What is ISO 27001?

When it comes to deciding the most effective ways to protect information from data leakage, hacking, and misuse, businesses worldwide look toward ISO, or the International Organization for Standardization.

One of its security frameworks, ISO 27001, is the international standard for information security. It’s essentially a series of recommendations businesses use to ensure they keep data secure.

In this guide, we’ll take you through what you need to know about ISO 27001, how it affects your business and data, its benefits, and how to implement it.

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What is ISO 27001?

ISO 27001 is globally recognized as the framework against which all information security standards should be based. It was created by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission in 2005, revised in 2013 and later in 2022. It’s part of the ISO/IEC 27000 family of standards.

It’s a series of best practices based around people, technology, and processes. A comparable alternative is the NIST CSF, or Cybersecurity Framework.

The ISO family of standards ensures that you can set up, maintain, review, and improve a reliable information security management system, or ISMS.

Doing so not only ensures that your systems, data, people, and users are protected, but also shows outsiders that you are trustworthy.

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Why is ISO 27001 Important?

ISO 27001 helps business owners set up an ISMS and understand how to protect their information assets and maintain its integrity.

It’s extremely important for businesses bound by specific compliances and regulations. For example, companies that trade with European partners are, provided they follow ISO 27001 standards, immediately compliant with certain aspects of the GDPR, or the General Data Protection Regulation.

It’s also one of the most popular and important frameworks, moreover, because it’s designed to fit businesses of all sizes and statuses, and operating across all industries.

Ultimately, companies following ISO 27001 standards ensure that their data is:

• Accurate, complete, and protected
• Only available to people who are authorized to access it
• Accessible only ever when authorized people require it

This follows the framework’s three principles of:

• Confidentiality
• Integrity
• Availability

Following these rules, firms can keep their information secure and maintain it consistently at minimal expense.

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Benefits of ISO 27001

By adhering to an ISO management system, business owners can:

• Secure all information they store based on globally-recognized ISO standards and practices
• Boost their resilience against evolving threats and cyber attacks
• Ensure complete legal and industry compliance, even based on measures that apply internationally
• Protect the quality of the data they store and its integrity
• Reduce potential security protection costs and avoid heavy fines for breaching regulatory compliance
• Build a competitive advantage over rivals that might not have an ISO certification, therefore appearing less trustworthy than you
• Cultivate a more trustworthy and reliable image in the eyes of stakeholders, customers, and clients

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Who needs ISO 27001?

ISO 27001 is important for any companies that handle private customer data, and who face information security risks.

Adhering to its management system standards can help you avoid navigating often confusing data and cybersecurity risks on your own. ISO 27001 helps to keep everything you need to adhere to in one central system.

Companies must follow the official ISO certification process to prove to interested parties that they have information security controls in place and are committed to continual improvement over an indefinite lifecycle.

Before setting out to adhere to ISO 27001, it’s also important to consider the relationship to ISO 27002. In brief, the former revolves around management systems, while the latter focuses on controls.

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Critical Requirements for ISO 27001 Certification Compliance

Before seeking ISO 27001 certification from an accredited certification body, firms must meet a range of expected compliance requirements.

Critical requirements for certification include:

A clear idea of the context of the organization

Understanding the organization's context aims to ensure that the ISMS is specifically designed to meet the unique needs, circumstances, and external and internal factors influencing the organization. By examining this context, the organization can develop an ISMS that is both relevant and effective, aligning it with its strategic objectives.

A thorough risk management process

An ISO certification body wants to see what you intend to do if your systems are attacked or if your data is intercepted. It’s wise to establish risk management and risk treatment protocols, regardless of which version of ISO 27001 you follow.

Proof of performance evaluation

Arranging for third-party cybersecurity experts to analyze and test your data and network security is a great way to show ISO accreditors that you care about your security posture. For example, it’s recommended that you arrange for penetration testing services to analyze your security risks inside and out.

Demonstration of ownership and commitment to security

Accreditors want to see that your personnel is trained in data security management and that resources are in place to maintain security standards.

Clear resource allocation

Allocation of resources in accreditors’ eyes simply means ensuring you have trained personnel on hand who can take ownership of different areas of your ISMS.

A regular assessment or internal audit procedure

Accreditors want to see that you regularly assess how effective your data protection policies are – and that you’re committed to upgrading systems, training staff, and undertaking risk assessments to ensure compliance.

Plans for nonconformity correction

Nonconformities in your ISMS can arise over time, and ISO accreditors want to know that you have a procedure to remedy these situations.

An informational security policy

Draft a policy that provides clear training guidelines and practices for all team members and leaders to follow. You should also establish roles within the scope of your company and who takes responsibility for specific areas.

This is just a selection of critical requirements established by ISO 27001 before you can expect to become accredited.

Full information on ISO/IEC 27001:2022 - Information security management systems and requirements is available to read via the ISO’s website, which is linked. Make sure to read through its normative references, too, which layout the foundation for the framework.

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How to Implement ISO 27001

Implementing ISO 27001 can be a momentous task. Crucially, you need to ensure the right steps are followed to receive an efficient accreditation. In some cases, you can automate menial tasks ahead of a certification audit to save time.

Here’s a simple checklist you can follow to ensure you implement ISO 27001 effectively, ready for accreditation and launch.

Remember that this is just a general guideline – read the ISO’s official documentation, linked above, for a complete breakdown.

1. Clearly set out the implementation project
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   Decide who you will need to help carry out the project, how long it will take, what resources you have and need, and what you want to achieve.
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2. Get complete support for your implementation
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   Get support from any managers, directors, and stakeholders involved. You’ll need them to provide money to invest in information technology and personnel.
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3. Establish your organization’s information security policy objectives
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   What do you want to protect? Add detail to your achievement goals and flesh out the rough elements in your project skeleton. Be clear on scope – is it for the whole of your company or just for one or two departments?
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4. Develop a clear policy for your ISMS
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   Make this nice and concise – define the purpose of your security policy. Ensure you have a project team, a methodology for continual improvement, and practicable procedures.
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   You should also establish a baseline security criteria – what are your controls and control objectives? Consider cryptography, access controls, and using secure cloud services.
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5. Decide how you are going to carry out risk assessments
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   How do you intend to find risks and measure likelihood? What’s an acceptable security risk?
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6. Carry out risk assessments
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   Get a clear understanding of security threats and vulnerabilities. It’s here where you might involve the support of a cybersecurity team, for example. This forms part of your Business Continuity Management or BCM.
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   Take the results of your assessment and match controls established by ISO 27001 to any problems or weaknesses.
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7. Produce a risk action plan
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   Clarify how your controls will prevent data threats – identify who’s responsible, what resources you need, and how you intend to measure control effectiveness.
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8. Apply tools and controls
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   This might include retraining your team, setting up physical security such as access control, and establishing new programs. Where possible, you should also set up an awareness program to ensure your organization understands what’s at stake.
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9. Start recording activities within your ISMS
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   For example, each time someone accesses sensitive information – and carefully measure its effectiveness. Are your controls able to support you efficiently during a security incident?
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10. Run internal audits and reviews
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    Ensure your personnel are working in compliance with your ISMS, and that management is making necessary decisions, such as agreeing to budgets and supplying labor.
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    You should also draw up a statement of applicability – a standard form that accreditors use to see which controls you intend to use, and those to exclude.
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11. Take steps to correct any problems
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    Look for root causes, establish steps to fix them, and record your actions to rectify security.
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    Focus on continual improvement. Your ISMS will never be perfect from the get-go – so establish via records that you have a process in place to review and rectify in the future if you need to.

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Conclusion

Setting up your business for ISO 27001 might seem complex at first, but once in place and when continually maintained, you will find it’s a reliable, cost-effective, and low-hassle way to ensure your information is protected.

What’s more, a fully ISO-certified company is one that clients worldwide will know is reliable and genuinely cares about information security. Take steps now to get fully certified, and contact VikingCloud for cybersecurity assessment support to help you get there.