Auditor’s Guide to Information Systems Auditing

Chapter 24. Technical Infrastructure

This chapter examines the complex area of the Information Systems/Information Technology (IS/IT) technical infrastructure (planning, implementation, and operational practices). IT architecture/standards over hardware including mainframe, minicomputers, client-servers, routers, switches, communications, and PCs as well as software including operating systems, utility software, and database systems are revealed.

Network components including communications equipment and services rendered to provide networks, network-related hardware, network-related software, and the use of service providers are covered as are security/testing and validation, performance monitoring and evaluation tools, and IT control monitoring and evaluation tools, such as access control systems monitoring and intrusion detection systems monitoring tools.

In addition, the role of managing information resources and information infrastructure through enterprise management software and the implementation of service center management and operations standards/guidelines within COBIT, ITIL, and ISO 17799 together with the issues and considerations of service center versus proprietary technical infrastructures are explored.

Effective and efficient information systems are the cornerstones of most enterprises today. For the systems to be capable of adaptation to the variations in business-processes and the introduction of new products and services, an appropriate technical infrastructure ...