Information Security and Audit Services for Businesses

Can a single, well-run review cut breach risk while saving time and budget?

We partner with organizations to assess systems, controls, and processes that protect sensitive data. Our approach blends formal frameworks (PCI DSS, HIPAA, SOC 2, GDPR, NIST, ISO 27001) with a risk-based focus that targets the highest impact areas.

Security audits deliver ranked findings, clear remediation steps, and executive summaries that drive fast decisions. We conduct annual reviews and ad hoc checks after changes or incidents to keep your compliance posture current.

By working with business and IT leaders, we prioritize the controls that matter for stakeholders and operational resilience. The result is a prioritized report, measurable improvements, and sustained governance that keeps the organization secure.

• We reduce risk with focused reviews that reveal control gaps and remediation paths.
• Frameworks like PCI, HIPAA, SOC 2, GDPR, NIST, and ISO guide consistent reviews.
• Risk-based prioritization ensures limited budgets improve the greatest exposures.
• Annual and post-change audits keep compliance and operations aligned.
• Deliverables include prioritized findings, executive-ready insights, and clear recommendations.

A methodical assessment compares current practices to required standards and highlights where fixes matter most.

We define a security audit as a structured assessment that compares systems, processes, and policies to internal rules, external standards, and legal requirements. The goal is to confirm controls operate as intended, expose gaps, and recommend prioritized fixes for management.

Scope-setting clarifies which locations, assets, and timeframes apply and which frameworks govern testing (for example, NIST or ISO).

Evaluation covers governance, technical controls (identity, network, endpoint), physical safeguards, third-party risk, and incident readiness.

• Methods: stakeholder interviews, document review, configuration checks, and targeted tests.
• Criteria: control families from NIST 800-53 or ISO Annex A ensure repeatable coverage.
• Deliverable: a prioritized report mapped to requirements with owners and remediation steps.

Purposeful testing and review translate technical findings into board-ready risk metrics.

Regular security audits give leaders a clear map of where threats and weak controls exist. They reveal misconfigurations, unpatched systems, and risky access that routine work can miss.

Well-run reviews lower the chance of breaches by finding issues early and guiding fixes. Audits help organizations meet U.S. mandates (HIPAA, SOX, state privacy rules) and avoid fines or reputational harm.

Independent findings give executives, boards, customers, and partners confidence in controls. Clear metrics and prioritized remediation create ownership and drive continuous improvement.

• Fewer incidents and better cyber-insurance terms.
• Improved contract wins and stronger brand protection.
• Ongoing cycles maintain a consistent security posture as systems change.

Regulatory mandates and business goals shape which standards we apply and how deeply we test controls.

U.S. laws such as HIPAA and SOX define minimum requirements for many industries. HIPAA requires periodic risk reviews to protect patient data. SOX drives financial control testing for public companies. We map these regulations to scope, evidence, and testing depth so nothing critical is missed.

SOC 2 and ISO 27001 demand independent third-party attestations for many customers. NIST 800-53 provides detailed control baselines for federal systems. We explain when external certification is needed versus internal readiness checks.

• PCI DSS: annual assessments for card environments and continuous controls.
• GDPR: testing and lawful processing for organizations with global data flows.
• Risk-based approach: prioritize controls by potential impact rather than checklists.

We align standards to business goals so one control can satisfy multiple requirements. Clear documentation (procedures, logs, and records) and periodic internal checks keep the organization audit-ready and responsive to change.

A layered testing strategy ties governance checks to hands-on attacks and continuous scans for full coverage.

We differentiate a security audit as a broad review of governance, policies, and control adequacy across the organization. A security audit maps controls to requirements, ranks findings, and gives prioritized remediation steps.

Penetration testing uses ethical hacking to validate exploitability. Testers produce narratives, proof-of-concept exploits, and remediation guidance that show how an attacker could move through a system.

Vulnerability assessments focus on automated discovery of known flaws. These produce ranked lists with CVSS-style ratings for continuous hygiene.

• When to use each: audits for overall assurance, pen tests for exploit validation, scans for ongoing coverage.
• Evidence: audit reports, pen-test proofs, vulnerability inventories with risk ratings.
• Cadence: annual audits, continuous scanning, and pen tests after major changes.

Before testing, we confirm policies, define rules of engagement, and use authenticated scans where needed. Tests run safely to protect production data and keep systems available.

We recommend feeding results into a risk register and remediation backlog so leaders can track fixes and measure progress. No single method is sufficient alone; combined use delivers true defense-in-depth and aligns with compliance drivers like SOC 2 and PCI DSS.

We lay out a repeatable process that captures true exposures and drives measurable fixes.

Plan and inventory. We map all assets—on-prem, cloud, and endpoints—and include Shadow IT to remove blind spots. Defining scope lets teams focus tests on systems that hold critical data.

We interview stakeholders and run walkthroughs to see how procedures operate day to day. We review policies, diagrams, incident plans, and access matrices to check design versus practice.

Authenticated scans, configuration reviews, RBAC and MFA checks, and targeted penetration testing validate exploitability. CAATs speed discovery, but expert reviewers add context to findings.

We analyze logs, confirm SIEM coverage, and test backups against recovery objectives. The engagement ends with a severity-ranked report that lists affected systems, root causes, and prioritized recommendations with owners and timelines.

Organizations can use internal staff, external auditors, or a hybrid model. We help choose the right balance of independence, expertise, and institutional knowledge to reduce risk and drive remediation governance.

A domain-based checklist ensures every critical control is reviewed with real-world tests.

Verify MFA, least-privilege roles, and timely provisioning and deprovisioning.

Review privileged account processes and schedule periodic access reviews for owners.

Confirm segmentation boundaries, firewall rules, and IDS/IPS tuning.

Assess VPN posture, wireless controls, and continuous monitoring for anomalous traffic.

Check classification tags, encryption at rest and in transit, and DLP effectiveness.

Validate secure disposal practices and database controls for sensitive data.

Ensure EDR coverage, patch cadence, anti-malware, and hardened baselines are enforced.

Confirm device management and application allow-listing reduce exploitable vulnerabilities.

Inspect facility access controls, environmental safeguards, media handling, and clean desk rules.

Test vulnerability management lifecycles, incident runbooks, logging strategy, and SIEM analytics.

Scrutinize vendor due diligence, contractual obligations, cloud shared-responsibility, and supply chain controls.

• Map policies to controls so written rules become measurable practice.
• Check evidence quality—tickets, logs, and screenshots—to prove operation.
• Document weaknesses and deliver prioritized, pragmatic next steps for management.

Combining internal knowledge with outside objectivity produces more actionable findings.

When independence is required: Certifications such as SOC 2 and ISO 27001 typically require third-party attestations. External auditors provide the independence that regulators and customers expect.

We define clear roles for internal teams, external auditors, and line management to avoid overlap. Owners are named for evidence collection, remediation, and verification.

• External auditors: objectivity, industry benchmarks, formal attestations.
• Internal teams: system knowledge, faster coordination, ongoing controls testing.
• Hybrid model: independence plus institutional memory for complex environments.

Stakeholder engagement includes security, IT ops, developers, product owners, legal, and executive sponsors. We use scheduled workshops, office hours, and agreed review cycles to reduce disruption.

We establish escalation paths for critical findings and assign remediation ownership to management. The process stays collaborative and focused on measurable compliance outcomes.

For a practical comparison of roles, see our guide on internal vs external auditors explained.

Modern tooling scales work without losing the judgment that leaders rely on.

We combine automated tools with expert review to speed evidence collection and keep findings relevant to business goals.

We leverage CAATs to collect logs, test controls, and run analytics at scale while preserving human interpretation for business impact.

SIEM integration validates monitoring coverage and alert fidelity across systems. Authenticated scanners and configuration benchmarking surface missing patches and misconfigurations quickly.

• Dashboards track progress, remediation SLAs, and risk reduction metrics for executives and owners.
• We automate sampling and reconciliations to cut cycle time without lowering quality.
• Tool outputs map to industry standards to simplify multi-framework crosswalks.

Human reviewers remain essential: auditors confirm false positives, maintain chain of custody for evidence, and translate technical items into management priorities.

After testing, our focus shifts to turning findings into clear fixes that engineering teams can act on quickly.

We deliver concise reports that group findings by risk and affected systems. Each entry includes evidence, clear recommendations, and owner assignments.

We schedule retests to confirm vulnerabilities are resolved. Retesting also checks for regressions so fixes do not create new issues.

We provide attestation letters and certification-ready packages for stakeholders. These documents map fixes to controls and show measurable compliance progress.

In one engagement, Altius IT audited a mid-size telephone company and produced a 50-point prioritized report. The work guided server hardening, updated anti-malware, and a tested incident response plan that reduced high-risk findings sharply.

• Prioritize by business impact and exploitability.
• Collaborate with engineering to speed remediation.
• Track MTTR, high-risk reduction, and control health for executives.

Complex IT estates often hide gaps where attackers can move laterally unless controls are prioritized.

We segment scope to focus on high-value assets first. This reduces blind spots in hybrid clouds, legacy systems, and remote endpoints.

Automation and targeted sampling let us test deeply without overwhelming staff. Continuous training keeps teams ready for new threats.

We harmonize overlapping regulations and standards to cut duplicate work. Mapping controls once lets a single control satisfy multiple rules.

We phase work, use hybrid teams, and scope by risk to stretch budgets. Clear metrics (coverage, MTTR, control health) keep management engaged.

We operationalize risk ranking so teams fix the most material weaknesses first. Tabletop exercises validate people, processes, and technology.

Finding the right cadence keeps controls current while minimizing disruption.

We recommend an annual comprehensive audit to validate posture and meet certification cycles (for example, SOC 2 or ISO 27001). Annual reviews provide a full assessment of controls, processes, and management readiness.

Beyond the yearly check, we run targeted reviews after material changes, major incidents, or shifts in regulatory requirements. These ad hoc checks close gaps quickly and prevent repeated breaches.

• Annual comprehensive review to confirm controls and compliance.
• Targeted post-change or post-incident inspections for rapid verification.
• Ongoing monitoring and continuous control validation between formal reviews.
• Coordinate cadence with vulnerability scans and periodic penetration testing.
• Increase frequency for systems that hold high-risk data or critical processes.

We embed lessons learned into the next cycle, keep evidence ready for customer or regulator requests, and report progress to leadership regularly. Adapting schedules as threats evolve preserves resilience for organizations across the United States.

A focused review program turns findings into measurable risk reduction.

Disciplined security audits are foundational for strong organization security and resilient operations. We use a risk-based approach to target the highest impact gaps while avoiding checklist work.

Audits, vulnerability management, and penetration testing work together to raise the security posture. We convert findings into fixes with clear owners, timelines, and retesting so results are verifiable.

That process builds stakeholder trust, improves protection for sensitive data, and supports certifications or attestations. We partner with your teams to embed best practices and keep the organization audit-ready.

Engage us to design a review roadmap that aligns with business goals and adapts as threats change.