ISO 27001 is an international standard that provides a framework for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving information security management systems (ISMS). The standard outlines a systematic approach to managing sensitive information to ensure its confidentiality, integrity, and availability. In this article, we will take a closer look at the ISO 27001 requirements and certification process.
ISO 27001 Information Security Management Requirements
The ISO 27001 certification process focuses on an organisation’s risk management processes, including risk assessment, treatment, and acceptance. The management requirements for ISO 27001 consist of six main domains related to policies and procedures, including resourcing, operations, and performance evaluation.
The crux of the standard is the risk management process, which ensures that organisations can identify, analyse, treat, and accept risk. The organisation must document all processes and procedures relating to risk management, which should be aligned. Once the information security system and associated risk management processes are well-defined and documented, the organisation can formalise its treatment methods.
ISO 27002 Code of Practice for Information Security Controls
ISO 27002 is the baseline security control that ISO 27001 recommends organisations implement. It’s a set of measures to help treat risk by using security controls to reduce the likelihood of risk materialising or reduce the risk’s impact on the organisation.
ISO 27002 has a baseline set of 14 domains containing 114 security controls. These domains include information security policies, organisation of information security, human resource security, asset management, access control, cryptography, physical environmental security, operations security, communications security, system acquisition, development, and maintenance, supplier relationships, information security incident management, information security aspects of business continuity management, and compliance.
Implementation and Certification Process
The ISO 27001 implementation generally starts with a scoping exercise to determine the controls or requirements irrelevant to the organisation. Typically, a gap analysis is also conducted alongside the scoping exercise to identify the organisation’s ISO 27001 security controls or requirements deficient.
Next, the organisation must implement processes, procedures, or security controls to meet the ISO 27001 requirements. These processes, procedures, and security controls can range from a security governance council to implementing technical controls like firewalls.
If your organisation is relatively new to technology risk management, engaging a consultancy will help tremendously with the implementation. The consultants should have a library of toolkits and guidelines to help the implementation process.
Lastly, once all the requirements and security controls are implemented, the organisation can engage an external certification body separately to do the audit. Audit activities include interviewing key organisational stakeholders, requesting access to key documentation, or even conducting technical verification tests. If all goes well, the organisation will be given an ISO 27001 certification that is valid for three years.
Continuous Improvement
The ISO 27001 certification is not a one-time process. Organisations must continually monitor the effectiveness of security controls with metrics to ensure that the controls remain effective as the threat landscape changes. As the cyber landscape continues evolving with the sophistication of threat actors, this continuous process of risk management and treatment will help secure the organisation and its digital assets from threat actors.
Conclusion
ISO 27001 provides a comprehensive framework for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving information security management systems. The certification process focuses on an organisation’s risk management processes, and ISO 27002 provides organisations with a set of security controls to reduce the likelihood or business impact of a risk materialising. Organisations seeking to obtain ISO 27001 certification should engage a consultancy to help with the implementation and ensure that they continually monitor the effectiveness of security controls.
At Edara Systems Australia, we get your business ISO-certified. We can help systemise your organisation, comply with regulations and win more tenders. Obtain certification by completing ISO 27001 requirements at a fast turnaround time and with zero financial risk. Book a free 30-minute consultation with us to learn how!
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