ISACA stands for Information Systems Audit and Control Association. It develops controls and guidance for information governance, security, control, and audit professionals.
This international association focuses on IT governance, providing benchmarks and governance tools for organizations that employ information systems. ISACA is behind the creation,sponsorship, and driving of the COBIT framework.
Originally published in 1996, COBIT helped financial auditors better navigate their IT environment growth
ISACA released a more comprehensive version in 1998. It enveloped areas beyond audit controls. The third and fourth versions, released in the 2000s, added further management guidelines around cyber security.
The fifth COBIT version came in 2013 and brought along tools, objectives, and best practices universally applicable to all IT operations in enterprises. It expanded on the fourth version by incorporating related standards from the ISO (International Organization for Standardization),including ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library.)
ISACA then updated COBIT 5 to COBIT 2019. It is the latest version. This COBIT version is more comprehensive, flexible, and suitable for all enterprises, irrespective of their immediate goals or size. COBIT 2019 includes six governing principles, unlike COBIT 5 , which had five. Also, in this version, the number of processes supporting management objectives and governance has increased from 37 to 40.
