Various tools and platforms aid in the process of conducting a network security audit. Network audit tools can provide information such as the following:
- The device's inventory: Device name, capacity, make/serial number, MAC address, End of Support (EOS), and End of License (EOL) information
- Network diagram: Depicts the connection between the devices
- Software installed: Software name, license, and security patches
- Reports: Generate reports
Network audit tools can be broadly categorized as follows:
- Network inventory and network diagram analysis
- Security assessment
- Performance assessment
- Configuration management
The tools you use will vary, depending on the audit's scope. However, at the time of writing, vendors are coming up with unified product suites for network management and monitoring. This section covers the best tools under each category. The organization has to undertake due diligence to figure out the best tool as per their needs.