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What Is ISO 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 (commonly called ISO 27001) is an international standard that specifies requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS). An ISMS is a systematic approach for managing sensitive company and customer information so that it remains secure. It includes people, processes, and IT systems by applying a risk management process.
Why ISO 27001 Matters to Businesses
What Businesses Are Required to Do
- If an organization holds sensitive or regulated data (customer personal data, intellectual property, financial records, etc.), ISO 27001 helps define how to protect it.
- Some industries or contracts require ISO 27001 certification or at least alignment to its requirements.
- Even when not legally required, many customers, partners, insurers expect or prefer that an organization follow ISO 27001 to demonstrate strong information security.
Implementation & Documentation Requirements
Organizations implementing ISO 27001 must:
- Define the scope of the ISMS (which parts of the organization, which assets, physical locations, processes, etc.).
- Perform risk assessment: identify information security risks, assess likelihood, impact, determine which risks to treat.
- Create a risk treatment plan to address risks.
- Establish policies, procedures, controls to manage or reduce those risks.
They must also maintain documentation, including but not limited to:
- Information security policy
- Scope statement
- Risk assessment results
- Risk treatment plan
- Statement of Applicability (SoA) (which controls are implemented and which are excluded, with justification)
- Procedures and records relevant to control implementation, internal audits, management review, corrective actions
Legal & Regulatory Requirements
- While ISO 27001 itself is not a law, in many jurisdictions or sectors, compliance or certification is required by contract or regulation. For example, contracts with clients (especially large enterprises or overseas) may require ISO certification.
- ISO 27001 certification can help satisfy some regulatory requirements (data protection laws, privacy laws) by showing you follow recognized best practices for data security.
- Non-compliance or failure to adequately protect data may lead to legal liability, loss of reputation, financial losses, or regulatory penalties, especially when regulatory regimes reference standards of due care that are similar to ISO 27001.
How ISO 27001 Works: Process, Structure, and Key Concepts
Structure of ISO 27001
ISO 27001 is organized around:
- Clauses that define requirements for an ISMS: leadership, planning, support, operation, performance evaluation, improvement.
- Annex A which contains a set of controls (and control objectives) that may be applied as part of the risk treatment plan.
The controls in Annex A are a catalog of potential security controls. An organization uses the risk assessment and treatment planning process to select which controls are applicable, and then document why others are excluded, via the Statement of Applicability.
As of the latest version (ISO/IEC 27001:2022), Annex A includes 93 controls grouped into four categories: Organizational Controls, People Controls, Physical Controls, and Technological Controls. (Earlier versions had more controls and different groupings.) Apptega’s guide and framework tool reflect both older versions (for reference or clients that are using them) and the updated 2022 version.
Process for Implementation
Here is a step-by-step flow that organizations typically follow to become compliant and/or certified:
- Obtain top management support
- Leadership must demonstrate commitment, define policy, allocate resources.
- Define the ISMS scope
- Decide which parts of the business, which processes, what assets are in-scope for information security.
- Conduct risk assessment
- Identify threats & vulnerabilities, evaluate risk impact and likelihood, prioritize risks.
- Select controls & create risk treatment plan
- Use Annex A as a catalog of controls; select applicable ones; determine whether to implement, or justify non-selection.
- Develop required documentation
- Document policies, procedures, SoA, risk treatment plan, training plans, internal audit plans, etc.
- Implement the controls, policies, procedures
- Roll out technical, administrative, and physical safeguards, train employees, put into operation.
- Monitor & evaluate performance
- Internal audits, management reviews, monitoring, measurement, metrics, non-conformity handling.
- Maintain & continually improve
- Address findings, update as threats evolve, ensure that ISMS adapts to change (people, technology, business context).
Certification
- To be certified, an organization engages with an accredited certification body. It undergoes a two-stage audit: first stage reviews documentation, scope, compliance; second stage verifies that controls are implemented and effective.
- After certification, the ISMS must be maintained: surveillance audits, corrective actions, continual improvement.
Real-World Examples & Use Cases
- A mid-sized software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that stores client data globally becomes ISO 27001 certified to build trust with enterprise clients, compete for contracts, improve security maturity, and satisfy GDPR/AU/UK/others.
- A healthcare provider or managed-care organization adopts ISO 27001 to align diverse teams with a unified ISMS, reduce risk of data breaches of patient records, meet customer, insurer, and partner expectations, and reduce liability.
- A financial services firm or bank uses ISO 27001 as the basis for internal security governance, mapping to regulatory requirements (such as data protection laws, audit requirements, operational risk) and integrating with vendor oversight.
- A government contractor or supplier to public sector (domestic or international) seeks ISO 27001 certification because many RFPs (requests for proposal) require certified ISMS, or because foreign governments demand it.
How Apptega Supports ISO 27001 Compliance
- Apptega offers an ISO 27001 Compliance Guide that walks through history, requirements, implementation steps, audit process.
- The Streamline ISO 27001 Compliance and Audits framework page shows how Apptega’s platform supports assessments, evidence collection, audit readiness, dashboards, and framework crosswalking.
- Apptega helps with mapping or crosswalking ISO 27001 with other frameworks (for example NIST CSF, GDPR, HIPAA) to reduce duplication of effort.
- Apptega provides tools to generate auditor-ready documentation, track status of controls, assign responsibilities, and monitor non-conformities and corrective actions.
