Networks have become the backbone of business operations, making it crucial to keep them running smoothly and securely. A network audit is a vital tool for assessing the health of your IT infrastructure. Whether you’re facing performance bottlenecks, preparing for a security review, or simply maintaining best practices, a network audit can uncover hidden inefficiencies and vulnerabilities.
Routine audits ensure that your network is optimised, secure, and compliant with industry standards. By identifying potential risks and inefficiencies early, businesses can avoid costly downtime and stay ahead of potential threats, keeping their systems running efficiently and securely.
What is a Network Audit?
A network audit is a thorough review of your entire IT network to ensure everything is working as it should be. Think of it as a health check for your infrastructure—examining devices, connections, and systems to identify any issues or areas for improvement. This process involves evaluating your network’s performance, security measures, and compliance with industry standards.
No matter the size of your organisation, regular network audits are essential. They help keep your network running smoothly by ensuring it’s optimised for peak performance and protected from potential security threats. Beyond that, audits help ensure your network complies with legal and industry regulations, giving you peace of mind and reducing the risk of fines or penalties.
By conducting regular network audits, businesses can improve their efficiency, safeguard sensitive data, and avoid costly disruptions, making it a critical part of any IT strategy.
How to Perform a Network Audit
Performing a network audit may seem complex, but breaking it down into clear steps makes the process manageable. Here’s a step-by-step guide to ensure your audit covers all the essential areas:
1. Plan and Prepare
Before diving into the audit, it’s important to outline the scope. What parts of your network will you focus on? Are you auditing your entire infrastructure or specific areas like network security or performance? Defining the scope will help keep the audit organised and efficient.
Next, identify the key stakeholders involved. This could include IT managers, network administrators, or external consultants. Having the right team in place ensures the audit is comprehensive and accurate.
Finally, gather the necessary tools. This might include network monitoring software, documentation of your network setup, and access to relevant systems. Proper preparation is key to a successful audit.
2. Network Discovery
Once you’re prepared, it’s time to map out the entire network. This includes all devices, services, and connections within the network. Understanding the layout and components of your network is crucial for spotting potential issues.
Network scanners are particularly useful for this step. They automatically detect and map all devices connected to your network, providing a clear visualisation of its structure and making it easier to identify any unaccounted-for devices or rogue connections.
3. Network Performance Assessment
With your network mapped, the next step is to assess its performance. The key metrics to monitor include bandwidth usage, latency, packet loss, and throughput. These metrics will give you insights into how efficiently your network is functioning.
Look for bottlenecks, where network traffic slows down, or underutilised resources that may be going to waste. By identifying these areas, you can take steps to optimise your network and improve overall performance.
4. Security Review
A critical part of any network audit is reviewing your security measures. Start by evaluating your firewalls, access controls, and encryption protocols to ensure that only authorised users have access to sensitive data.
Check for vulnerabilities, such as outdated software, misconfigured security settings, or open ports that could be exploited by hackers. Addressing these risks is essential for protecting your network from potential cyber threats.
5. Compliance Check
Finally, review your network policies and practices to ensure they meet industry regulations and standards, such as GDPR, ISO 27001, or other relevant frameworks. Compliance is not only important for legal reasons but also for maintaining trust with customers and partners.
Proper documentation is crucial for compliance audits, so ensure all policies, procedures, and configurations are well-documented and up to date. This will also make future audits easier to manage.
By following these steps, you can ensure that your network audit is thorough and effective, helping you improve performance, bolster security, and maintain compliance with industry regulations.
Tools to Help You Audit Your Network
A successful network audit requires the right tools. Whether you’re assessing performance, checking for security vulnerabilities, or ensuring compliance, there are a variety of tools—both open source and paid—that can help streamline the process. Here are some recommended options:
1. Network Performance Monitoring Tools
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (Paid)
SolarWinds is one of the leading tools for network monitoring, offering real-time insights into bandwidth usage, latency, and traffic patterns. Its user-friendly dashboard allows you to quickly identify bottlenecks and underperforming areas of your network.
Benefits: Comprehensive monitoring, customisable alerts, and scalability for large networks.
Nagios (Open Source)
Nagios is a powerful and flexible open-source tool that monitors the health of your network, alerting you to performance issues like high bandwidth usage or packet loss. It’s highly customisable, allowing you to tailor it to your specific auditing needs.
Benefits: Free, highly customisable, strong community support.
Security Scanning Tools
Nmap (Open Source)
Nmap is a popular open-source tool that helps with network discovery and security auditing. It scans for open ports, identifies devices, and detects vulnerabilities across your network.
Benefits: Lightweight, versatile, and excellent for uncovering security risks.
Nessus (Paid)
Nessus is a comprehensive vulnerability scanning tool that identifies security weaknesses in your network, including outdated software, misconfigurations, and missing patches. It also provides detailed reports to help you prioritise fixes.
Benefits: Easy to use, extensive vulnerability database, and actionable reports.
Compliance Check Tools
ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus (Paid)
This tool helps ensure your network is compliant with industry regulations like GDPR and ISO standards. It offers policy-based compliance checks, automated reports, and recommendations for addressing non-compliance.
Benefits: Detailed compliance reports, policy-based checks, and automation for ongoing compliance.
OpenSCAP (Open Source)
OpenSCAP is an open-source tool that assists with compliance audits, helping you meet security standards such as those from NIST or CIS. It automates security checks and generates reports to show how well your network adheres to regulatory frameworks.
Benefits: Free, automates security and compliance checks, and supports multiple standards.
These tools provide valuable insights into different aspects of your network, making it easier to identify areas for improvement. Whether you’re focused on performance, security, or compliance, using the right tool can save time and ensure a more thorough audit.
Contract a Network Auditor
While conducting a network audit in-house can be effective, it can also be time-consuming and may require specialised knowledge that not every organisation has. This is where hiring a professional auditing provider can make a difference. Expert providers bring years of experience, specialised tools, and an outside perspective, ensuring that your network audit is both thorough and objective.
By partnering with an auditing provider, you can benefit from their comprehensive knowledge of best practices in network performance, security, and compliance. They can quickly identify issues that may go unnoticed during an internal audit, helping to prevent future downtime, security breaches, or regulatory penalties.
A professional audit service can offer detailed, actionable recommendations tailored to your business. Whether you’re looking to improve performance, bolster security, or ensure compliance with regulations like GDPR or ISO, an external provider can guide you through the process with precision and expertise.
For businesses that want to save time and gain peace of mind, hiring a provider is an investment that pays off in both immediate results and long-term network stability. Haptic Networks offers network auditing services tailored to your organisation’s unique needs, ensuring your network is secure, efficient, and compliant.
What To Do After a Network Audit
After completing a network audit, it’s crucial to review the results with key stakeholders in your organisation. This ensures that everyone involved—from IT managers to department heads—understands the audit findings and their implications. Clear communication of these results can help align teams on the importance of addressing any issues, from performance bottlenecks to security vulnerabilities.
Once the audit results are reviewed, the next step is to prioritise improvements. Start by categorising issues based on their urgency and impact. For example, critical security vulnerabilities or compliance gaps should be addressed immediately, while performance optimisations might be planned for the longer term. Creating a priority list helps you focus resources on the most important areas, ensuring the network remains secure and efficient.
Finally, it’s essential to develop an action plan. This plan should outline the steps needed to resolve each issue, assign responsibilities to team members, and set realistic timelines for completion. The action plan serves as a roadmap for continuous improvement, ensuring that all issues uncovered during the audit are properly addressed. Periodic follow-ups can help track progress and ensure that your network stays optimised and secure.
By reviewing, prioritising, and planning, you can ensure that the network audit translates into tangible improvements, helping your organisation maintain a robust and efficient network infrastructure.
Get Help With Your Audit
Regularly performing network audits is an essential part of maintaining a secure, efficient, and compliant IT infrastructure. By identifying vulnerabilities, optimising performance, and ensuring regulatory compliance, network audits help prevent costly downtime and protect your business from security threats.
Rather than viewing audits as a reactive measure, businesses should incorporate them into their proactive IT strategy. Regular audits not only safeguard against potential risks but also ensure that your network is prepared to support future growth and technological changes.
If you’re ready to take your network health seriously, contact Haptic Networks. Our expert team can guide you through every step of the audit process, ensuring that your network stays resilient, secure, and ready for the demands of tomorrow.
