What Does Network Auditing Mean?
Network auditing is the collective measures done to analyze, study and gather data about a network with the purpose of ascertaining its health in accordance with the network/organization requirements.
Network auditing primarily provides insight into how effective network control and practices are, i.e. its compliance to internal and external network policies and regulations.
Techopedia Explains Network Auditing
Network auditing works through a systematic process where a computer network is analyzed for:
- Security
- Implementation of control
- Availability
- Management
- Performance
The data is gathered, vulnerabilities and threats are identified, and a formal audit report is sent to network administrators.
It is generally done by an information system auditor, network analyst/auditor or any other individual with a network management and/or security background. It uses both manual and automated techniques to gather data and review network posture. It reviews:
- Each node of a network
- Network control and security processes
- Network monitoring processes
- Other data
Although a network audit may focus more on network control and security, it also reviews processes and measures that ensure network availability, performance and quality of service.
