ISO 27001:2013 | Everything You Need to Know About ISO 27001!

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ISO 27001 – Information Security Management System

What is ISO 27001:2013 Information Security Management System?

ISO 27001 Certification is an Information Security Management System (ISMS) standard. ISO 27001 is a framework of policies and procedures that includes all legal, physical, and technical controls involved in an organization’s information risk management processes.

ISO 27001 Information Security Management System

It is a framework designed to limit security breaches and minimize risk levels against cyberattacks. ISMS helps all business sectors, be it small, medium, or large, secure all information assets.
The best standard among ISO/IEC 27000 is the family that fulfills all ISMS requirements, including Data Privacy and Cyber Security.

Information Security Management Regulatory Framework Process

During Implementation

• Gap and Risk Assessment.
• Remediation Work.
• Certification Audit.
• Corrective Action.

Ongoing After Implementation

• ISMS Governance.
• Business Plan, Goals, CSF, KPI.
• Risk Management.
• Audit.
• Awareness Training.

Risk Assessment 

Risk Assessment will be implemented within the Information Security Management System (ISMS).

  • Continual Improvement of the ISMS.
  • Methodologies of Risk Assessment.

Steps in Risk Assessment and Methodology

• GDPR and Risk Assessment.
• Process / Methodology of Risk Assessment.
• Elements of Risk Assessment.
• Identifying the Risk.
• Risk= Impact + Likelihood.
• Risk Ownership.
• Risk Implementation.
• Treatment Plan.
• Risk Assessment Report.

What are the Key Steps to Implement ISO 27001 Certification?

So, a lot of people talk about implementing an ISO 27001 and often think that’s an extremely complex thing to do, but actually, several key steps will allow you to very quickly get your ISMS off the ground within a 10 days period.

1. Organizational Context

The First step to success really is to understand what we call the context of your organization, and that is simply about taking some time to understand the kind of products and services you offer to your customers and understand the kind of risks in your organization so that you can actually build your ISMS in the right path of your business and protect those processes that really do need to be controlled from a security point of view.

2. External Context

Once you have an understanding of the internal context and those important business processes and assets and so forth, you then need to take a look at what’s going on outside of your organization; what kind of legislation applies to your business from a security point of view, what sort of threats and risks do you face from the outside.

So, would your competitors be interested in that intellectual property if you got intellectual property? Would cybercriminals be interested in that kind of data you have? So you get an excellent understanding, and from there, you can write your ISMS scope. An ISMS scope is critical. You can implement an ISMS quickly if you start with a reasonably small size. And then, over time, your strategy could be to grow the ISMS from there.

3. Information Security Policy

Once you have understood the scope of and exactly where in your organization you’d like to start implementing your ISMS. The next thing is to ensure that your management fully understands your strategy then the benefits behind this, and there are several things that we can do, and one way of showing that management commitment is putting together a clear information security policy.

In that policy, that’s where you’re going to state what your ISMS is trying to achieve. i.e., the objectives, and indeed, you should have several goals focused on security and the commercial benefits that your ISMS can bring.

4. Management Approval

Once you have put that set-up policy together, as this is where you need to convince management and often many organization, one of the best ways to convince management here is that implementing proactive processes can, believe it or not, reduce your costs.

You can reduce your costs by understanding the risks you face and business processes, and often when you do; you often find many opportunities for increased efficiency savings. You can reduce the costs of potential security breaches in the future.

But the biggest thing many organizations see when they are certified with this certification is they become recognized by their customers as taking cybersecurity and information security seriously. So with those messages, the next step is to get that management sign-off and approval so everybody knows that it is driven from the top of your organization.

5. Risk Assessment

A bit earlier, you start by understanding the context and thinking about some of the risks and where they might come from – threats to your information security. The next step is to agree on how to take those risks, wear them up, and consider your most significant risks.

Many organizations fear this because many complicated and in-depth risk assessment methods exist. But, if you are looking to get an ISMS off the ground quickly, there is nothing to stop you. You are just starting with the basic methodology.

Just coming up with some risk scenarios and how we tend to do it is asking the question, well, you know, “where are the threats coming from? “who is there who might want to compromise our information, steal our information?”. And so forth. What kind of techniques might they use? There are usually many contenders, whether insider fraud risks or a text from cyber-criminal groups, competitors, etc.

There are pretty several simple-easy-to-understand methods out there that will at least get you started. In due course, you can become more sophisticated and dig deeper into these risk scenarios, but to get the ISMS off the ground within the ten days we are talking about, this is a great place to start.

6. Risk Treatment Plan

Once you understand the risks you are facing, you can then work with your colleagues in your organization to design or come up with something called a Risk Treatment Plan. Quite Simply, a risk treatment plan is just laying out for each of those, whether you feel those risks will be acceptable to the organization or whether you can take some action to reduce those risks perhaps or at least manage them to a level that both the organization and its management are comfortable with.

7. Risk Measures

Once you have your risk treatment plan together and you have decided what actions to take, you look at those security controls. You choose the relevant ones for your organization based on the risk assessment that you did earlier.

8. Statement of Applicability

Once you identify what those security controls are, simply what you do, and you can use a simple spreadsheet approach to do this- you can document all of this in a Statement of Applicability.

A statement of applicability says: “which of those controls you are implementing and why?” and “Which controls you’ve chosen not to implement?” if you choose not to implement controls, it’s essential that you can justify that and state why, and when you are deciding which of these controls are required it comes back to three or four different things.

  • Is there a risk you need to manage (in which case you select a control??
  • Is there a legal requirement to implement the control (indeed, when you look at things like data protection regulations and GDPS that are coming up, this has specific requirements for controls?)
  • Is there a regulatory reason for the control? (Perhaps if you are processing credit card data, you’ll have demands from PSI DSS and things like this).
  • Or is there a continual obligation from your customers (who might ask you to implement certain things such as responding to an incident within a specific timeframe)?

So these are some of the things that you might consider. Of course, we know that many organizations, when you look at their security, they’ve probably implemented many of the controls from this certification already. You might also call those your baseline controls, so it’s worth looking at what you already have in place.

9. Internal Audit

Once you have taken the steps, you have your controls in place. The following process that we need to design to get your ISMS off the ground is the internal audit process. An internal audit process allows somebody else in the organization or outside the organization to independently review your management system.

We can do that fairly quickly if you start with a small scope; we can get the audit team to look at specific parts of your ISMS. What’s important is those who perform those internal audits and are independent in work being done. So, in other words, they’re not auditing parts of the management system that they are responsible for or are involved with and that those individuals are competent.

So how would you define whether somebody can do your internal audit? Well, perhaps you could look at things like their experience and certifications, which certainly give an idea as to whether those auditors are competent. So, once you’ve sourced your skilled auditors, you can quickly create an audit program.

10. Management Review

The final step in the Chain of the process is to establish and relate to what we call a management review. So once you’ve taken the time to identify risks, implement your controls, and check whether those controls are working. You have done your internal audit; the final step is to work with senior management to understand whether the ISMS is achieving what you’ve set out to complete and identify where you go from here regarding your security strategy.

The key thing to stress with all of those points is the simple processes you need to design to get an ISMS up and running. Getting real benefits from your ISMS is not just about certification. It is not just about doing what you must do to get through the audit.

There is a lot of work from here to do in terms of embedding these processes and raising awareness. Get people in your organization familiar with their role from a security point of view and have a long-term strategy to achieve your objectives. But the ten steps we’ve just written are a great way of starting the project and getting something together in your organization.

What are the Clauses of ISO 27001 Certification?

This Certification formally specifies an Information Security Management System (ISMS), a Suite of activities concerning the management of information risks (called ‘information security risks in the standard). The ISMS is an overreaching management framework through which the organization identifies, analyzes, and addresses its information risks.

1. Context of the Organization

Understanding the organizational context, the needs, and expectations of ‘interested parties, and defining the scope of ISMS. The organization shall establish, implement, maintain and continually improve the ISMS.

2. Leadership

Top management must demonstrate leadership and commitment to the ISMS, mandate policy, and assign information security roles, responsibilities, and authorities.

3. Planning

Outlines the process of identifying, analyzing, and planning to treat information risks and clarify information security objectives.

4. Support

Adequate, Competent resources must be assigned, awareness raised, and documentation prepared and controlled.

5. Operation

Additional detail about assessing and treating information risks, managing changes, and documenting things (party so that the certification auditors can audit them).

6. Performance Evaluation

Monitor, Measure, Analyze, and evaluate/audit/review the information security controls, processes, and management system, systematically improving necessary things.

7. Improvement

Address the findings of audits and reviews (e.g., nonconformities and corrective actions), and make continual refinements to the ISMS.

What are the Benefits of ISO 27001 to My Business?

Implementing this certification in the system will give the following benefits to your organization:

-Reduce the need for audits

ISO 27001 is globally recognized as a symbol of security, reducing the need for organizations to undergo external audits.

– Improve structure and focus

This globally recognized standard benefits organizations as “information risk responsibilities” are purely secured by attaining Information Security Management certification.

– Protect and enhance business

In today’s Cloud storage-based world, cyber-attacks are increasing vigorously, and they might cause financial and reputational damage, which can be disastrous. Implementing this Certification can help protect organizations against such threats and give credibility to clients.

– Avoid financial penalties and loss with data breaches

ISO 27001 Certification is the acknowledged worldwide benchmark for the powerful administration of data resources, empowering the certified organization to avoid heavy penalties due to non-compliance with data protection, leading to financial loss due to data breaches.

Why is ISO 27001 Certification needed?

Even though each organization produces its risk assessment report, it still needs certifications to secure and be aware of cybercrimes’ threats fully. The following reasons elaborate on why this ISO 27001 certification.

  • It was developed to provide a model for establishing, implementing, operating, monitoring, reviewing, maintaining, and improving an information security management system.
  • Its implementation benefits the organization so that the certified body does not need to make an extra effort to satisfy external audits.
  • This certification controls and manages risk in an organized and appropriate manner for the business.
  • Built into this ISMS management system is a continuous implementation cycle.

What is ISO 270001 Certification Process?

Planning & Scoping

The Auditor will seek to understand the scope of the certification and establish dates for the Stage 1 Audit.

Docs:  ISO 27001 Application Later.

Stage 1 Audit

The Auditor will typically examine ‘high risk’ items to validate the client is ready for stage 2 Audit. Depending on the auditor, this is typically remote or on-site for 1-2 days.

Docs:  ISMS, Information Security Policies, Risk Assessment, Internal Audit.

Stage 2 Audit

Stage 2 is the most intrusive part of the audit. The auditor will typically be on-site for at least 1 week.

Docs:  Your Team will need to provide between 100-150 audit articles.

Plan – Do – Check – Act

Following this cycle will allow organizations to improve their security controls continuously. In addition, this check & balance and updated security to prevent data breaches may give these certified bodies a more comprehensive business.

Information Security Management certified bodies withholding vital accreditations from renowned certification bodies follow their benchmarks for cybersecurity. Information security is a business problem, not an IT problem, because risk-based approaches are essential for effectiveness in modern information security.

Moreover, its implementation gives confidence to the management and the clients, as Certification is a powerful way of demonstrating that you have contributed and will continue to invest in keeping suitable levels of security based on acknowledged risks.

ISO 27001 Certification In Pakistan

Pakistan is steadily growing in Information technology infrastructure and data-driven businesses. This change is bringing stricter data- security and data- privacy laws. With existing and new cybersecurity threats, organizations must adopt data security standards prescribed by this Certification.

ISO 27001 Certification In Pakistan

TUV Austria’s team ensures that all processes are followed according to international standards, from initial security audit to risk assessment and business impact analysis to implementation.

TUV Austria Bureau of Inspection and Certification provides the best-in-class Certification. We take pride in delivering excellent services across various industries in Pakistan & Bangladesh.

What is the Cost of ISO 27001 Certification in Pakistan?

Organizations that want to reduce costs without compromising information security in today’s cloud computing environment look at this Certification as a value-for-money solution.

It is impossible to calculate the cost without a detailed risk assessment. Price also depends on many factors:

  • Size of Organization.
  • Structure of Operations.
  • Maturity and Complexity of Existing IT Systems.

Generally, ISO 27001 certification cost in Pakistan is not much compared to the cybersecurity and brand equity benefits it offers to organizations and their valuable data.

Conclusion

  • This does not have to be complex but rather an insight into what events might affect your business.
  • Each business department should be consulted when carrying out this task, as you will know all the potential risks affecting your business.

In addition, to this certification audit TUV Austria BIC. also offers a range of complimentary services:

FAQ’s

What is the series of standards?

The ISO/IEC 27000-series (also known as the ‘ISMS Family of Standards’ or ‘ISO27K’ for short) comprises information security standards published jointly by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electro-technical Commission (IEC).

Why Is ISO 27001 Certification Preferred Over Other Standards of Information Security?

This Certification is a flexible standard that all industries and developments can adopt. It can be coordinated at numerous layers to ensure security and compliance. Its flexibility gives it a distinctive edge over other Information Security standards.

What is the ISO 27002 standard?

ISO/IEC 27002 is an information security standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and by the International Electro-technical Commission (IEC), titled Information technology – Security techniques – Code of practice for information security controls.

What is the difference between ISO 27001 and 27002?

ISO/IEC 27002:2013 gives guidelines for organizational information security standards and information security management practices. It is a document that offers in-depth guidance on how to implement ISO 27001 standards. So, an organization cannot get Certification for ISO 27002.

How much time does it take to get a Certification?

 On average, this Certification takes 8 to 9 months to implement.

What is GDPR?

The General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”) is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). It also addresses the export of personal data outside the EU and EEA areas.

Can we get ISO 27001 Certification without having ISO 9001?

 Yes, We can obtain it without ISO 9001.

Is it only for IT Department?

NO, Security is everyone’s job! Every organization needs to protect its sensitive data. Risks are identified, and Risk Treatment Plan is implemented to prevent data loss.

Integration for Customer Feedback?

An integrated system means a company can efficiently manage the quality of its services, handle customer feedback and solve problems while keeping information safe.

Would you mind sending an Enquiry so we can assist you in getting certified?

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