ISO 27001 certification is a standard certification and establishment of Information Security Management System (ISMS) internationally.
When you are ISO/IEC 27001 certified, you can demonstrate to customers and stakeholders your commitment to managing information safely and securely. It’s a literal opportunity to achieve success, promote your business and show that you are a reliable organization that can open up new business opportunities.
How is ISO 27001 Certification beneficial for business?
Businesses can reap many benefits from being ISO 27001 certified.
- It helps to identify security threats, and data protection, avoid costly security breaches, vulnerabilities, and better cyber resilience.
- Organizations signify that they take information security very seriously and take a systematic approach to plan, implementing, and maintaining an ISMS.
- An ISO 27001 certified organization serves as a seal of approval that an independent third-party certified body is routinely evaluating the security posture of the business and finds it to be effective.
- It builds trust, demonstrates credibility, and increases the brand’s credibility in front of customers, partners, and other stakeholders that their information is in safe hands.
- The certified organization meets with other frameworks, standards, and legislation such as GDPR, HIPAA, the NIST SP 800 series, the NIS Directive, and others.
What is an ISMS (information security management system)?
An ISMS is a defined, documented management system that includes complete policies, processes, and systems to manage risks of data to ensure acceptable levels of information security risk.
Continuously risk assessments help to identify security threats and vulnerabilities that need to be managed through a set of controls. Having an established ISO 27001-compliant ISMS helps you better and cost-effectively manage the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all corporate data.
What are the major steps to achieving ISO 27001 Certification?
1. Lay the Foundation of an ISO 27001 team:
Appoint your staff members to take charge of the certification process. The ISO 27001 team introduces the scope of your ISMS, establishes processes to document it, obtains support from senior management, and works directly with the auditor other than their duties.
2. Scope your ISMS:
All organizations are unique and have different types of data. Before building your ISMS, you’ll need to find the kind of information you want to protect.
For some businesses, the scope of their ISMS includes their whole organization, and some only need it to induce only a specific department or system.
Your team will need to discuss what you want to represent in your ISO 27001 certificate scope statement.
3. Risk assessment and implementation controls:
ISO 27001 requires RogueLogics to document an active, ongoing effort to identify and reduce risks. Perform an ISO 27001 risk assessment to identify potential threats to your data security. Assess the likelihood of each risk and the severity of its consequences.
When your organization has completed a risk assessment, then you can document what you’re doing about each risk. Increase your ISMS to include mitigation strategies for each risk identified by your analysis.
4. Document and Pile up evidence:
The more effort you put into developing your documentation before the audit, the better your chances of achieving certification. Documentation can be a daunting task without the help of automation, so it’s best to start early. Conduct an internal audit as a dress rehearsal for the practice.
During this phase, your ISO 27001 team should educate your general staff about information security, your ISMS, and specifically about ISO 27001 certification. By bringing your entire staff together, you greatly reduce the chances of leaving unfilled gaps in your ISMS.
5. Method of Stage 1 audit:
At this point, it’s been about four months, and you’re finally ready to invite an external auditor to review your ISMS. Your ISO 27001 auditor will come from a certified body with ISO accreditation. This official audit process has mainly two stages.
6. Stage 1 audit:
Correct any aspects of your ISMS that the auditor has flagged for improvement. If you are missing information security controls at all, implement them and document them well.
7. Stage 2 audit:
In the 2nd stage, your auditor will examine your functions of information security. They aim to check that; do you practice what you offer regarding your ISMS. Documentation processes are worthless if they are not followed the rules. After a successful Stage 2 audit, you will receive your ISO 27001 certification with validity for three years.
8. Maintain ISO 27001 compliance:
After getting ISO 27001 certification, make a plan for regular internal audits to maintain it. ISO 27001 requires organizations to organize a ‘surveillance audit’ each year to ensure their liability to a compliant ISMS hasn’t ended.
You can complete a recertification to maintain your ISO 27001 certification for another three years.
Every organization has a slightly different process to get ISO 27001 certification. Some may choose to hire an expert for a penetration test over vulnerability scanning. But this overview should give you an idea of the steps to ISO 27001 certification.
Final Words:
ISO 27001 Certification not only protects your data but also secures your business. Organizations can implement these best practices will reach a superior security position and enjoy significant competitive advantages.