Best Recommendation for Handling Customer Production Data in UAT Environment

D.

The IS auditor has found that customer production data has been displayed in the user acceptance testing (UAT) environment. This is a serious concern because UAT environments are typically used for testing and development purposes and should not contain actual production data. It is important to protect sensitive customer data and maintain its confidentiality, integrity, and availability throughout the development lifecycle.

Among the given options, the BEST recommendation for the auditor would be:

B. Use de-identified data in the UAT environment.

De-identified data is information that has been stripped of all personally identifiable information (PII) and can no longer be used to identify an individual. Using de-identified data would allow developers and testers to work with realistic data in the UAT environment while minimizing the risk of exposing sensitive customer information.

Requesting approval for the use of production data in the UAT environment (Option A) is not the best recommendation because production data should not be used in the UAT environment unless absolutely necessary. It is always better to use dummy or simulated data in the UAT environment, which is specifically designed for testing purposes.

Using data encryption in the UAT environment (Option C) is also not the best recommendation because encryption is not a substitute for proper data protection measures. While encryption can protect data at rest and in transit, it does not prevent data leakage in cases where it is not properly implemented or when the data is displayed on screen.

Performing a risk assessment to establish the impact of data leakage (Option D) is important but not the best recommendation in this case. Risk assessments should be conducted regularly as part of the organization's risk management process, and it is not specific to the current issue. The auditor's primary objective should be to recommend measures to prevent future data leakage incidents.

In conclusion, the best recommendation for the auditor is to suggest using de-identified data in the UAT environment to minimize the risk of exposing sensitive customer information while allowing developers and testers to work with realistic data.