Effective January 1, 2002, the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) released updated standards in the International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF). Internal auditing departments, according to Standard 1312 of the IPPF, must complete an external assessment once every five years from a qualified independent assessor or assessment team. In addition, the chief audit executive (CAE) must discuss the form and frequency of external assessments and the qualifications and independence of the external assessor or assessment team with the board of directors. Standards (unlike practice advisories, practice guides and position papers) are principal focused mandatory requirements consisting of statements for the professional practice of internal auditing and for evaluating the effectiveness of performance which are applicable at the organizational and individual levels.

When auditors begin to test procedures for compliance examinations (i.e., SOC 1, SOC 2), there are cases where the clients are performing certain tasks; however, they are not documented, which puts the auditors in a precarious position.

In my line of work, it is not only advisable to have a mastery of the facts, but prudence would suggest that a good dose of foresight and reason based on actual experience can often times be as valuable a tool. Since the days of the SAS 70, we have seen several subjective opinions about both the appropriateness and/or the ineffectiveness of the SAS 70 report. Even today, there continues to be concerns on how SOC 1 reports, also known as SSAE 16 examinations, are being used in situations that fail to have bearing on internal controls over financial reporting.

Undoubtedly, the ISO 27001 Certification is recognized globally and revered as one of the highest and most comprehensive certifications an organization can attain. The high esteem that the certification is held is substantiated by the effort and dedication that is required by an organization to attain ISO 27001 certification. As an internationally accepted certification, ISO 27001 represents an organization's ability to effectively manage information security risks with a certified information security management system (ISMS).

By Eric Sampson and Doug Barbin In a previous article, we provided a summary of the key components of the PCI DSS Cloud Computing Guidelines (“cloud supplement”). That article focused on roles, responsibilities, agreements, and audit considerations. This article speaks more to the technical considerations.

By Eric Sampson and Doug Barbin

DevOps, like Agile development before it, accents the continuous evolving state of software development, particularly in cloud-base software. Like any technology change, there is no surprise that auditor and security professionals are challenged as the traditional separation of duties become more and more gray. As someone who oversaw product management in an Agile / SaaS development environment and now manages audits and certifications for leading edge cloud solution providers, I offer my perspective.

I am delighted that Schellman is now an accredited FedRAMP 3rd Party Assessment Organization (3PAO). This is a testament to our extensive experience in the cloud service provider (CSP) space and the qualifications and experience of a licensed CPA firm, PCI QSA company, and ISO 27001 certification body.