Achieving ISO 27001certification is a great differentiator for businesses and demonstrates an organization’s commitment to continual improvement, development, and protection of information assets/sensitive data by implementing appropriate risk assessments, appropriate policies, and controls.
A company with a certification of ISO 27001 assures they are trustworthy and follow the necessary guidelines for security.
Certification to ISO 27001 affirms to suppliers, stakeholders, and clients that your business takes information security management seriously. Certification differentiates you from other businesses by indicating how much value you place on the sacredness and protection of third-party data; this fosters favorable partnerships while safeguarding your business against risk.
ISO 27001 Standards :
The ISO 27001:2013 standard, Information technology — Security techniques – Information security management systems—Requirements is a consensus standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), providing guidance and requirements. This update follows up on the 2005 version of ISO 27001. The latest approved revision was published in 2013 and has been in effect since May 2014.
The standard provides guidance and requirements for the implementation of an Information Security Management System (ISMS). An ISMS has five components: people, process, tools and techniques; information systems; organization; and communications. By implementing the ISO 27001 framework, a business can ensure that its management processes are integrated to reduce risk to the overall organization.
The intent is to improve the organization’s ability to prevent, detect, and correct security-related problems. It also reduces the risk of incurring financial loss or suffering reputational damage caused by either accidental or intentional inappropriate access to information assets (e.g., physical documents/records, electronic files/documents, etc.) of the organization. ISO 27001 is not a certification or accreditation scheme; rather, it describes how organizations can manage information security risks and controls using an ISMS.
What are the Benefits of ISO 27001 Certification?
By achieving compliance with this standard, an organization will be able to:
Establish a framework for a systematic approach to information security, which reduces the overall risk of information security threats.
Provide an awareness of the importance of managing information security risks by all members of your organization.
Demonstrate that you are compliant with relevant regulations and privacy laws.
Although ISO 27001 is a voluntary standard, organizations that have implemented ISO 2701 ISMSs often benefit from increased customer and stakeholder confidence, higher staff retention rates, reduced insurance premiums, and a stronger ability to handle compliance audits.
Benefits for your Organization:
Information security is everyone’s responsibility. For effective implementation of information security measures within an organization, every employee needs to contribute to its success. Organizations can create a culture of security through proper training and awareness programs, employee education, and initiatives.
ISO 27001 certification provides a review process for your information security measures to ensure that they are effective. This makes your organization more competitive in the marketplace because it shows customers that you have taken steps to protect their sensitive information.
What does the process to achieve ISO 27001 certification consist of?
Each organization is different, so the process to achieve ISO 27001 certification is not universal. The ideal approach involves a multi-phase implementation plan that considers the business requirements and creates an information security management system specific to the organization’s needs.
The first step is to select an experienced global provider that can assist in
ISO 27001 registration/certification in 10 easy steps
Step-1: Planning: It is very important to make a plan of the steps for your company. The first step is to carry out an assessment of what security threats are most relevant to your organization and also which processes are involved in delivering your products and services.
Step-2: Selecting an auditor/certification body: The second step is to choose an auditor/certification body. This process has three parts: The third part of this step is to negotiate the contract with the certification body and get a signed copy of it.
Step-3: Conduct self-assessments or Gap Audit: The next step for ISO 27001 registration/certification is to carry out self-assessments for assessing the current state of your organization’s data security. The whole process of self-assessments will help you to formulate a risk assessment. A gap analysis is a comparison between the current state of your organization’s security with the theoretical requirements of ISO 27001. Gap analysis helps you to identify your weak areas and allows for the development of an action plan to address each issue identified through the process.
Step-4: Design and implement initial controls& Procedures: The next step is to design and implement your control structure. You have to establish a risk management system as well. In order to meet this requirement, you need to develop a risk register and ensure the existence of a clearly defined policy-making structure. The initial risk assessment procedure is done by using some guidelines of ISO 27001 standard. It will help you for the first-time audit and also make sure it meets the requirements of ISO 27001 certification.
Step-5: Develop an initial training and awareness program: To implement your control framework, you have to train your staff and create awareness. It is not possible for one person to be fully aware of all the policies and procedures needed to carry out their roles. Also, there are many other people within your organization that must understand the importance of information governance in order to protect your business. It will require an investment in resources and training to acquire the necessary skills to set up the appropriate controls and carry out routine monitoring.
Step-5: Write an initial security policy: The next step is to develop an initial security policy which should include the following points:
Step-6: Implement the initial security policy and procedures/controls: The ISO 27001 registration begins once you have developed these controls and put them into practice. For this, you need to implement a monitoring framework so that it can ensure the effectiveness of your controls and policies. One good example of this is creating a file access control where you need to create a specific file for every business requirement.
Step-7: Test and review your controls with a security assessment report: Once you have implemented the control framework, it is necessary to test it in order to confirm its effectiveness. A whole range of different activities need to be performed, such as reviewing policies, instructions, procedures, and training records for consistency and completeness. If there are any issues identified then it is necessary to amend the policies, instructions, and procedures as well. This testing process can be carried out in-house by the organization itself or through a third party such as an independent auditor/certification body.
Step-8: Define clear management responsibilities: The next process is to define clear management responsibilities for implementing and monitoring the ISO 27001 compliance throughout your organization. In order to do this, you need to appoint a senior manager as the internal auditor who is responsible for performing both the management and operational audits. The security policy should clearly state what is expected from those responsible for implementing controls. If necessary, you may also hire an external/independent auditor or an audit team to perform the ISO 27001 audits on a periodic basis.
Step-10: Complete your certification application: Once you have done this, it is necessary to provide all the information through an application form and submit it as part of the registration/certification process for ISO 27001. To know more about such applications please refer security management standard
Although ISO 27001 registration/certification is not just a piece of paper, it is a powerful communication tool to provide confidence and demonstrate commitment to your customers.
ISO 27001: The 14 control sets of Annex A
control sets are fundamental to the standard. They are an integral part of ISO 27001 and it is necessary for you to understand them fully in order for you provide a comprehensive security management system.
The 14 control sets are the following:
- Annexure A5 Information Security Policies, Standards and Procedures
- Annexure A6 Awareness and Training
- Annexure A7 Risk Assessment
- Annexure A8 Information Security Incident Management
- Annexure A9 Communication of Information Security and Related Information to externals and Clients. (This is not control – it provides information on the communication of security measures, practices, and procedures to external parties for the purposes of enhancing security awareness and understanding. It need not be a formal procedure but should provide guidance on when communication is required and what information should be communicated.
- Annexure A10 Asset Management
- Annexure A11 Physical and Environmental Security
- Annexure A12 Access Control.
- Annexure A13 Information Systems Acquisition, Development and Maintenance. (This control provides for the acquisition of new systems in a defined manner that considers both security controls as well as other requirements such as functionality, capacity, etc.)
- Annexure A14 Information Security Incident Management. This control is a broader control than Annexure A8 (Communication) and deals with how an organization manages security incidents that directly or indirectly have an impact on the achievement of the objectives in Clause 4, as well as the procedures for maintaining the effectiveness of security measures.
- Annexure A15 Backup and Recovery
- Annexure A16 Business Continuity Management. (This control extends the concepts of backup and recovery to cover all aspects of business continuity, including contingency planning.)
- Controls in detail
- All 14 main controls are described in Annex A which is a part of ISO 27001 standard. Each of these controls is explained below:
- Information Security Policies, Standards, and Procedures
- These are the policies that ensure the organization’s information is managed in a manner that ensures security. For example ISO 27001:2013 controls 10 & 11 address this.
- Control 10: Information Security Policy This control provides for an information security policy to be in place which align with the overall objectives of your organization.
- Control 11: Information Security Standards This control provides for security standards to be defined by the organization and applied to its information assets. Awareness and Training This control ensures that all personnel, both part-time/contractual as well as full time have an understanding of the risks associated with a lack of information security, as well as any
These control sets are designed to ensure that you provide a high level of information security and your business is not susceptible to any form of cyber risk.
- You can easily incorporate all the 14 control sets into this three-step implementation process:
- Step-1: Security policy: As with any other standard, a security policy is the foundation of ISO 27001 and the first thing that you need to develop. The following points should be incorporated in your information security policy statement for ISO 27001 certification:
- Step-2: Implement your security policies and procedures/controls: You can implement the 14 control sets for ISO 27001 certification through this implementation process:
- Step-3: Assess and review your information security controls: Once you have implemented a series of policies, instructions, procedures, and training records it is necessary to test their effectiveness in order to ensure that they are functioning correctly. This testing process can be carried out in-house by the organization itself or through a third party such as an independent auditor/certification body.
ISO 27001 Certification Process:
Also, refer to the ISO 27001 Certification process
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