Section: INFORMATION SECURITY PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
Explanation:
Ideally, requesting that the IT department develop an automated integrity check would be desirable, but given the temporary nature of the problem, the risk can be mitigated by setting stringent access permissions on the shared folder. Operations staff should only have write access and disbursement staff should only have read access, and everyone else, including the administrator, should be disallowed. An information security awareness program and/or signing an agreement to not engage in fraudulent activities may help deter attempts made by employees: however, as long as employees see a chance of personal gain when internal control is loose, they may embark on unlawful activities such as alteration of payment files. A PC macro would be an inexpensive automated solution to develop with control reports. However, sound independence or segregation of duties cannot be expected in the reconciliation process since it is run by an end-user group. Therefore, this option may not provide sufficient proof.

Reviewing general security settings on each platform will be the most efficient method for determining password strength while not compromising the integrity of the passwords. Attempting to reset several passwords to weaker values may not highlight certain weaknesses. Installing code to capture passwords for periodic audit, and sampling a subset of users and requesting their passwords for review, would compromise the integrity of the passwords.