ISO 27001, formerly known as ISO/IEC 27001:2013, is the international standard for information security. It equips organisations in any industry with the framework to establish and maintain an information security management system (ISMS).

An ISMS is a framework of policies and procedures to mitigate the impact of a security breach and is the result of implementing the ISO 27001 standard.

Having an ISO 27001-compliant ISMS in place allows you to efficiently and cost-effectively monitor the security, quality and availability of all organisational data. It also instils confidence in your customers, investors and other interested parties that you’re following international best practices when it comes to information security.

The ISO 27001 certification is a certification you receive for complying with the ISO 27001 standard. Once you have your ISMS in place, an external accredited certification body needs to carry out the audit and will also issue a certificate if you pass.

The ISO 27001:2022 standard is the latest version of ISO 27001, which is the international standard for information security management systems you need to comply with in order to get certified.

The ISO 27001 certification offers organisations several benefits, including:

• Building trust with stakeholders:
  having an ISO 27001 certificate shows your commitment to information security and highlights the credibility of your business to your partners. This can give you an edge over the competition and improve your brand reputation.
• Help with legal compliance:
  ISO 27001 certification can help you meet your business, legal, economic and regulatory obligations. By identifying your statutory and regulatory requirements, you can reduce the chances of costly breaches and, by extension, expensive legal action and fines.
• Secure personal data and intellectual property:
  the ISO 27001 certification process gives you an unbiased assessment of your information security approach. It also helps you keep track of your intellectual property and sources of information while creating evidence of implementation.
• Avoid costly data breaches:
  a data breach is expensive. In 2022, the average cost of a data breach was calculated to be about £3.65 million (IBA Security, 2022). The ISO 27001 cert will protect your information based on established procedures and processes.

Identify gaps and kickoff ISO 27001 implementation

Begin by familiarising yourself with the ISO 27001 framework. Conduct a gap analysis to identify areas where improvements are needed to meet the requirements. Work with our certified information security experts to build a customised ISO 27001 implementation plan. This plan also defines the scope of your Information Security Management System (ISMS).

Build your ISMS

ISMS is a comprehensive set of policies, processes, procedures, and controls designed to improve your organisation's information security practices.

Identify and mitigate risks

Information security risks stem from various organisational sources, including people, infrastructure, physical security, and third-party relationships. So, you start with brainstorming hypothetical scenarios to identify the various information security risks your organisation is exposed to. Assess their impact from a financial, reputational, legal, and operational point of view. Afterwards, you can implement technical or procedural measures to mitigate and manage the identified risks.

Protect information assets

Identify and document all information assets in your organisation like hardware, data, and personnel. Categorise them based on criticality and value to determine appropriate security controls. Define ownership and assign responsibilities for asset management and protection.

Pass your ISO 27001 audit 

In the external audit, an accredited auditor assesses all aspects of your organisation’s ISMS to verify compliance with the ISO 27001 standard. DataGuard experts help you conduct a thorough internal audit, maximising your chances of external audit success.

The real journey begins: Maintaining your ISMS

Evolving security threats and changes to the organisational infrastructure constantly create new risks. To ensure continued compliance with the ISO 27001 standard, you need to regularly review and update your ISMS. This includes risk assessments, internal audits, and employee training.

To stay certified, your organisation must pass annual surveillance audits and a re-audit every 3 years. Continually improve your ISMS as your business grows and matures. Show your commitment to information security with ISO 27001 certification and win more deals.

It depends. ISO 27001 certification can cost as little as £10,000 and as much as £48,000. The total cost of becoming ISO 27001 certified is determined by a number of factors, including risk, the amount of risk your organisation is willing to tolerate, the size of your organisation and the certifying authority you choose.

After an in-depth discussion with our in-house industry experts, get a quote today to understand what solution works best for your organisation. We’ll provide you with one to suit your certification needs.

DataGuard saves up to 100 internal hours for your ISO 27001 certification. We also reduce up to 75% of the work it takes to get certified.

On average, 6–12 months. If you work with us, you can get certified in as little as 3 months. The certification timelines change depending on the size and complexity of your business.

Apart from the fact that keeping your company's policies and procedures up-to-date just makes sense — you’ll have to undergo an audit every three years to keep your ISO27001 certificate. DataGuard will help you stay compliant every step of the way, so you won’t have a ton of work to worry about every three years.

ISO 27001 is about information security management, while GDPR focuses on data privacy and protection for EU citizens' personal data.

An information security management system (ISMS) is a framework of policies and procedures to reduce the impact of a security breach. It’s also the baseline and result of implementing the ISO 27001 standard.

An incident response plan is a predefined set of procedures designed to effectively respond to and manage security incidents or breaches within an organisation. With ISO 27001, you'll need to create one, and we'll give you everything you need to get that done in no time.

There are two main types of ISO 27001 audits; internal and external. The internal audit is there for your compliance purposes, but also to get ready for an external audit and ensure you pass on the very first try. A third-party (certification body (CB)) with competent auditing resources will need to perform your external audit. We’ll give you all the checklists, docs, platforms, and expertise you need to perform internal and external audits efficiently.

At DataGuard, we offer everything you need to be compliant. We connect privacy, information security and compliance together through a blend of technology, expertise, and integrated tools.

Designed by our compliance experts, our holistic and scalable solution is built for everyone. No matter your industry, business size, or level of knowledge, we’ll help you reduce your risks by protecting your company’s most valuable information.

Our in-house experts will give your team proactive business advice, not legal jargon meaning that compliance and security work in harmony with your business plans and growth goals.