What is a security audit checklist?
A break-in doesn’t always come through the front door. Sometimes it’s an ex-employee’s badge that still opens the server room, or a guest Wi-Fi network nobody bothered to password-protect. A security audit checklist catches these gaps before someone else does.
It’s a structured tool for reviewing your organization’s security controls, from access management and network security to physical security and data protection, against a set of standards or best practices. Instead of relying on memory or scattered notes, you work through each area in the same order every time and record what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs fixing.
Types of security audits
Most organizations combine a few different approaches to build a complete picture of their security posture, the same way a broader safety audit draws on multiple methods to cover a site.
External audits – run by an independent third party with no stake in the outcome. These carry more weight with regulators, insurers, and customers than a self-assessment.
Penetration tests – also called ethical hacking. A specialist tries to break into your systems the way a real attacker would, then reports exactly what worked.
Vulnerability scans – automated tools that flag known weaknesses across your network, applications, and endpoints so you can prioritize fixes by severity.
Internal audits – run by your own team to check whether day-to-day practices match your written policies and compliance obligations.
Most teams use a mix of these rather than picking just one. NRS Healthcare, for example, relied on regular internal audits to keep a consistent record of its equipment and processes. When an NHS commissioning group later ran an external audit of the business, the team walked away with a perfect 100% score, the first time that had happened in the organization’s history.
Why conduct security audits using a checklist
Security audits cover a lot of ground, and it’s easy to lose track of what’s been reviewed and what hasn’t. A checklist keeps the process on track:
Comprehensive coverage – nothing gets skipped because you’re relying on memory alone
Consistency – every audit follows the same structure, so results are comparable across departments, sites, or time periods
Compliance with standards – you can map each item back to a specific requirement, which makes it easier to demonstrate compliance during external reviews
Efficiency – you work through set items instead of reinventing the process each time
Documentation – findings, evidence, and sign-offs are captured in one place instead of scattered across emails and notebooks
Risk prioritization – you can flag which gaps need fixing today versus this quarter instead of treating every finding the same way
The real value shows up over time. Run the same checklist every quarter and you start to see patterns, the same physical security gap keeps reappearing, or scores are trending down at one site. That’s easier to manage with dedicated audit management software that keeps every audit, finding, and fix in one place. Platforms like Mitti (by SafetyCulture) turn a checklist from a one-off compliance exercise into part of how the team improves security, audit after audit.
Security standards and frameworks to reference
Most checklist items map back to an established framework, and using one as your baseline keeps your audit aligned with recognized practice instead of a list you built from scratch.
The NIST Cybersecurity Framework organizes security work around six core functions, including Govern, added in the 2.0 update, and is widely used regardless of company size. ISO/IEC 27001:2022 lays out requirements for an information security management system and is often the reference point if you’re pursuing certification. SOC 2 focuses more narrowly on how service providers handle customer data and is common in software audits. For current threat guidance, CISA’s cyber threat resources are updated as new vulnerabilities and attack patterns emerge.
You don’t need to adopt a framework wholesale to benefit from it. Mapping even a handful of checklist items to the closest matching control gives your audit more credibility with auditors, insurers, and customers.
What to include in a security audit checklist
Every organization’s checklist looks slightly different depending on industry and what you’re protecting, but most cover the same core areas:
Audit title page
Access controls
Network security
Data protection
Physical security
Employee awareness and training
Compliance
Electronic and information security
General facility impressions
Visitor and vehicle access
Completion and sign-off
How to create and use one: eight steps
To guide you on how you can prepare and maximize a checklist for your security audits, here are some steps and tips you can consider:
Define the scope: which systems, networks, and locations you’re assessing, and which standards or regulations apply.
Build the checklist around your chosen framework, grouping items by section with space for evidence and notes.
Assign who’s running the audit: an internal team, a third-party auditor, or a mix of both.
Walk through each control against the checklist, gathering evidence through interviews, document reviews, and site inspections.
Rank findings by risk and severity so the highest-priority gaps get addressed first.
Turn each finding into a remediation plan with an owner and a deadline.
Summarize results in an audit report for leadership and relevant stakeholders.
Track remediation progress and re-audit on a set schedule to confirm fixes actually held.
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