An ISO 27001 audit verifies that your ISMS reduces risks to an acceptable level, with certification by an external auditor comparing your documentation against ISO standards and checking controls to verify their compliance.
Depending on whether there are major nonconformities found during your organisation’s certification audit, the entire certification process can take anywhere between six and 12 months to complete. After recertification is achieved, periodic surveillance audits should take place prior to recertification.
What is ISO 27001, and why is it important?
ISO 27001 is an internationally accepted standard that defines best practices for information security management. Commonly referred to as an Information Security Management System (ISMS), an ISMS details how your organisation has policies, procedures, personnel, and documentation in place in order to maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of its data.
Data breaches are an increasing source of anxiety for businesses, and rightly so. A breach can damage customer trust, cause fines from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and negatively affect reputation. But by adopting an ISMS to manage customer data securely and prevent breaches in the future,
Recently, data breaches have received increased media attention; however, protecting not only customers’ personal details is essential; internal processes, payments, and trade secrets must all be safeguarded too. While standards such as GDPR or HIPAA focus on protecting customer data in one specific way only, ISO 27001 provides a more holistic framework that ensures information management in accordance with its three cornerstones of confidentiality, integrity, and availability (known as the C-I-A triad).
Certification can provide organisations with additional business benefits beyond those mentioned above and help set them apart from their competition by showing that they take security seriously. Achieving certification also demonstrates a structured approach to planning, implementing, and maintaining their ISMS, giving clients and partners confidence that their information is protected.
Organisations looking to achieve ISO 27001 certification find the process straightforward. First, an organisation must build its ISMS by following the standards laid out in ISO 27001; this includes documenting all policies, procedures, and processes in an information security manual. Next, the company will undergo a stage 1 audit conducted by an independent auditor to ensure compliance with standards.
If an auditor discovers any major nonconformities, he or she will give your organisation a deadline within which these must be rectified before issuing its ISO 27001 certificate.
ISO 27001 certification can take anywhere from three to twelve months, depending on your organisation’s size and complexity of ISMS; however, smaller companies that make an effort often complete it much sooner than this timeline.
ISO 27001 compliance software can accelerate the ISO 27001 implementation and certification process by pushing businesses to document all processes (even those unrelated to security), expediting employee onboarding, and improving operational efficiencies. For more information about how ISO 27001 implementation and certification can be simplified with Conformio, sign up now for a free trial of Conformio today, and our friendly staff would be more than happy to guide you through it and answer any of your queries. Having helped numerous clients successfully implement ISMSs and attain ISO 27001 certification, we understand what needs to happen.
Stage 1: Pre-Audit
Have you spent time planning and designing an ISMS, outlining its scope, conducting risk analyses, and conducting internal audits? Now is the time for ISO 27001 certification audits! Auditors certified by a recognised ISO 27001 certification body can evaluate your ISMS framework and issue an official certificate. A pre-audit involves gathering documents and holding meetings and interviews with your staff members prior to conducting a full audit. An auditor will conduct this audit to check your key documents, such as your information security policy and Statement of Applicability (SoA), for compliance with relevant standards. They’ll also look for evidence of ISMS operations, such as internal audit records or management reviews conducted over time.
The second phase of a pre-audit consists of an extensive on-site visit, during which auditors interview personnel and observe your ISMS in action. They’ll be able to assess whether it meets ISO 27001 requirements and identify any gaps that must be filled prior to future surveillance or recertification audits.
At this phase of an audit, auditors will investigate more than just policies and procedures; they’ll also take an in-depth look at your system to make sure everything is configured as intended and working effectively. Utilising your Statement of Applicability as a guideline, auditors will review configurations, security settings, protections, etc. that comply with ISMS design as well as processes like your business continuity plan or how incidents are managed.
By the end of this stage, an auditor will have an accurate picture of whether your ISMS meets ISO 27001’s standards and can be certified. If they identify any major non-conformities, they will request a corrective action plan and evidence of correction be submitted prior to moving onto further stages. Otherwise, they should likely be able to confirm your compliance and issue your certificate within weeks!
Stage 2: Certification Audit
At this stage, your auditor will assess your ISMS by interviewing ISMS management, reviewing documentation, and observing operations. They will look for signs that your business adheres to ISO 27001, for instance, verifying an established backup process, reviewing security policies and procedures, observing corrective and preventive actions taken and their effectiveness, as well as checking whether risk assessments are up-to-date.
Your ISMS should pass this audit for ISO certification to take place. Your organisation must clear a high bar in order to be successful; only accredited certifying bodies can conduct and issue the certificate audit. In order for certification to take place, your organisation must have an established ISMS with documented processes and a strong control culture, as well as be capable of recovering quickly from unplanned business disruptions with a well-developed business continuity policy that sets out how it will continue operating after disaster strikes.
This phase, known as a certification audit, tests whether your ISMS fulfils all the requirements outlined in the ISO 27001 standard, including Annex A’s 114 primary controls, and ensures you can maintain this level of compliance post-certification through periodic surveillance audits (or recertification audits).
These audits will take place every three years to make sure your organisation continues to meet the standards outlined by ISO 27001 certification. At the conclusion of each audit, your auditor will submit a report detailing any minor or major nonconformities, opportunities for improvement, and whether your ISMS should receive certification or not.
Last, implement any improvements suggested by your auditor and present evidence of these changes to the certifying body. If your ISMS fails to meet ISO 27001 audit requirements, its certificate will be revoked, but if major nonconformities can be addressed successfully and your ISMS effectively addresses minor ones as well, an auditor may recommend you for certification.
Stage 3: Surveillance Audit
Once ISO 27001 is certified, periodic surveillance audits must be conducted to maintain your status. These are less stringent than the initial certification audit and focus on minor nonconformances, document updates, and maintenance issues, as well as seeing how your company has responded to recommendations made from internal audits.
Preparing for a surveillance audit involves understanding the information security risks that your organisation faces and how an ISMS can mitigate those risks. You should conduct a risk analysis and gap analysis in order to identify where current practices fall short of standard requirements; once completed, create an ISMS that addresses those particular risks while including appropriate controls to mitigate them.
Implement your ISMS and train employees how to use it, followed by creating and conducting an internal audit schedule covering all processes while taking corrective actions when necessary. These elements form your ISO 27001 compliance programme and serve as the cornerstone for daily security operations.
Surveillance audits may come as something of a shock when first undertaken since auditors don’t spend as much time reviewing each process, but that doesn’t mean you should disregard those processes; your goal should not simply be achieving ISO certification; rather, it should be creating an ISMS that remains competitive within its market place.
To achieve this goal, it is helpful to set specific goals and milestones when preparing for an ISO audit. Doing this will allow you to streamline your efforts and focus on what matters. Furthermore, having a roadmap of the steps you will take while progressing through the audit stages helps prepare you for what to expect as you go along; this ensures an efficient experience without spending unnecessary resources or time on this endeavour.
Stage 4: Recertification Audit
At this stage, a certification body reviews your documentation to confirm that all ISO 27001 requirements have been fulfilled and your organisation continues to abide by any procedures or processes implemented during the preparation phase. This process typically lasts six months and requires correcting any non-conformities discovered during the on-site inspection and documentation audit.
An audit may involve meetings with your staff to ascertain if they are following standards, interviews, and observations regarding how issues are handled; in addition to this, they may request to review any documentation from previous stages.
At the conclusion of this phase, your auditor will provide a report outlining any findings and recommendations, such as areas of non-conformance with standards as well as ways you can enhance your ISMS to meet them. This provides an ideal opportunity to identify weaknesses in security systems that you can address before moving onto Phase Two.
The Cost of an ISO 27001 Audit
The cost of an ISO 27001 audit can be an extremely significant expense for any organisation as they seek certification and reap the benefits of enhanced information security. There are various costs involved with the process, including preparation, implementation, and the official certification audit itself. The key to controlling these expenses lies in careful planning and understanding how each stage contributes to overall costs.
Prep costs involve creating and documenting your information security management system (ISMS), training employees on its use, and creating policies and procedures to meet compliance standards. Preparation also involves conducting a gap analysis that will identify any areas needing improvement as well as how much time and resources will be necessary to get to an external audit.
As your team shifts its attention from daily operations to preparing for an audit, productivity will deteriorate significantly, and this could have an adverse impact on revenue and product delivery to clients. You can minimise this cost by hiring external consultants with experience delivering this service for other companies quickly.
After becoming certified, you must conduct annual surveillance audits to ensure your business remains compliant and the effectiveness of its controls. These audits may include reviewing your ISMS as well as reviewing existing security stacks; their costs will depend upon your business size, auditing body, and security needs.
Noncompliance with ISO 27001 can be an expensive problem that results in penalties, fines, client loss, and irreparable reputation damage. Depending on the severity of breaches, costly fixes may need to be implemented, exceeding even your original investment in meeting compliance. But don’t panic: by being proactive about security vulnerabilities in ISMS and conducting regular gap analyses, you can lower the risk of non-compliance and reduce its consequences.
In addition to these expenses, you will also require software or tools to automate internal audits and address any gaps in your security posture. Finally, external auditors will need to be hired for your actual certification audit; the costs associated with these professionals will depend upon your business size and number of locations. You should budget for these expenses in advance to make sure you meet cost objectives.
