ISO 27001: Information Security Management Systems

What is ISO 27001?

ISO 27001:2013 is the international standard that provides a framework for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) to provide continued confidentiality, integrity and availability of information as well as legal compliance. ISO 27001 certification is essential for protecting your most vital assets like employee and client information, brand image and other private information. The ISO standard includes a process-based approach to initiating, implementing, operating and maintaining your ISMS.

ISO 27001 implementation is an ideal response to customer and legal requirements such as the GDPR and potential security threats including: cyber crime, personal data breaches, vandalism / terrorism, fire / damage, misuse, theft and viral attacks.

The ISO 27001 standard is also structured to be compatible with other management systems standards, such as ISO 9001 and is technology and vendor neutral, which means it is completely independent of any IT platform. As such, all members of the company should be educated on what the standard means and how it applies throughout the organization.

Achieving accredited ISO 27001 certification shows that your company is dedicated to following the best practices of information security. Additionally, ISO 27001 certification provides you with an expert evaluation of whether your organization's information is adequately protected. Read on to explore even more benefits of ISO 27001 certification.

ISO 27001 has seen a 24.7% increase in worldwide certificates since 2020, showing the growth and importance of UKAS accredited certification in recent times. Statistics straight from the most recent ISO Survey.

Have some questions about ISO 27001? We have answered some common frequently asked questions here.

Looking to implement an ISO 27001 management system? Not sure where to start? Take a look at our ISO 27001 Implementation Guide here.

How To Get Certified To ISO 27001

Helps you with

Asset protection
Security policy
Cyber security strategy
IT governance
Incident management
Threat mitigation
Downtime reduction
Loss prevention
Data breaches
Compliance checklist
Management system
GDPR

Other risk management standards:

Benefits of Certification

Customer satisfaction

Give customers confidence that their personal data/information is protected and confidentiality upheld at all times.

Business continuity

Avoid downtime with management of risk, legal compliance and vigilance of future security issues and concerns.

Legal compliance

Understand how statutory and regulatory requirements impact your organisation and its customers, whilst reducing risk of facing prosecution and fines.

Improved risk management

Ensure customer records, financial information and intellectual property are protected from loss, theft and damage through a systematic framework.

Proven business credentials

Independent verification against a globally recognised industry standard speaks volumes.

Win more business

Procurement specifications often require certification as a condition to supply, so certification and verification opens doors.

Global recognition as a reputable supplier

Certification is recognised internationally and accepted throughout industry supply chains, setting industry benchmarks for sourcing suppliers.

Is ISO 27001 certification right for me?

ISO 27001 certification is right for you and your organization if you need the evidence or assurance that your most important asset is protected from misuse, corruption or loss. If you're looking for a way to secure confidential information, comply with industry regulations, exchange information safely or manage and minimize risk exposure, ISO 27001 certification is a great solution.

We have certified organizations to ISO 27001 in a diverse range of sectors, including Royal Mail Group, Smart Water Technology, Barcode Warehouse and the Northern Ireland Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment. ISO 27001 is suitable for many industries, including government agencies, financial and IT companies, telecoms and any other organization that works with sensitive data.

What is an ISMS?

An Information Security Management System (ISMS) is a systematic approach to managing sensitive company information so that it remains secure. It includes people, processes and IT systems by applying a risk management process to help organizations of any size, within any industry, keep business information assets secure.

With the increasing severity of data breaches in today's digitized world, ISMS is crucial in building up your organization's cyber security. Some benefits of ISMS include:

Increased attack resilience: ISMS improves your ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from any cyber attack.
Manage all of your data in one place: As the central framework for your organization's information, ISMS allows you to manage everything in one place.
Easily secure any form of information: Whether you want to protect paper-based, cloud-based or digital info, ISMS can handle every kind of data.
Reduce the costs of information security: With the risk assessment and prevention approach provided by ISMS, your organization can reduce the costs of adding layers of defensive technology after a cyber attack that aren't guaranteed to work.

GDPR and ISO 27001

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has a much more extensive scope than the previous Data Protection Act (DPA) and has been introduced to stay in touch with the modern digital landscape. The Regulation affords more data rights to individuals and requires organizations to develop defined policies, procedures and to adopt relevant technical and organizational controls to protect personal data.

The GDPR applies to two types of users, of which we will undoubtedly all fall; Controllers and Processors. Briefly put; the controller determines how and why the personal data is used or processed and the processor acts on the controllers behalf, much like many organizations relying on the services of an IT service provider. Processors have more legal obligations placed on them in the case of a breach however a controller will be responsible for ensuring the contracts with the processor comply with the GDPR.

This is not a complete overview of the regulation and should not be used as such. Find out the key points and how they map to ISO 27001 here.