spent 1,000 hours in one week to configure audit settings. Another organization spent more than 18,000 hours to prepare for external audits in one year. Even when faced with such overwhelming compliance demands, more than 51 percent of organizations surveyed still used spreadsheets to execute audits.
Three Steps to a Better Audit
Organizations that embrace IT as the path to solving compliance issues should follow three key steps to (continue reading...)