Information Technology General Controls
The usage of technology inside an organization is governed by information technology general controls (ITGCs). ITGCs aid in preventing operational hiccups, data theft, and breaches.
ITGCs have an impact on every aspect of life, including application development, password management, and user account creation. They specify how new software should be configured, who should serve as administrators, how the system should be tested and put into use, and when security and software upgrades should be applied.
ITGCs affect vendor selection since they provide specific security protocols. Investors and auditing firms may analyze ITGCs to make sure businesses achieve and maintain regulatory compliance since applications that cannot support ITGCs put organizations’ data at danger.
ITGC Examples
ITGCs can take on many forms, but most fall under a few distinct categories.
- IT administration in general
The majority of ITGCs fall under “generic IT.” General IT controls can include things like how IT systems are managed, who is in charge of them, where the IT roadmap is headed, how and when risk assessments should be done, and the best practises that IT projects should adhere to.
In addition to email filtering, firewalls, antivirus software, and regular pen tests, ITGCs in this group may also relate to more general security measures. In this era of remote work, corporate-owned device (COD) and bring your own device (BYOD) regulations may also be subject to general IT administration.
- Access Limitations
ITGCs should include several safeguards against illegal access and data tampering. A least-privilege access strategy and strong password management can be combined to drastically reduce the likelihood of a cyberattack. Full disc encryption, which totally locks devices even when at rest, is another frequent ITGC related to access. As a result, without the right recovery key, a device’s hard disc cannot be accessed if it is stolen. In order to identify the most valuable data and reevaluate the security measures put in place to secure it, access-related ITGCs may also involve quarterly or annual inventory audits.
- Controls for System Life Cycle
Applications, systems, and networks all have updates for a reason. Releases either add new functionality or fix security flaws. Users harm themselves and expose their businesses to assault when they fail to update their programmes on a regular basis. Because of this, many ITGCs emphasize requiring consistent monitoring of an organization’s applications, systems, and network service-level commitments as well as imposing routine updates.
To that purpose, businesses frequently incorporate ITGCs into the procurement process, requesting a Service Organization Controls Report (SOC) from providers, and determining whether further controls are necessary to maintain data security. To automatically distribute fixes to operating systems, browsers, and apps that are running behind schedule, many businesses also use patch management software and there are many more examples as well..
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