With the number of threats in the digital landscape growing exponentially, it’s important to consider the benefits of being certified to ISO 27001, an Information Security Management System that helps to keep your organisation proactive about the threats in cyberspace. As we’ve seen in recent years, complacency is one of the most frequently exploited avenues of opportunity for hackers and cyber criminals; with a system like ISO 27001, you’re being certified to a set of guiding principles that ensure your organisation is actively addressing risks in your operations and educating your staff with the best practices of information security.
Before we get started talking about the benefits of being certified to an Information Security Management System like ISO 27001, let’s first discuss exactly what it is.
What is ISO 27001?
ISO 27001 is an internationally-recognised Information Security Management System that requires your organisation to address key areas of your operations and policies to ensure that you’re vigilant about protecting the sensitive data that you’re hosting inside your organisation’s network. ISO 27001 provides organisations – big and small – with a framework to protect their information, educate their staff as to the best practices surrounding information security and instil risk-based thinking when it comes to potential threats to your organisation. This framework provides you with the applicable technical, physical and legal controls of information security, and allows you to prepare a robust policy that addresses potential risks and ensures the integrity of the data you’re protecting.
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Why is it Important to Get Certified to ISO 27001?
There’s a growing number of reasons why it’s important to get certified to a system like ISO 27001, but few more significant than the fact that data breaches are a constantly evolving threat, and can prove costly, if not fatal to an organisation regardless of its size. Tech giant IBM puts the average cost of a data breach for an organisation – without an information security management system or plan – at USD $5.3 million. For organisations with an implemented system like ISO 27001, this figure dropped to $2 million, signaling the importance of anticipating the risks of operating in cyber space.
Secondly, customers are increasingly demanding cyber risks and the security of their data be a top priority of the vendors that they are purchasing from. With every week that passes, there is news of small and large businesses being targeted with cyber attacks, costly ransomware attacks and data breaches that result in the leaking of sensitive client and coroprate information.
Aside from the monetary impact of a system like ISO 27001, the process of building and implementing your system is an invaluable opportunity to educate your staff, build a more impactful vision for the future and create organisational buy-in to your organisation’s goals. ISO 27001 does not come with a one-size-fits-all approach to addressing risks in your operations, it requires you and your team to assemble it, in line with the framework of one of the leading international organisations governing the best practices of operating online.
What are the Benefits of Getting Certified to ISO 27001?
The process of being certified to a system like ISO 27001 signals to investors, suppliers, customers and key stakeholders that your organisation not only recognises the risks and importance of keeping data safe from the hands of unauthorised third-parties, it shows them that your organisation is proactively tackling these risks. Often, organisations say one thing to their customers and act in the opposite manner; with ISO 27001 certification, you can show – and prove – to your customers that you’re working to maintain the integrity of your organisation’s data, and that you intend to stay one step ahead of your competitors.
- Signal to the market that your organisation is committed to tackling cyber risks
- Meet customer demand for high-levels of technical and cybersecurity awareness from their vendors
- Educate your team as to the latest proven technical skills and cyber security best practices
- Become eligible for large scale projects and tenders that are reserved for companies that are certified to an ISMS
- Become a more risk-based thinking organisation that anticipates issues before they arise, rather than deal with the aftermath
How to Get Certified to ISO 27001?
With Best Practice, the process of being certified to ISO 27001 is a collaborative effort and allows you to get a better understanding of your operations. Our certification process has four steps:
1. Optional Gap Analysis: The process begins with an optional gap analysis to evaluate your management system against each clause of ISO IEC 27001
2. Stage One: The mandatory first step is a desktop assessment to evaluate your management system documentation, including policies, processes, management review records, scope and context as well as system implementation.It sets the foundation for the stage two assessment.
3. Stage Two: The stage two assessment is the final step of the initial certification process. To achieve certification against your systems, we need to verify that the documented requirements of the standard are implemented across the business. We visit your offices and premises as well as partake in discussions with relevant people in your business.
4. Certification: Once your stage two assessment is verified and the process is complete, a ‘Statement of Certification’ is issued, confirming compliance with the relevant standard. This certification is valid for a three-year period from the date of issue. Surveillance assessments will need to be performed on a regular basis to maintain your certification.
