A Time-Saving Approach to Microcomputer Security

Abstract

Microcomputer advances in ease of use and processing power have far outstripped the accounting department’s ability to control them. This disparity has resulted in potentially damaging exposures that leave the organization open to theft of hardware, software, and data. The potential for loss may be greatest in small and medium-sized organizations where security resources are necessarily limited by the inability to take advantage of the economics of scale enjoyed by large organizations. This article describes typical microcomputer exposures and provides a checklist to help the international auditor identify and correct them