ISO/IEC 27001:2013 or ISO 27001 as it is commonly known, is an international Information Security Management System (ISMS) standard. It is a robust framework that that outlines the key processes and approaches a business needs to manage information security risks, such as cyber-attacks and data breaches. It enables organisations to demonstrate to clients and internal and external stakeholders that their security and risk management approach meets industry best practice with respect to protecting data, such as financial information, intellectual property, employee details or information entrusted by third parties.
The information security standard spans all industries, highlighting best practices for improving the security of information and minimising risks for businesses.
ISO 27001 also shows how these practices can be refined, as information security needs develop in the future. Importantly, it adapts to your business as it changes.
Helping you streamline processes as well as increase business opportunities by proving your organisation’s commitment to information security and data protection.
An ISO 27001 certification helps to minimise business risk, while simultaneously demonstrating an ongoing commitment to information security. This is especially important at a time when security breaches pose a substantial legal, financial, and reputational risk for businesses.
An ability to show compliance with the standard instils trust in customers and provides peace of mind to stakeholders, who can be sure that their information assets are handled, stored, and managed securely.
Many businesses opt for the ISO 27001 certification because the framework is recognised at an international level. It helps organisations to effectively manage their global reputation for best practice information security management and gives them a competitive edge, not only nationally, but in alternative markets.
The ISO 27001 framework is designed to grow with your business and demonstrates the importance of taking a flexible approach to information security management.
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Get in touchPGI Information Assurance experts can assist your organisation at every step of the certification process, including scoping, gap analysis, implementation, internal audit and compliance maintenance. Importantly, we believe that ISO 27001 should be a business enabler, so our team want to help you achieve and maintain compliance in the most cost-effective and efficient way possible.
Your organisation may need to handover the full certification process or your team may only need help in some areas. Regardless of the areas you need assistance with, we have the skills to help your organisation achieve and maintain compliance.
Our Information Assurance team can be engaged for singular- or multiple-stage ISO 27001 consultancy services, dependent upon what your organisation needs.
Scope defines the information, systems and business operations that will be managed under the organisation’s Information Security Management System (ISMS) and will be certified to ISO 27001.
Defining the scope encourages focus on the most critical areas of your business and the risks faced, as well as informing the selection of appropriate controls to tackle these risks.
Our consultants can advise on the most appropriate scope for your organisation, which may significantly reduce the scale of your ISMS implementation.
Gap analysis involves comparing what you are currently doing against what you must do to meet the compliance requirements of ISO 27001. It highlights shortfalls in compliance and where efforts must be concentrated to meet the requirements of the standard.
Our expertise allows us to accurately assess your organisation’s current levels of compliance and provide pragmatic recommendations. Additionally, our consultants can perform a gap analysis more efficiently and effectively than internal staff, who are likely to hold other responsibilities and may not be as familiar with the intricacies of the standard.
Risk management is at the core of ISO 27001, so this phase identifies your important information and information processing assets, the assessment of security risks related to these assets, and the mechanisms through which these risks are controlled and monitored.
Our ISO 27001 consultants are recognised as risk management experts, allowing them to build risk management processes that both fit your organisation and meet the requirements of ISO 27001. Working in partnership with you, the team will combine their knowledge of effective risk assessment with your understanding of business operations to accurately assess organisational security risks.
The SoA is a fundamental part of your ISMS and is one of the mandatory documents required to achieve certification. It explains which of the information security controls (as specified in Annex A of ISO 27001) have been selected to tackle risk as well as which have been omitted and the reasoning.
Our team’s expertise and experience of ISMS implementation coupled with your familiarity of the business, helps to ensure that your SoA meets appropriate standards to achieve certification. We can also undertake a gap analysis that compares the current state of these controls against what must be done to meet the compliance requirements of the standard.
Implementation involves putting in place the control measures to ensure compliance with ISO 27001.
Failure to implement the controls necessary to mitigate risk means the organisation will not be compliant with ISO 27001. This could increase the likelihood of data breaches and subsequent fines or penalties, as well as enormous reputational damage.
With our support your organisation can be assured that the control measures implemented are pragmatic and provide the appropriate levels of assurance. As an example, our team can apply their expertise to develop best practice, compliant policies and procedures, allowing your workforce to focus efforts on other implementation activities.
Our wider team can also perform penetration tests and vulnerability assessments to identify vulnerabilities, which can also demonstrate ongoing review and continuous improvement of the ISMS, which is required by the standard.
Engaging with us allows an independent and unbiased view of the suitability of the controls being implemented.
Internal audit involves reviewing the implemented controls to ensure they are working effectively to manage risk and meet the requirements of ISO 27001.
Performing audits is a key aspect of ISO 27001 compliance and supports the principle of review and continuous improvement of security that is pivotal to compliance with the standard.
As qualified ISO 27001 Lead Auditors, you can be assured that our consultants will perform thorough and professional audits that cover all aspects required to maintain certification.
A guiding hand through your certification audits. Our consultants will help to ensure all required documentation is up to date and in place for the Stage 1 audit and they can help you demonstrate the full operation of your ISMS for the Stage 2 audit.
Using our consultants’ knowledge of the ISO 27001 standard and the expectations of external auditors, gives you the best chance of achieving certification.
Continuous improvement focuses on maintaining your compliance. This is done by regularly reviewing the performance of the ISMS and enhancing measures where required.
After achieving certification, organisations are subject to regular surveillance audits from their external auditor. These surveillance audits occur approximately every 6‐12 months. They are performed to monitor the organisation’s ongoing commitment to security and compliance.
Organisations must demonstrate that they have reviewed and, where necessary, improved security measures. Any business changes that impact security must be factored into the ISMS to ensure security measures remain robust.
Our expertise and experience can help you devise an effective continuous improvement programme that is suitable for your organisation. Our team provide you with specialist knowledge and resource capacity, enabling your workforce to concentrate on their core operations.
PGI is a leading choice for ISO 27001 consultancy and implementation, which we can undertake remotely or onsite. We’re proud to have a strong team of dedicated ISO 27001 professionals with years of experience in information security management.
What makes us different? We tailor our consultancy to each business that we work with, ensuring that any new processes that you choose to implement blend effortlessly with your existing business model. We want ISO 27001 to work for you – not the other way around!
We also offer fully-guided ISO 27001 training—taking you and your team right through from introducing the framework to implementing new ways of working and to achieving ISO 27001 certification. Our comprehensive training approach ensures you have everything you need to achieve your certification.
PGI itself is an ISO 27001 certified organisation.
Understanding the requirements for ISO 27001 may seem like a daunting task, but we have produced some material below which may help. In addition to our ISO 27001 training courses, we have provided a number of blog articles, written by our experts, which help to remove some of the mysteries surrounding certification, and which also speak in plain English rather than technical jargon.
For ISO 27001 training, please visit our Cyber Academy page.
