Auditing Storage

Auditing storage refers to the process of evaluating the security, performance, and compliance of an organization’s data storage systems and infrastructure. This can include local storage, network-attached storage (NAS), storage area networks (SAN), and cloud storage services. The goal of storage auditing is to identify potential risks and vulnerabilities, assess the reliability and performance of the storage systems, and ensure that the data stored on these systems is secure, available, and recoverable.

The scope of storage auditing can vary depending on the size and complexity of the organization’s storage infrastructure and the specific security and compliance requirements of the organization. The audit process may include evaluating the security of the storage systems, reviewing data backup and recovery procedures, assessing the performance and reliability of the storage systems, and ensuring that data privacy and compliance policies are being followed.

Storage auditing is important for organizations of all sizes and is critical for protecting the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of sensitive and critical information stored in the organization’s storage systems.

Types of Storage:

There are several types of storage systems, including:

1. Local Storage: Storage devices, such as hard drives and solid state drives, that are directly attached to a computer or server.
2. Network-Attached Storage (NAS): A type of storage device that connects to a network and provides shared access to data.
3. Storage Area Network (SAN): A high-speed network that provides block-level access to data storage, allowing multiple servers to access the same storage devices.
4. Cloud Storage: Remote storage is provided by a third-party service provider over the internet.
5. Object Storage: A type of cloud storage that provides access to data as objects rather than as files or blocks.
6. Tape Storage: A type of removable storage that uses magnetic tape to store data.
7. Optical Storage: A type of removable storage that uses laser technology to store data on a compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray disc.
8. Flash Storage: A type of solid-state storage that uses NAND-based flash memory to store data.

Scope of Auditing Storage

The scope of auditing storage can vary depending on the size and complexity of the organization’s storage infrastructure and the specific security and compliance requirements of the organization. However, some common areas of focus for auditing storage include:

1. Security: Evaluating the security of the storage systems, including access control, encryption, and network security.
2. Data Backup and Recovery: Assessing the reliability and effectiveness of data backup and recovery procedures, including testing the recovery of data from backups.
3. Performance and Reliability: Measuring the performance of the storage systems, including data transfer speeds, capacity utilization, and response times.
4. Data Privacy and Compliance: Verifying that the storage systems comply with relevant data privacy and regulatory requirements, including data retention policies and data disposal procedures.
5. Storage Configuration: Evaluating the configuration of the storage systems, including the storage hardware and software, data structures, and network topology.
6. Capacity Planning: Assessing the current and future storage needs of the organization and making recommendations for capacity planning.

Steps of Auditing Storage

The steps involved in auditing storage can include:

1. Planning: Define the scope and objectives of the audit, including the specific storage systems to be audited, the data to be reviewed, and the specific security and compliance requirements to be evaluated.
2. Preparation: Gather information about the storage systems, including configuration details, data access controls, backup and recovery procedures, and performance metrics.
3. Data Collection: Collect data from the storage systems, including logs, performance data, and access records. This data can be collected through manual methods, such as reviewing configuration files, or through automated tools, such as security and performance monitoring software.
4. Analysis: Evaluate the data collected during the data collection phase, looking for any issues or anomalies related to security, performance, and compliance.
5. Reporting: Prepare a report of the findings, including any issues or concerns discovered during the audit, recommendations for improving the security and performance of the storage systems, and a plan for implementing the recommendations.
6. Follow-up: Implement the recommendations made in the audit report, and conduct follow-up audits to ensure that the changes have been successfully implemented and are effective in improving the security and performance of the storage systems.

Checklist of Auditing Storage

• Document the overall storage management architecture, including the hardware and supporting network infrastructure.
• Obtain the software version and compare it against policy requirements.
• Verify that policies and procedures are in place to identify when a patch is available and to evaluate and apply applicable patches. Ensure that all approved patches are installed per your policy.
• Determine what services and features are enabled on the system and validate their necessity with the system administrator.
• Review and evaluate procedures for creating administrative accounts and ensuring that accounts are created only when there’s a legitimate business need. Also, review and evaluate processes for ensuring that accounts are removed or disabled in a timely fashion in the event of termination or job change.
• Evaluate the process and policies used for granting and revoking access to storage.
• Evaluate how capacity is managed for the storage environment to support existing and anticipated business requirements.
• Evaluate how performance is managed and monitored for the storage environment to support existing and anticipated business requirements.
• Evaluate the policies, processes, and controls for data backup frequency, handling, and remote storage.
• Verify that encryption of data-at-rest is implemented where appropriate.
• Verify that network encryption of data-in-motion is implemented where appropriate.
• Evaluate the low-level and technical controls in place to segregate or firewall highly sensitive data from the rest of the storage environment.
• Review and evaluate system administrator procedures for security monitoring.
• Perform the “Auditing Data Centers and Disaster Recovery,” as they pertain to the system you are auditing.

Conclusion

A storage audit conclusion summarizes the findings and results of an evaluation of a storage system. The conclusion may include information such as:

• Storage capacity utilization
• Storage performance and efficiency
• Compliance with data retention policies
• Security risks and vulnerabilities
• Recommendations for optimization or improvement.

The overall goal of a storage audit is to ensure that data is being stored efficiently, securely, and in compliance with relevant regulations. The conclusion of a storage audit should provide actionable insights to help an organization effectively manage its data storage.