In this day and age of technological development, security has become a top priority. Companies cannot expect their clientele to do business with them if they cannot be held accountable for managing their information safely. This extends from what products and services they utilise online to payment, banking, and identity data. You cannot prevent cyber attacks, but a reliable security system will manage your risk and give you the best chance at deterring these attacks.
What is ISO 27001
The International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) is the largest developer of voluntary International Standards. They create an international standard from the standard required by individual countries that mature and cross borders through business.
ISO 27001 is the current industry standard as an Information Security Management System (ISMS). This ISMS needs to be built, maintained, implemented, and improved to maintain your confidentiality, integrity, and availability within a company. The ISO 27001 is a tool to manage, measure, and review your security measures and ensure their effectiveness.
Successful implementation of the ISO 27001 lends an organisation a better reputation and might grow its popularity. The creation and implementation of an ISMS will differ from one organisation to the next depending on its security needs, size and structure, processes, and business objectives.
Unlike other security systems, ISO isn’t control-driven and has no set of security controls that do not consider your business type. Instead, we provide security management based on an organisation’s information and data asset needs and a continual improvement to the ISMS you are running.
Why do I need it
Data and information might be an organisation’s most valuable asset in this technological age. Protecting all of their information has to be a top priority for any business, whether they trade in the information or not. Leaks and intrusions can be detrimental to an organisation’s reputation and business, so security has become a top priority for everyone.
An ISMS combines multiple systems, procedures, processes, and policies to manage an organisation’s security risks. The ISO 27001 guidelines are the only global standard helping you understand an Information Security Management System’s various requirements. ISO is widespread and often mandated on the State Government level in Australia.
Customers find reassurance when organisations conform to international security standards as it means their systems and products are safe and reliable. Conforming to an ISO 270001 has the added value of becoming a marketing tool. Clients return to organisations with proven security systems.
However, ISO isn’t just a marketing strategy. The system will help you compete on a global level and tackle some common challenges that businesses face. Implementation of ISO 270001 will streamline processes and services and help you reduce costs, increase productivity and increase customer satisfaction.
What are the benefits
Data needs to be safe and secure as well as accessible across borders. Confidentiality is vital to financial health and reliable supply systems for businesses and users. There are many benefits to implementing an ISO system.
Benefits:
- Confidence for stakeholders
- Gain new clients
- Maintain current clients
- Achieve a global benchmark
- Avoid potential damage from security breaches
- Secure brand reputation
- In compliance with business, legal, contractual and regulatory requirements
- Improving the transparency of the organisational structure
Steps to get ISO 27001 certified
Before going through all of the steps to ISO 27001 certification, you have to ensure that certification is necessary or if your organisation only requires compliance. If certification is a requirement in your industry, it is much more cost-effective to do it once and keep the certification valid. You also need to find an accredited certification body. Beware of people who promise that they can get you the certification within a month.
Step 1: Gap Analysis
The first thing you need to do is determine your current security management level. Experts who will guide you on the road to 27001 certifications will need to know what has already been implemented. It is also better to start with what you have, instead of spending money on an array of different things before knowing what you need. There might be apparent gaps in your security systems or things that need attention before starting the process for certification.
Through the use of Best Practice, the companies management system will be assessed to ascertain the compliance level your current management system possesses. A report is compiled summarising any blemishes that will need to be rectified before certification from this assessment.
Step 2: Phase 1 Evaluation
All of your procedures, management systems, and other security documentation will be assessed and categorised during this time. It is an organisation-wide collection of data and information about the company’s ISMS.
Step 3: Phase 2 Evaluation
After collecting all of the relevant information, it needs to be verified. The Phase 2 assessment is an audit process to confirm that everything discovered in Phase 1 is accurate. It rates the effectiveness of the process implemented before or during the certification process. Best Practice will need to validate that documented prerequisites of the standards are applied throughout the business.
An evaluator will hold talks with pertinent members of your company during the E-Audit. It is then evaluated and confirmed that the companies management system to have been applied.
Phase 4: Accreditation
Once the audit is complete and your ISMS has been initiated, your certification will be issued. This accreditation is valid for three years, but regular observation evaluations will be done at least once a year. We commit to coaching you through the process and beyond.
Once your stage two assessment is verified, and the process is complete, the certification statement is supplied, confirming conformity with the appropriate standard.