The ISO 27001:2017 standard, "Information Technology – Security Techniques – Information Security Management Systems – Requirements," is the leading international standard focused on information security. It is published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in collaboration with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
ISO 27001 is part of a series of standards developed to manage information security: the ISO/IEC 27000 series. Its purpose is to provide a framework to help organizations of any size or industry systematically and cost-effectively protect their information through the adoption of an Information Security Management System.
The standard also provides companies with the necessary know-how to safeguard their most valuable information. The fundamental goal of ISO 27001 is to protect three aspects of information:
- Confidentiality: ensuring that only authorized individuals have the right to access information.
- Integrity: ensuring that only authorized individuals can modify information.
- Availability: ensuring that information is accessible to authorized individuals whenever needed.
An Information Security Management System consists of a set of rules that a company must establish to:
- Identify stakeholders and their expectations regarding information security.
- Determine the risks associated with information security.
- Define controls and other mitigation methods to meet identified expectations and manage risks.
- Set clear objectives for achieving information security goals.
- Implement all controls and other risk treatment measures.
- Continuously measure whether the implemented controls function as expected.
- Continuously improve the system to enhance its effectiveness.
This set of rules can be documented in processes, policies, procedures, and other types of records. ISO 27001 only defines which documents are required—those that must exist as a minimum—but does not specify their format.
Furthermore, companies have complete flexibility in deciding which additional documents to formalize beyond those deemed essential and listed within the standard's requirements.
There are four key business benefits that an organization can achieve by implementing this information security standard:
- Ensuring compliance with legal requirements – there is an increasing number of laws, regulations, and contractual requirements related to information security, and the good news is that most of them can be addressed by implementing ISO 27001.
- Gaining a competitive advantage – if your company achieves certification while your competitors do not, you may have an edge in the eyes of customers who prioritize information protection.
- Reducing costs – the primary philosophy of ISO 27001 is to prevent security incidents. Every incident, whether big or small, incurs costs. By preventing them, your company can save significant amounts of money.
- Improving organizational efficiency – rapidly growing companies often lack the time to define their processes and procedures. As a result, employees may not know what needs to be done, when, or by whom.
Implementing ISO 27001 helps resolve these issues by encouraging companies to document their core processes (even those not related to security), thereby reducing wasted employee time.