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ISO 27001 is an international standard, a document created by the International Organisation for Standardisation, which sets out best practices for creating an information security management system (ISMS). Compliance with ISO 27001 can give your organisation a framework to help reduce the risks to your information security such as data breaches, malicious attacks and leaks. Achieving certification to the standard indicates that your company is running an effective ISMS and may be looked upon favourably by new and potential customers and partners, as well as reducing the risk of costly security incidents.
A well-implemented ISMS compliant with ISO 27001 is an asset to any organisation and can form the basis of the business’s information security, information governance, cyber security and data protection stance. However, getting off the ground can bring some challenges in the early stages that you should be aware of. Written by our Quality Specialist, Dan York, this blog is written to help organisations prepare to effectively implement an ISO 27001-compliant information security management system.
Things to Consider when implementing ISO 27001.
1. Ineffective awareness and engagement
Ensuring your entire organisation has a good awareness of new processes and the reasons for them is key. Without this, it will be much harder to maintain the compliance that you need.
Communication and training across all staff roles are very important to an effective ISMS. Training includes having staff read documented procedures but can also take the form of presentations with interactive elements such as Q&A or discussion tasks to encourage people to understand the need for information security management controls and how they play a role in the system.
2. Planning for maintenance activities
Working under ISO 27001 includes the need for ongoing maintenance. Getting ISO 27001 certification isn’t a one-off task, there will need to be continual improvement of your system through periodic reviews and assessments of issues.
These tasks include:
- Reviewing cyber security threats to your organisation and your products
- Collecting data about the performance of your ISMS and analysing it as part of management review
- Scheduling and carrying out a program of internal audits
- Keeping documented training activities up to date.
While these become easily integrated into your operational activities, it’s important to set aside time and resources for these tasks when planning out company operations.
3. Being proactive and dynamic
Ensuring that your technical controls are up to date and effective. The information security landscape is constantly changing and you need to be proactive to make sure that you’re keeping up to date with any threats or changes relevant to your organisation.
Threats to information and cyber security can vary in scale, likelihood and severity, so it’s important to take a risk-based approach to this task. Many organisations will focus on creating a threat register that is directly tied to the needs of their products, periodically reviewing threat reports from major service providers such as cloud storage or public code libraries.
4. Certification Timelines
Finding an appropriate and recognised certification body and working within their – potentially long – time frames. Sometimes, it can take a few months for an auditor to start to assess your management system. Certification bodies are often booked up for months at a time and may not be available to assess and certify your management system at short notice.
When considering your implementation plan and timelines, it’s important, if you can, to review multiple potential certification bodies early on in the process to find the one that is the best fit for your organisation. As part of this process, make sure to select a certification body with the correct accreditations (such as by UKAS, in the UK) to avoid your certification being disregarded by potential customers. Read more about ISO standards and certification bodies in our blog: Understanding ISO Standards and Certifications. Once identified, making early contact with them to organise audits will give you peace of mind that you can achieve your goals and create increased focus on the project within your organisation.
Stage 1
Stage 1 is often referred to as a pre-assessment audit, or documentation review, where your policies and procedures are assessed to check that they are compliant with the requirements.
Stage 2
Stage 2 audit is then carried out to verify the effectiveness of your ISMS, this includes reviewing your records, technical controls and interviewing staff members to check that there is sufficient awareness across the organisation.
Both audits must be completed satisfactorily to achieve certification (followed by annual audits to maintain that certificate)
5. Stakeholders and Interested Parties
In addition to thinking about your policies and technical controls, it’s important to consider the impact of your ISMS on people, both internal and external – as well as other stakeholders like shareholders, suppliers and customers. Not identifying your stakeholders and your relationships with them early enough can cause headaches when trying to finalise ISMS-related requirements such as supplier relationships and data agreements.
Early on in your implementation, you should create a register of your interested parties, these may include key suppliers, service providers, partners and your certification or other bodies. Using a register can help you keep track of your relationships with them and what your obligations towards them should be. This will make identifying what your policies and procedures should look like significantly easier.
Key Takeaways.
Implementing ISO 27001 can seem daunting, but it can be a game-changer for your organisation’s security. Here’s what you need to keep in mind:
- Make sure everyone’s on board with the new processes. Communicate the project delivery and ensure everyone receives adequate training.
- ISO 27001 isn’t a one-time thing. It’s about continuous improvement, so factor in time for regular reviews, audits, and keeping up-to-date against evolving threats.
- Certification can take time, so start the ball rolling early by finding the right certification body for your organisation.
- Remember your stakeholders. Consider how ISO 27001 impacts everyone, from your team to your customers and suppliers.
By keeping these points in mind, you’ll be well on your way to building a robust ISMS and reaping the rewards of ISO 27001 certification. You should also make sure to avoid these 6 common mistakes in implementing ISO 27001.
Of course, you could also have us help you with your implementation and ongoing support – our expert team has plenty of experience implementing ISO 27001 quickly and efficiently so it works well within your existing business processes.
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