Why Cyber-security Audit Matters?

What happens when a corporation gets hacked? It doesn't just call IT engineer — it needs Cybersecurity Auditors.

In recent years, cyber breaches have become one of the major risks worldwide. A recent study led by Prof Bing Li from the Department of Accountancy, College of Business, City University of Hong Kong reveals that audit offices usually scale up their demand for cybersecurity specialists after a client experiences a cyber breach.Key fixes:

But actually, what is cybersecurity auditor? Why is it important to the real business world?

If IT engineer is the person who creates the lock to protect the company’s data, a cybersecurity auditor will be the inspector checking every lock, reviewing keycard access logs, and reporting weak spots before hackers find them.

Cyber breach not only affects data privacy; it also triggers class-action lawsuits, regulatory fines, and stock drops. In 2017, Equifax faced a data breach event, in which 141 million customers’ information was compromised, triggered more than 300 class action lawsuits and culminating in $380 million. A cyber auditor bridges the gap between technology and finance, helping companies protect their financial status before disaster strikes.

In the age of AI, algorithms or AI bots are now being implemented into cybersecurity auditing to process vast amounts of financial and technical data at record speeds. AI can speed up the compliance check, and usually network access.

However, as Prof. Li points out, AI can help auditors work faster, but it cannot replace human judgment or cybersecurity expertise.

Blindly trusting AI brings its own severe audit risks. A real-world example occurred when AI-detection software examined published corporate reports from a major Big 4 firm: the AI tool had found fabricated citations, fake footnotes, and claims attributed to sources that did not support them.

Technology can help and speed up operations, but mistakes might appear. As cyber breaches grow more sophisticated and AI introduces new vulnerabilities, the core takeaway from Prof. Li’s research is clear: technology is only as reliable as the human experts behind it.

Read the study via https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1911-3846.70092