The ISO 27001 Standard, or just ISO 27001, provides guidelines for information security management. This standard aims to help companies create a robust information security management system (ISMS).
This happens by implementing seven main requirements (also called Information Security Principles) that guide the sector’s activities.
In this way, a company has recognized ways to identify, assess, and treat information security risks.
Learn more about the ISO 27001 standard and how to implement it in your company!
What is ISO 27001?
Created by the International Organization for Standardization in 2005, this standard is officially called ISO/IEC 27001. It was updated in 2022 and has since encompassed information security, cybersecurity, and data privacy protection.
And this update did not occur by chance: the cybersecurity concern has been increasing. According to a PWC study, reducing cyber risks is the second highest priority for C-levels.
At the same time, 36% of respondents said they had suffered costs of $1 million or more in their worst security breach in the last three years.
In other words: being in accordance with the ISO 27001 Standard can be the difference between a safe operation and immense losses.
In practice, ISO 27001 is a manual with the requirements that an ISMS needs to meet. It provides guidelines for creating, implementing, and making continuous improvements to an information security management system.
Due to its proven efficiency, it has become the most adopted standard in the market in this regard, being used by companies of all sizes and sectors.
Today, being ISO/IEC 27001 compliant is synonymous with managing data security following the best practices and principles outlined in the standard.
Learn more: Free ebook – ISO 27001 and Information Security Management System
What are the requirements of the ISO 27001 standard?
To be able to consider yourself certified in ISO 27001, you must meet seven requirements related to cybersecurity management. Get to know them below!
Requirement 1 – Background
At this stage, you need to study your market and your own data security infrastructure. It is time to define internal objectives to be achieved, as well as to map possible risks and threats.
Remember to make this panorama accessible to all parties related to information security (whether managers, C-levels, customers, investors, auditors, employees, among others).
In addition, this requirement allows the ISO 27001 auditee to understand the risks you have identified and what security measures are mapped out to mitigate them.
Requirement 2 – Leadership and commitment
After mapping the company’s context, it is necessary to ensure that all leadership is involved in the process of strengthening information security.
For this, senior leadership must participate in the implementation of policies and actions aimed at the area, in addition to defining the organizational roles of each manager.
In addition, leaders need to participate in related training and ensure that teams have the necessary resources to work efficiently and autonomously.
Requirement 3 – Planning
At this stage, each company must evaluate what was raised in step 1 (context) and plan security actions and policies. Remember that these measures need to be connected to the objectives pointed out in the context analysis.
Requirement 4 – Resources and support
Requirement 4 concerns the resources and responsibilities related to previous planning.
In other words: at this stage, you need to establish which resources (financial, equipment, personnel, etc.) will be used for the adaptation and maintenance of ISO 27001.
Requirement 5 – Operational control
To obtain certification to the ISO 27001 Standard, a company needs to have ways to document and monitor the operation of its ISMS. The objective is to understand if the system has flaws or points for improvement and if the policies built are effective.
This occurs through periodic performance evaluations. They need to be documented and presented as evidence during the certification audit.
Requirement 6 – Performance evaluation
Another requirement of ISO 27001 is that companies carry out internal audits. They monitor and evaluate the performance of an ISMS, taking into account its efficiency.
When successful, the results of internal audits set the company’s safety goals and objectives (those of item 1) and the requirements of the ISO standard.
All of this is reviewed at the accreditation stage by an independent external auditor.
Requirement 7 – Improvement and correction of non-conformities
Finally, make sure that any non-compliance in your ISMS is documented with details indicating its cause, what occurred and the measures taken to correct it. In addition, all setbacks need to be notified to the company’s management.
In practical terms, when trying to certify the ISO 27001 standard, some points are taken into account:
- Physical security of the organization;
- Data security;
- Vulnerable aspects;
- Internal organization;
- Compliance with legal requirements;
- Data transfer techniques;
- Management and resolution of incidents;
- Access controls;
- Asset management;
- Security in systems development;
- Equipment used;
- Encryption technology.
How to implement the ISO 27001 standard?
Right here on the SoftExpert blog, we have a complete guide to implementing ISO 27001. For you to understand in an agile way how this occurs, below check out the 10 main steps to have this certification in your company.
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Create an implementation team
Appoint a ISMS implementation project leader who possesses information security expertise and the authority to lead a team.
Then, form a team to create a project plan and define objectives to be achieved, project duration, and project costs, among others.
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Define the scope of the ISMS
Stipulate what kind of information your company needs to protect. To do this, identify how the information is stored (in physical or digital files, on systems or portable devices, etc.) and how it is used.
By correctly defining your scope, you avoid leaving information exposed or at risk and do not create an ISMS that is too complex to manage.
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Identify and map risks
Conduct a risk assessment and document the data, results, and analysis of it. You can do a scenario-based or vulnerability-based analysis.
In the scenario approach, you try to survey errors that may occur (events) and determine what impact (consequences) they would have.
The vulnerability approach, on the other hand, identifies risks using the asset inventory as a starting point. Thus, each asset category (laptops, servers, networks) and their respective threats (theft, human error, malware) are listed.
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Establish a risk management process
All risks, controls, and mitigation methods should be clearly defined and updated in the security policy.
In addition, you must produce a Statement of Applicability and a Risk Treatment Plan. summarizes and explains which ISO 27001 controls and policies are relevant to your organization. This document is one of the first things the auditor will review during their certification audit.
Finally, create a Risk Treatment Plan, which records how your organization will respond to threats identified during the risk assessment process.
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Create training and awareness programs
ISO 27001 requires all employees to be trained in information security. In this way, all employees are aware of the importance of data security and what each person needs to do to maintain compliance.
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Collect and document evidence
At this point, ISO 27001 becomes a daily routine in your organization, through records. Record all practices and guidelines that show the compliance policies and controls required by the standard.
This documentation is both for the certification audit and for you to monitor what is happening.
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ISMS monitoring
At this point, the objectives of its control and its measurement methodology come together. Follow the results obtained to be within your objectives. This allows you to identify that something is wrong and perform corrective actions.
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Internal audits
It is mandatory to conduct a periodic internal audit for monitoring and review. The objective is to test controls and identify failures and, thus, implement corrective and preventive actions.
The audit must evaluate policies, procedures, controls, and decisions. Remember to document your audit results.
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Prepare for the certification audit
Conduct internal audits, management reviews, and activities, and document decisions made as a result of these reviews and audits. Review risk assessments, RTP, SOA, and policies and procedures annually. This will all be part of the certification process and increase your chances of being approved.
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Maintain continuous improvement
Even after you have been audited and certified, it is important to continue monitoring, adjusting, and improving your ISMS. ISO 27001 requires periodic internal audits as part of this ongoing monitoring, to examine processes and policies looking for weaknesses and areas for improvement.
What are the benefits of having an ISO 27001 certification?
With all this work, having a certification of the ISO 27001 standard needs to be worth it. The good news is that it is not only worth it, but it can boost the efficiency and security of your entire company, as well as increase your company’s reputation and trust.
The following are some of the key benefits of complying with the ISO 27001 Standard.
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More safety and efficiency
Having an ISO 27001 certification improves the efficiency and control of information security. This reduces security breaches and incidents and prepares your business to respond to risks and threats.
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Beat the competition
The ISO 27001 certificate shows that your company is committed to information security.
In a market that values this aspect more and more, certification is an advantage over competitors, as it is valued by customers and other stakeholders. This also increases customer confidence in your company.
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Ensure regulatory compliance
Having ISO 27001 certification makes your company compliant with several specific regulatory requirements, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), for example. This way you avoid legal consequences and fines.
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Operational Efficiency
With a good ISMS, your company optimizes efforts and investments related to information security. Thus, it is possible to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs.
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Continuous Improvement
The International Organization for Standardization requires that those who have the 27001 certification make a continuous cycle of improvement. This promotes constant improvement and recurring adjustments throughout the information management process.
Conclusion
Now you know what the ISO 27001 Standard is, how to implement it, and everything it can do for your company.
And to make information security management, as well as all other areas of quality control, even more efficient, easy, and secure, count on a compliance management solution.
