According to the 2022: Hackers Powered Security Report, 92% of hackers say they can find vulnerabilities that scanners cannot. In 2022 alone, hackers found 65,000 vulnerabilities that might be used to steal information from organizations worldwide. This only reiterates how organizations need to work on their information security posture. Every organization requires a company-wide security policy that will protect its data and other information assets. 

Establishing an infosec policy throughout the organization is not an easy ask, but it is certainly the need of the hour. If you want to form your infosec policy or review what you have missed to include in your policy, you are in the right place. In this article, we will discuss the components as well as the purpose of establishing a company-wide information security policy, along with a step-by-step guide on how to implement it. 

What is information security policy?

Information security, also called infosec for convenience, is a sum-total of the actions taken to protect digital or physical information as well as prevent unauthorized disclosure, disruption, access, use, and modification of an organization’s data. It also contains detail on how to mitigate information risks. 

This information includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Personally identifiable information (PII) of stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, and investors
• Intellectual property (IP)
• Internal or external communication
• Financial information

However, let us first clarify the difference between infosec policy and infosec procedure. Infosec policy is the policy designed to protect the organization’s data assets, while procedures are the actions recommended to follow the policy. On the other hand, infosec tools are the software, hardware, and applications used to protect information.

What is the purpose of infosec policy?

Every organization has its own infosec policy, created after keeping in mind the data the organization stores, the size of the organization, etc. 

But the important question is why an organization requires an infosec policy. Let’s discuss some of the purposes a robust infosec policy fulfills:

Information security

Infosec policy provides a framework for the organization to protect its information from unauthorized access and security threats. It describes all the aspects of security controls, including access control, encryption requirements, and data handling processes to ensure the security of information.

Risk management

Information security policy helps the organization minimize the risk associated with data processing. It describes the policies and procedures to deal with risk assessment, detection, mitigation, and incident response. Therefore, the employees are aware of what is expected of them in every situation. Documentation of the policy helps in the detection of vulnerabilities and mitigation of risk rather quickly. It also helps in minimizing the effects of a security incident.

Compliance 

With the help of an infosec policy, the organization can ensure compliance procedures throughout the organization. Compliance regulations and frameworks like HIPAA, GDPR, SOX, and FISMA have specific expectations regarding data security, access control, and data breach. A well-formed infosec policy helps you meet compliance requirements.

Employee awareness

An infosec policy can help employees know what is expected from them on a day-to-day basis with regard to data protection. Access control helps the organization in limiting data sharing on a need-to-know basis. The employees are also aware that only the information they need to perform their duties will be shared with them. Moreover, the infosec policy also mentions the actions to be taken against the employees if the policy is not followed. Thus, they will behave accordingly. 

Organization’s reputation

Infosec policy provides the stakeholders the assurance that the organization takes the security of their data seriously and is doing everything possible to protect it. The policy has guidelines for every type of situation, including security incidents, data backup, and recovery. Therefore, if the organization is breached, the organization doesn’t waste time deciding what to do but follows the policy instantly. 

What are the components of infosec policy?

There are nine components of infosec policy:

Purpose and scope

As we discussed in the previous section, the purpose of infosec policy is different for every organization. However, the organization should mention its goals at the very beginning of the policy. 

Following this purpose, the scope of the document must be shared as well. Scope refers to the parties it applies to as well as the department it doesn’t cover. 

For example, if an organization has two divisions – manufacturing and research & development (R&D), the infosec policies for both departments might be different. Hence, the policy of the manufacturing department should mention that the employees of the R&D division are not included in the scope and vice versa.

Information security objectives

Information security policy must state its objectives clearly. Information security focuses on the well-known CIA triad as described below

• Confidentiality: The information should remain confidential unless an individual needs it to perform their duties. For example, a product manager does not need to disclose their data to a security guard. 

This principle applies even if we are talking about loyal employees who have been in service for years. The reason is humans are susceptible to errors and might give out the information inappropriately to others. Did you know Verizon found that 82% of the breaches involved the human element? Hence, maintaining confidentiality is paramount in the infosec policy.

• Integrity: Integrity means that the data should not have been tampered with in any manner. It should be complete, intact, and accurate. A person accessing the data should be able to rely on it.

For example, if a doctor has recommended some tests and the laboratory gives back only a part of those tests or changes the data on the test results, the patient’s life might be at risk. The same applies to all kinds of data. 

• Availability: The data should be available when an authorized person needs it. If the data is not available on time, it loses its validity. 

For instance, if a CEO makes a strategic decision without real-time data, the decision might ricochet. 

Access control policy

Access control policy restricts data access to unauthorized users. But who will decide who is authorized and who is not? The organization’s management can decide on someone with authority to decide the access. 

However, organizations often must follow the rules and regulations set up by the government and other authorities, like GDPR, CRPA, or HIPAA. The organizations can only share information that they are allowed to share; otherwise, they might face penalties and fines.

In addition to this, some organizations, such as suppliers or customers, are contractually obligated to keep the information private. 

Network security policy

The network security policy is the policy to access the networks and servers of the company. It also includes a password policy, authentication policy, multi-factor authentication, biometrics, or ID cards. 

For instance, the company can direct the employees to reset their passwords quarterly or allows a limited number of employees to access the servers.

Data classification

Every organization must have specific guidelines to classify the data, called data stewardship. Access must be given on a need-to-know basis. Meaning if you do not need it, you do not get access to information. Generally, data is classified into four categories for granting access. 

• Public information: This type of information is accessible to the general public. Sometimes such information is recommended by the government to be disclosed to the public. For example, public companies must disclose their financial information to the general public.
• Confidential information: Access to confidential data is restricted to a very limited number of people. There might be legal restrictions about sharing confidential information too. For instance, HIPAA in the US bans sharing patients’ health information.
• Sensitive information: Sensitive information is highly sensitive information that might prove harmful to the organization or its stakeholders if it were leaked. This information might even prove harmful to the state or country.
• Personal information: Personally identifiable information (PII) is information that can reveal the identity of the person it belongs to. This is why PII cannot be shared with anyone not legally authorized.

Data support and operations

This component of data security describes how the data should be stored and transferred. 

• Data protection: Inherently, all data should be treated as confidential and protected. However, PII and other sensitive data must be protected by implementing stricter policies. Data-at-rest refers to the data that is stored – temporarily or permanently – on a drive or a cloud. This data should be encrypted to protect it from unauthorized access.
• Data movement: When data is transferred from one node to another, it is called data in motion. Data in motion must be secured using SSL/TLS certificates to protect it from cyber attacks, including man-in-the-middle attacks. An organization must restrict the use of open, public networks for accessing data.
• Data backup: Infosec policy must include the process of taking backups of all the data. The backup should be stored in a different location from the main data to secure it from physical damage such as fire or flooding. Backups must not be stored on the same device and network. As a result, if there is a ransomware attack and the organization is unable to access its data, it can use the backup. 

Security awareness training

If your employees do not follow the infosec policies, your information is not safe at all. The infosec policy must be communicated to all employees regardless of their posts. Secondly, they must be trained to follow hygienic practices to access data. 

They should be made aware of social engineering techniques frequently used by the actors in order to protect the organization’s data. They must also be educated on what a cyber attack looks like.

The employees who handle sensitive information must be trained over and above the regular employees. 

All employees must follow the clean desk policy. Meaning no papers should be left on the desk at the end of the working day. Laptops must be locked in, and computers shut properly.

An organization can blocklist websites that are known for phishing, including porn and gambling sites. No employee should be able to access these websites. 

Also, the employees must be held accountable for their actions. They must be penalized if they do not follow the infosec policy set up by the organization.

Incident response

The infosec policy of the organization should clearly mention the steps to be taken in case of a breach. The initial response plan should be in place and communicated to all employees. They should know who to contact if they find an intruder in their system. 

Verification of policy compliance

In this section, an organization should mention the tests and procedures to verify whether the policy is followed throughout the organization. Some examples of verification are penetration testing, assessments, and exercises.

A step-by-step guide to preparing an infosec policy

To sum up

A policy formed by an organization to protect the information it generates, collects, and transfers are called the information security policy, also called the infosec policy. We saw the benefits of the infosec policy and how to form a robust policy. However, every organization’s requirement is different; therefore, you are the best judge of what you should include in your infosec policy.

Employee awareness training is one of the most important aspects of the infosec policy of an organization. Scrut can help you in training your employees through different programs. You can also keep an eye on how they are performing via an automated dashboard.

FAQs

It is a common misconception that security and compliance are the same thing, and they are often used interchangeably. For the uninitiated, being compliant may equate to being secure and vice versa. But this is far from accurate. If you look closely, they are as similar as fraternal twins.

Both compliance and security are integral when it comes to the safety of a company. However, compliance, very often, fulfills only the bare minimum of security requirements in order to get a seal of approval from regulatory bodies, while security actively prevents, monitors, and resolves threats against a company. 

Though a compliant company is secure on paper, this may not be true in reality. For example, Uber, which is ISO 27001 and PCI DSS 3.2 compliant, fell victim to a data breach in December 2022 that led to the leak of source code, IT asset management reports, and other corporate information. 

Most companies do their best to stay compliant in a bid to not only pass security compliance standards but to also be secure. Unfortunately, simply being compliant does not equate to being secure. Very often, when a company focuses too much on compliance, its ability to allocate time and resources to data security is compromised. 

Let’s explore in detail how compliance and security differ and why security scores higher in the need hierarchy of a company’s safety.

What is compliance?

Compliance refers to the state achieved by a company when it adheres to the security standards set by an industry or regulatory body. These standards are set with the intention to keep a company secure and reliable. They seek to protect not only the company but the customers, investors, and third-party vendors who interact with it.

Being compliant is a constant effort, but it is well worth it since a non-compliant company is a walking red flag. Customers, investors, and vendors will be wary of associating with any company that is not compliant. 

Both government and non-government bodies dictate compliance standards. There are compliance frameworks that impose mandatory standards and others that can be opted for by a company to ensure that it is in line with the best industry practices.

For instance, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a mandatory compliance framework that healthcare companies have to adhere to, while Service Organization Control Type 2 (SOC2) is a framework companies can choose to follow if they need guidance to deal with data securely.

Compliance is a comprehensive process that takes into account regulatory standards, industry practices, security standards, and business optics.

What is security?

Security refers to the processes, tools, and frameworks that a company has in place in order to protect its assets from being accessed, modified, stolen, damaged, or leaked by unauthorized elements. The gamut of security is extensive, and it employs various tools, controls, and practices to optimize safety.

Security is ensured by overseeing the following processes, controls, and components.

IT framework

The IT framework of an organization includes all the elements of a computer network. This covers both hardware and software, operating systems, internet connections, servers, and data cloud storage. Antivirus and antimalware software can help secure the IT infrastructure of a company. 

Network access

Security ensures that access to a company’s data and assets is restricted only to authorized users. It does this by implementing security practices such as the use of firewalls and identity access management tools that deny access to unwanted elements.

Authentication

Authentication is an important part of a company’s defense system. Authentication methods help verify the identity of users and ensure that only authorized personnel are able to access information that pertains to them. Two-factor authentication and multifactor authentication are some of the effective ways that help verify user identity.

Security awareness training

It is not uncommon for data breaches to be caused by the errors of employees. This is why it is important for the security team to educate all employees in a company about the best security practices so as to avoid any leeway for security breaches.

Physical controls

Physical controls are just as important as technical and administrative measures. Everything from identity cards to fingerprint scanners helps in keeping a company’s assets safe from security threats.

Exploring the differences between security & compliance

Both cyber security compliance and IT security are responsible for protecting an organization’s data. How they do it, why they do it, and the results of their efforts differ among other factors. Here is a look at how compliance and security differ.

Compliance vs. Security: A Quick Glance

They are confronted by different forces

Regulatory bodies, industry standards, and customers dictate the steps a company has to follow in order to be seen as compliant. The security of a company is reviewed during compliance audits. These audits allow dialogue between the company and the reviewers. 

For instance, PCI DSS, which is a compliance framework for financial organizations, mandates compliance cyber security awareness training for all employees, and it expects all employees to acknowledge in writing that they have completed the training. If one or two employees do not do this for whatever reason, the company has the ability to explain why to the auditors and negotiate a positive outcome.

This is not possible when it comes to security, which faces off against faceless entities that lurk around, ready to attack at any time. Cybercriminals or threat actors are ruthless adversaries whose only goal is to find vulnerabilities in a security system, attack it, and get away with as much as they can. While compliance deals with white-collar agents, security has to battle cyber ninjas who appear without warning.

They have different goals 

The main aim of compliance is to build trust and confidence with customers, stakeholders, and partners by exemplifying a commitment to security and privacy. 

The objective of information security is to prevent unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification, or destruction of sensitive information. It seeks to prevent cyber attacks, reduce their impact, and resolve them. It also carries out damage control after the occurrence of security incidents by restoring affected assets.

They differ in urgency

Frequent audits may be held which leads to compliance being a constant effort. However, no matter how frequent the audits are, companies are still given time, however short, to gather and produce evidence of compliance. Meeting compliance is a periodical effort. There is no surprise element to them.

Security, on the other hand, is always on its toes. Since security threats do not announce their arrival and are constantly on the prowl, the need for security is always pressing.

They have different approaches 

Compliance tends to be a reactive process. Companies are given specific standards to follow within a set time. They follow the prescribed security protocol and fulfill the given requirements. There is not much intuition or innovation when it comes to achieving compliance. 

Security adopts a dynamic approach. For a company to be secure, it has to adopt a proactive security posture that is constantly evolving to face any security threat that may arise. Security has to constantly stay on top of advancing technology and threats in order to avert security crises.

They are influenced by different factors

Companies are slotted under different categories, each of which has a different set of standards to adhere to. Fulfilling these requirements is what influences the process of compliance.

Security is influenced by the smallest change in an organization’s operation, its technology, or its employees’ activities. Every variation is a call to action in a company with a good security posture.

Security goes deeper

Though compliance is meant to ensure the security of a company, certain companies tend to approach it with a more superficial attitude. They treat compliance as a way save face and look good on paper. They tick boxes of compliance standards just to gain the trust of their customers and the approval of regulatory bodies. This detracts from taking care of urgent security needs. 

A company that focuses on security makes safety its priority. It goes deeper when it comes to security and focuses on predicting, analyzing, and tackling security risks by constantly updating its technology and processes to protect the company in real-time. 

Effects of poor implementation 

When a company does not follow compliance standards to a tee, it is forced to pay fines and penalties. It also becomes vulnerable to security risks.

A company with a bad security posture is constantly at risk of cyber attacks, data breaches, and other security threats. Cyber attacks can lead to companies shutting down for several hours or longer, leading to a loss of revenue. They lead to the loss of data and corruption of devices. A company that faces a data breach also loses the trust of its customers, and its reputation takes a hit.

Why a compliance-first approach is detrimental to a company’s safety

It is not unusual for companies to adopt a compliance-first approach, and they cannot be blamed for doing so. Compliance is often advertised as the ultimate solution for all security needs. It is a well-defined framework that provides actionable steps, which on completion gives companies the perception of being safe. 

Very often, compliance leads to complacency in a company. Some companies, on being tagged as compliant, assume that they are safe till the next audit. Let’s explore how a compliance-first approach could hamper the safety of a company. 

Security becomes a tickbox

Some companies treat compliance solely as a means to project an image of security. They take all the steps necessary to make a company audit-ready. However, this does not result in the company being attacker-ready. 

Frequent audits are taxing, and it takes up a lot of time and resources to fulfill the requirements of a compliance framework. Sometimes companies may even lie to come across as compliant. Since so much has to be done just to come across as secure, efforts to actually be secure are put on the back burner by some companies.

Makes it easy for attackers 

When a company follows a compliance-first or compliance-only approach, it makes life easy for attackers. It’s not difficult for cybercriminals to gain access to compliance frameworks. This allows even the most basic cybercriminal to figure out the security program of a company and determine where its vulnerabilities lie.

Compliance requirements cannot keep up with security needs

Both technology and security threats evolve constantly. This makes compliance standards obsolete the moment they are established. These standards are updated periodically after much deliberation about what is crucial for a company’s security posture. 

Though this is done with the best intentions, the time taken to come up with these standards is long enough for uncountable new security threats to spawn. It sometimes takes several years to update compliance standards.

 It’s easy for threat actors to get past outdated measures that were developed to combat their forerunners. Using a compliance-first approach is like carrying a rusty old knife to a gunfight. 

Discourages the security team

 A compliance-first approach puts a damper on the security operations of a company. Since importance is placed on fulfilling compliance requirements alone, it leaves the security team feeling neglected and underutilized. 

Security practitioners are meant to actively predict, prevent, and resolve any security threat that may arise, but companies that prioritize compliance over security make them do the most mundane tasks to fulfill basic compliance requirements. Compliance-first companies also tend to ignore the needs of the security team and may refuse to allocate funds for their operations.

Leads to inefficient security practices

There is no compliance framework out there that is completely equipped to effectively tackle all security threats. When a company adopts a compliance-first approach, it leans mainly on compliance standards alone to ensure its safety.

Some companies on successfully passing audits assume that they are secure and carry on with a false sense of security. Compliance should not be treated as a one-and-done process, and it certainly should not replace a company’s security program.

 It is true that compliance standards can spur companies to adopt practices that help in security such as compliance security awareness training for employees. However, their role is only supplementary when it comes to ensuring a company’s safety. Compliance should work together with security to improve a company’s security posture.

Why a security-first approach is better

Cyber-attacks have become extremely sophisticated and deadly. Thankfully, cybersecurity has not trailed behind. It is no longer just a tickbox for companies but a business driver that instills trust and confidence in customers and allows a company to scale and grow without worrying about security incidents. Here is how adopting a security-first approach benefits companies.

Protects information

Security goes above and beyond to protect any data that is sensitive from unauthorized access, alteration, and destruction. When it comes to data protection, security has three main functions:

Confidentiality: All sensitive information is kept confidential by preventing unauthorized access to them. It does this by employing the best identity and access management techniques such as multifactor authentication.

Integrity: Security ensures that authorized personnel has access to sensitive information that has not been altered in any way by unauthorized elements.

Availability: A good security system lets authorized personnel have access to data at any given time. It makes information unavailable to unauthorized users. Security measures such as the Zero Trust model do not allow even the employees of an organization to access data that does not pertain to them.

Tackles security breaches

Security breaches are the modern-day goliaths standing in the way of a company’s security and credibility. A good security team deals with security breaches by reducing the magnitude of the impact of security breaches. They respond to cyber-attacks and resolve them. 

In case they are unable to stop an attack, they perform damage control by restoring assets that have been compromised. A proactive security system analyzes and predicts threats. It also monitors both assets and security threats in real-time to reduce the probability of security breaches.

Keeps the entire company informed about the best security practices

Security is a company-wide effort. There have been several instances of security breaches caused by the oversight of employees. Even the most comprehensive security strategy is bound to fail if employees are not kept informed of the best security practices. 

Clicking on phishing links, losing company devices, and not using strong passwords are just some of the ways employees can jeopardize a company’s safety. This is why security training is an important part of a good security plan.

If you are interested in learning about how to adopt a security-first approach to protect your company, click here.

How compliance can help security

Though putting compliance first is not an ideal approach to security, compliance can still act as a baseline for security. For instance, cloud security compliance offers guidelines on how digital data can be used and stored. IT security compliance helps improve the cybersecurity posture of an organization with useful actionable steps such as internal audits and employee training.

Security frameworks such as PCI, SOC 2, and ISO can act as great reference points for improving cybersecurity posture. They can help manage customer data better, strengthen a company’s Information Security Management System (ISMS), and improve data security standards.

By studying the requirements of compliance frameworks, security teams can get an idea of what to prioritize. They can help in reviewing and analyzing the company’s security posture and enforcing good security practices. Using feedback from compliance audits can also help identify areas where security can be improved. 

Conclusion

Both compliance and security are vital for any organization’s survival. It is hard to have one without the other. A company that is not compliant will be penalized out of existence, and a company that is not secure will be attacked beyond repair by security threats. 

By adopting a security-first approach, an organization will always be audit-ready, since a comprehensive security posture will cover the basic requirements of most compliance frameworks. It will also be able to take on any security threat that comes its way. 

Compliance ensures that a company is in line with the security standards imposed by a regulatory body or industry. It is important, but it should not take precedence over security. 

Compliance should act as a roadmap to chart out security rather than be a roadblock to it. Compliance and security should work hand in hand and not compete with one another. When the two align, they fortify a company against threats to its safety and credibility.  
Both data security and compliance can be maintained effectively by adopting the right kind of software. Software such as Scrut can help make both processes easier and more efficient by streamlining and automating them. If you are interested in learning more, click here to book a demo.

The ISO certification increases customer trust by validating the credibility of an organization. Adroit Marketing research revealed that the ISO certification market is expected to grow at an approximate compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3% to reach a market value of $34.5 billion by 2028.

Business giants like Apple, Google, Verizon, Amazon, and Intel are certified by International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 27001. This means they are following all the rules described in the standard and are successfully audited by an outside agency.

if you want to begin your journey of ISO 27001 certification but are wondering what steps to take first, this article will come in handy. We have listed out a roadmap for you to become ISO certified.

What is ISO 27001 certification?

International Organization for Standardization is an independent non-government organization with a membership of 167 national standards bodies. ISO 27001 is one of the standards within the ISO family and covers information security management systems (ISMS) and their requirements. 

Additionally, other standards in ISO/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 27000 family describe the best practices in data protection and cyber resilience. Collectively, these standards are suitable for all sizes of organizations in every sector of business. They enable organizations to manage all their assets’ security, including financial information, intellectual property (IP), employee data, and information entrusted by third parties.

ISMS describes your organization’s policies to secure information and maintain privacy. It helps you to identify and deal with the threats around your digital data and assets. The ISMS helps you secure your data from cyber threats and protects your organization from disruption in a cyber attack.

What are the benefits of ISO 27001 certification?

First published in 2005, the ISO/IEC standard was revised in 2013 with technological improvements. Again in 2022, the standard was revised to fulfill the modern world requirements. 

The following points show the benefits of ISO 27001 certification for your organization.

• Prevents avoidable costs on ineffective technologies used in security
• Reduces the chances of a cyber attack
• Avoids fines and penalties due to data breaches
• Improves the brand reputation of the organization
• Secures all forms of information, including digital, paper-based, and cloud-based
• Provides a centralized framework for securing information
• Responds faster to evolving cyber threats
• Protects the CIA triad – confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the information

Implementing ISO 27001:2022 standard

ISO 27001 is not a mandatory framework for organizations but a voluntary one. Basically, the organization gets ISO 27001 certification to employ best practices in security and win customer trust from the certification.

You must remember that ISO is not a certification body. It just provides the framework for the security of organizations. However, many external certification bodies provide certification. 

ISO does have a Committee on Conformity Assessment (CASCO) that produces multiple standards related to the certification process. The certification bodies use the CASCO standards to provide certificates to organizations.

As you have multiple certification bodies to choose from, you must consider the following points before entering into an agreement with any one of them:

• Compare and contrast multiple certification bodies
• Verify whether the certification body follows CASCO standards
• Opt for accredited bodies to improve the trustworthiness

The two primary elements of ISO 27001 standards are Clauses 0-10 and Annex A controls. Clauses 0-10 outline the scope and necessary specifications for a certified ISMS, including all the paperwork, procedures, guidelines, and safety measures you must put together, develop, and implement to meet ISO 27001 compliance.

Annex-A includes 93 security controls applicable to information systems based on the result risk assessment. 

Let’s understand Clauses 0-10 and Annex-A in some detail.

Clause 0-10

Clause 0: Introduction

The ISO 27001:2022 standard provides guidance and direction on how to manage an organization’s information system effectively, regardless of the size and industry, to reduce information security risks that can benefit the organization and its stakeholders, including suppliers, customers, and employees.

Clause 1: Process and process approach

This clause defines the terms used throughout the standard. We can discuss each term as and when required.

A process is defined as “a group of repeatable and interrelated activities performed to transform a series of inputs into defined outputs.”

While a process approach can be defined as the “management of a group of processes together as a system, where the interrelations between processes are identified, and the outputs of a previous process are treated as the inputs of the following one. This approach helps ensure the results of each individual process will add business value and contribute to achieving the final desired results.”

Clause 2: Process approach impact

Compliance can increase the organization’s cybersecurity but cannot guarantee security. There are just too many factors responsible for any organization’s cyber security, compliance being just one of them. 

The process approach is imperative in efficient ISMS as it creates a link between requirements, policies, objectives, performance, and actions. An organization can view each step when it adopts the process approach in information and communication. It enables the organization to detect the pain point, if any, in the process easily. 

Clause 3: The plan-do-check-act cycle

The plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle helps an organization deal with internal and external changes. Repetitively developing and implementing an action plan might prove harmful to the organization as it constantly changes. Although the PDCA method is accepted in managerial circles worldwide, it is particularly important for implementing the ISO 27002:2022 standard.

Plan

Planning of policies, objectives, targets, controls, processes, and procedures, as well as performing risk management, are included in this stage. The plan should be in line with the organization’s goals and objectives.

Do

Act on the plan you just formed.

Check

Evaluate the implementation of the plan and review it for effectiveness. List out the inaccuracies in the implementation process. Authorize the plan of action to remove inaccuracies.

Act

The organization takes authorized actions to stay on course and improve its information security posture.

Clause 4: Context of the organization

Under this clause, the management is required to determine the internal and external issues relevant to the business and the ISMS’s objectives.

Clause 5: Leadership

This clause requires the organization to recognize the role of top management in implementing ISO 27001:2022 in the organization. They should ensure that the roles and responsibilities are delegated and communicated to the concerned parties effectively. The ISMS must meet the terms and conditions of the ISO 27001:2022 standard.

Clause 6: Planning

Clause 6 deals with the preventive actions taken by the organization by considering the risks and opportunities relevant to the organization’s context. The actions must be in accordance with their integration into the ISMS activities and how their effectiveness would be evaluated.

Clause 7: Support

If you want to implement ISO 27002:2022, you must have the support of human resources, financial, and educational resources. The standard describes the following:

Clause 8: Operation

The ISMS must plan, implement, control its processes, and retain documents proving that the processes are being carried out per the plan. The Operation Clause of ISO 27001 defines the operation phase of the implementation process.

Clause 9: Performance evaluation

The effectiveness of the process and procedures should be evaluated in conjunction with the objectives of the organization’s ISMS. 

Clause 10: Improvement

If there is room for improvement in the ISMS, then it should be identified and implemented. This clause also includes the corrective actions taken if the plan fails.

Annex A: Reference control objectives and controls

There are 93 controls in Annex A divided into four groups. How you build your ISMS using these controls depends on the specifics of your organization. Your particular risks can guide you about which controls to include in your policy and which to leave out.

Annex A can be represented in the following figure:

ISO:27001:2022 certification process

The journey of becoming ISO 27001 certified begins as soon as you start understanding the standard. All the clauses described in the standard, along with Annex-A, must be followed for hassle-free next steps. 

After the processes, such as documentation, internal audits, managerial review, and resolving the issues of non-conformity, the organization should move forward with audits. The following points are important in the audit process.

Stage 1 audit: Documentation audit

The following documents are mandatory for the successful completion of this stage of the audit:

• ISMS policies and objectives
• Statement of Applicability
• Documented scope
• Description of risk assessment methodology
• Risk assessment report
• Risk treatment plan
• Procedure for document control
• Corrective and preventive measures
• At least one internal audit report
• At least one managerial review

Stage 2 audit: Main audit

In this stage of the audit, the auditor will ensure that the ISMS has truly developed in practice and is not just on paper. The auditor will sift through your records, interview the employees, and observe the organization’s day-to-day operations to verify whether it follows ISMS effectively. If everything is according to the documents submitted, the auditor will issue the ISO 27001 certificate. 

But what if the auditor finds issues with the implementation? Well, they will notify the organization and give a deadline by which the non-conformity should be resolved. The organization removes the cause of non-conformity to meet the auditor’s expectations and notifies the same after a resolution. If the auditor finds the resolution satisfactory, they will issue the ISO 27001 certification.

Stage 3 audit: Surveillance audit

The validity period of the ISO 27001:2022 certification is three years. During the certificate validity period, the certification body will conduct surveillance audits to verify the maintenance of ISMS. Surveillance audits are carried out a minimum of once every year. They are very similar to main audits but take little time. 

The ISO 27001:2022 certificate expires at the end of three years from the date of initial certification. The recertification process is the same as applying for a new certificate. 

Critical pain points of ISO 27001 audit

The ISO 27001:2022 certification process is long and takes months to complete depending on the size and complexity of the organization. However, if you want the process to move smoothly, you must concentrate on the following pain points.

Documents

Documentation is imperative to the successful completion of the ISO 27001 audit. When you submit the documents to the auditor in the first stage, you must ensure that the documents are complete and according to the demands. A complete set of documents can reduce the time taken for certification. 

Evidence

Evidence of implementation is crucial for the success of the second stage of the audit. Do your policies match your actions? If the answer is yes, which is usually the case, the auditor will need evidence to verify it. 

Interviews

The third pain point is the knowledge and training imparted to the employees. Despite complete documentation and relevant evidence, if the employees are not aware of the policies, the certification will lose its value. Therefore, the auditor can and will interview the employees to verify their knowledge about their responsibilities in compliance with ISMS.

How can Scrut help you with ISO 27001 certification?

Scrut can help you secure your ISO 27001 certification easily and without any issues. Let’s look at the specifics of Scrut’s involvement.

Strengthen your ISMS

This feature helps you to identify the gaps in your compliance. Through a single platform, it helps you manage every ISMS function, including cloud risk assessments, control reviews, employee policy attestations, and vendor risk.

Create ISMS policies instantly

If you do not want to build your own ISMS policies, Scrut has over 50 pre-built policies to choose from. Moreover, if you want to build your own policies, Scrut has an in-built editor to help you with it. To perfect your policies, you can ask help of a in-house ISO 27001 expert to vet them.

Build employees as compliance champions

Employees are at the crux of policy implementation, so untrained employees can prove to be a liability to the organization’s efforts to achieve ISO 27001 certification. Scrut helps you track the progress of your employee training. It helps you conduct periodic tests, and anti-phishing campaigns and ensure policy attestations.

Monitor controls, continuously

It is easier to manage gaps in compliance procedures as and when they occur. Scrut gives you real-time view of the gaps. It also gives you automated, configurable alerts and notifications for maintaining daily compliance. 

Automate evidence collection

The second stage of audit requires the organization to submit evidence to the auditors. Scrut helps you to collect evidence automatically from above 70 commonly used integrated applications. Scrut automates >65% of the evidence collection across your application and infrastructure landscape against pre-mapped controls. 

Accelerate your ISO 27001 audit

Did you know you can invite your auditor to the Scrut automation platform for collaboration? You can accelerate your audit by responding to requests, sharing evidence artifacts, and monitoring audit status directly on the platform. 

Effortlessly manage evidence of compliance

The organization’s stakeholders, including customers and investors, are interested in the organization’s security and compliance postures. You can showcase your certifications on the Scrut platform to help build trust. 

Access to ISO 27001 compliance experts

Understanding and following ISO 27001:2022 is not an easy task. However, Scrut is not just a platform but a complete compliance solution with expert backing it. You can get access to experts such as consultants and auditors to seek guidance.

Conclusion

ISO 27001:2022 is standard to help you develop and implement an effective and secure ISMS. Introduced in 2005, it has gone through two reviews – 2013 and 2022. It describes the steps to be taken by an organization for successful audits, which can ultimately earn you ISO certification. We saw all the clauses and annexures of the ISO 27001 standard. We also described the audit requirements and the audit process for acquiring the certification, as well as how Scrut can help you with it.

Being ISO 27001 certified can take you a long way to increase your business. Log in to the Scrut website for more information.

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