The FREE Cybersecurity Glossary by Thor Pedersen!

External Audit - Audit Reporting: The audit reporting stage of an external audit involves presenting these findings, which may include identified issues, recommendations for improvements, and an overall assessment of the entity's compliance status. This report is typically presented to senior management or a governance body such as a board of directors.

External Audit - Chartering: The chartering stage of an external audit involves the establishment of the scope, objectives, and protocols for the audit. It often includes defining what areas or processes will be audited, what standards or regulations will be used as a basis for the audit, and what the expected deliverables are (such as an audit report). The charter is agreed upon by both the auditors and the organization being audited.

External Audit - Pre-audit Planning: Pre-audit planning is the initial phase of an external audit, where the audit's scope and objectives are established, and a detailed audit plan is developed. This phase involves identifying the key processes, systems, or areas to be audited, gathering information about them, and deciding on the methodologies to be used during the audit.

External Audits: Independent assessments conducted by third-party auditors to verify the accuracy of an organization's financial records, compliance with regulatory standards, or the effectiveness of its internal controls. External audits serve to provide assurance to stakeholders, such as investors, creditors, and regulators, that an organization's financial statements present a true and fair view of its financial performance and position. They can also assess an organization's adherence to industry standards, laws, and regulations, particularly in specialized areas like cybersecurity, environmental compliance, and quality management.

External Border Gateway Protocol (EBGP): A variant of the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) used for routing data between autonomous systems (AS) on the Internet. EBGP enables separate and distinct networks, each managed by a different organization (such as an internet service provider or a large enterprise), to exchange routing information. This protocol ensures that networks can communicate and determine the best paths for data packets to travel across the complex fabric of the global Internet. EBGP plays a crucial role in the scalability and operation of the Internet by handling routing between different organizations efficiently and dynamically.

External router: A device that connects networks together and facilitates data transfer between them. Primarily used for connecting to networks outside an organization's primary network, it serves as a gateway for data packets traveling between these disparate networks, controlling and directing traffic based on routing tables and protocols.