Category: ISO 27001

With a cyber attack happening every 39 seconds on average, information security is no longer an afterthought. It’s a necessity.

Consequently, information security standards and regulations, such as ISO 27001, have become the cornerstone of building a resilient and thriving information security management system. In fact, many companies these days demand their partners to provide an information security certification to protect their operations from cyber attacks.

That said, the ISO 27001 certification benefits go beyond healthy partnerships. It can help you protect the most critical assets of your organization and avoid legal issues related to cyber crimes.

However, obtaining the ISO 27001 certification is not a walk in the park. It’s a lengthy, detailed, and demanding process that requires continuous maintenance. As a result, mistakes happen. Moreover, if you don’t take appropriate action to address those blunders, you might lose the certification.

Through today’s blog, we are here to give you an advance alert so you don’t make the same errors as others when pursuing the ISO 27001 certification.

So, let’s get started!

Terrifying Mistakes That Can Prevent You From Enjoying The ISO 27001 Certification Benefits

1.Neglecting Top Management Involvement 

Top management has critical responsibilities in developing, implementing, analyzing, and maintaining ISO 27001 certification. Their commitment, support, and role in communicating the ISO 27001 certification benefits are critical for the organization-wide success of the system.

It’s nearly impossible to comply with the ISO 27001 requirements without dedication from top management. It can lead to poor resource management, direction, authority, and ineffective implementation.

2.Overcomplicated Policies

Another grave error organizations make when pursuing ISO 27001 certification is creating complex and convoluted policies. If your ISMS policies are not comprehensible to auditors or staff, you can’t expect them to follow the rules.

Overcomplicated policies also lead to confusion, misinterpretations, misdiagnosis of security issues, and, eventually, non-compliance.

Hence, keep your ISO 27001 policies straightforward, jargon-free, and accessible to relevant parties.

3.Failing To Align Business Objectives With ISO 27001 Policies

To truly enjoy the countless ISO 27001 certification benefits, you must align the organization’s overall objectives with the ISMS policies. Failing to establish this alignment will create a disconnection between your company’s aims and priorities.

Hence, when developing the ISO 27001 policies, involve key stakeholders and utilize the policies to address business risks, objectives, and compliance requirements.

4.Neglecting the Risk Assessment

The significance of risk assessments in ISO 27001 cannot be emphasized enough. It’s the best way for you to detect the risks threatening your ISMS and address them swiftly.

Yet, many organizations neglect their risk assessment performance, leading to overlooked threats, impacts, and inefficient controls.

If you don’t want to make the same error, regularly review and update your organization’s risk assessment process.

5.Not Reviewing The Policies

A prominent ISO 27001 certification benefit is that it mandates the periodic review of policies, procedures, and processes. It encourages organizations to keep their priorities in check and constantly make improvements to their system.

The routine reviews also aid with staying relevant and compliant with applicable regulations.

However, when you neglect to review and update the ISMS policies, it appears as a red flag to third-party auditors. It can lead to major non-conformations and even legal issues.

6.Inadequate Incident Response Planning

An adequate incident response plan is critical for minimizing the impact of potential security incidents and ensuring timely response.

Still, many organizations make the mistake of poorly developing their incident response plans.

As a result, they struggle to detect, respond to, and receive security issues. Instead of repeating the same mistake, ISO 27001 experts suggest periodically testing the incident plans and improving its effectiveness.

7.Failure To Monitor And Measure The ISMS Processes And Compliance

Monitoring and measuring is one of the most significant clauses you have to meet to enjoy the ISO 27001 certification benefits. ISO 27001 requires establishing a proper process for measuring and monitoring the ISMS policies and procedures.

Naturally, if you fail to satisfy this requirement, it will become a major nonconformity.

Also, you will miss out on the gaps and flaws of your system, leading to inaccurate outcomes.

8.Ignoring Third-Party Risks

Do you know 95% of data breaches are a result of human error? Many of these incidents are caused by third-party vendors or partners.

ISO 27001 requirements specifically ask organizations to carry out third-party risk management and conduct due diligence before establishing relationships.

Failing to comply will prevent you from obtaining the ISO 27001 certification.

9.Lack Of Continual Improvement Evidence

ISO standards encourage organizations to embrace a culture of continual improvement to stay compliant and relevant.

Unfortunately, organizations often see policy executions as a one-time job. They don’t put much effort into improving the policies and recording the improvement actions. To auditors, this appears as a sign of a lack of commitment.

Hence, if you want to obtain the ISO 27001 certification seamlessly, regularly review your policies, seek feedback, and identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.

10.Noncompliance With Legal And Regulatory Requirements

When you implement the requirements of ISO 27001, you not only commit to following its 10 clauses but all the legal and regulatory requirements that apply to your organization. It may include the data protection laws of your country and contractual obligations in your industry. Not complying with these laws can lead to major nonconformities.

Concluding Thoughts

Committing any of these mistakes can cost you the ISMS certification and prevent you from enjoying the ISO 27001 certification benefits. So, take notes and ensure to involve your top management in the process, create straightforward policies, and comply with each clause of the standard carefully.

Information is the most critical asset of any growing organization. Yet, most fail to protect it, leading to costly IT disasters.

According to reports, the average cost of data breaches was an astounding $4.45 million last year. If that’s not bad enough, reports also suggest that most organizations can’t even detect data breaches when it occurs. On average, organizations take around 207 days to identify a data violation.

These statistics clearly show the dire need for a robust information security management system. It is where ISO 27001 comes in. The ISMS standard has controls and procedures for every type of cybersecurity issue, from malware attacks to data theft. Plus, it’s applicable to all organizations and industries.

Considering the growing cyber security issues, today’s blog sheds light on some of the best perks of ISO 27001.

Even if the scary numbers haven’t convinced you to adopt an ISMS yet, these ISO 27001 certification benefits will.

So, continue reading!

What Is ISO 27001 Certification?

Before jumping into the benefits, let’s learn what ISO 27001 means.

ISO 27001 is a globally accepted information security management system standard. It helps organizations maintain the quality of their information security management by establishing controls and addressing operations, technologies, and people.

The standard provides organizations with a straightforward ISMS framework. It also enables them to demonstrate compliance with cyber security regulations and laws.

Furthermore, ISO 27001 requires organizations to follow its ten clauses and implement the applicable controls to obtain the ISO 27001 certification. As a part of this requirement, you will create policies, procedures, and processes and routinely assess your ISMS.

The proactive and risk-based approach of the standard will allow you to detect information security issues before they cause severe damage.

The Best ISO 27001 Certification Benefits For Your Company

The ISO 27001 certification benefits are countless. And the best part is that any company can enjoy them.

• Improved company credibility and cyber resilience:

When an organization earns the ISO 27001 certification, it shows its commitment and dedication toward information security. For consumers and other stakeholders, it’s a sign that their personal data is safe with the organization.

It can help boost stakeholders’ trust, retain consumers, and win business deals. The ISMS certification can be especially beneficial for companies expanding overseas due to its international recognition.

• Avoid extra costs associated with cybersecurity: 

Data breaches and cyber-attacks cost organizations millions of dollars every year. Unfortunately, with more access to IT, the frequency of cyber attacks is increasing. Around 236.1 million ransomware attacks occurred only in 2022.

One of the best ISO 27001 certification benefits is that its clauses help you build a robust ISMS to prevent these attacks, eliminating the extra costs. Also, following the standard can help you avoid regulatory fines.

• Improve structure and focus:

Many organizations start with a resolution to take sufficient steps toward information security management. However, as their resources and market expand, cyber security management often takes a setback.

You will never face this issue with ISO 27001. The standard requires organizations to continuously monitor, assess, and improve their ISMS. It will help you improve the overall structure of your information security management system.

• Reduce human errors:

According to reports, human errors cause around 74% of all cybersecurity breaches. One of the ISO 27001 certification benefits is that it encourages organizations to train their human resources and relevant stakeholders to avoid this issue. It also requires companies to implement specific controls to monitor and control information access.

• Tested processes:

Following the ISMS framework of ISO 27001 certification can simplify audits and reviews. You can use the standard clauses to develop a written process for internal audits. It will allow you to clearly outline the necessary protocols, procedures, and timelines for completing them, eliminating the guessing game.

Furthermore, the regular audit will help you detect processes that bring visible results and the ones that are unnecessary. It can lead to consistent and effective workflow and better output.

• Get independent opinions on your ISMS:

One of the ISO 27001 certification benefits that people often overlook is the unbiased opinions of external auditors. To obtain the ISO 27001 certification, your organization will have to go through third-party audits. These audits are excellent for finding out the flaws in information security management systems. It can also help you detect improvement opportunities in the system, preparing you for emergencies.

• Reduce security loopholes:

From risk management to gap analysis, ISO 27001 requires organizations to frequently test their ISMS for security flaws. When you incorporate the standard into your organization, you will adhere to the industry’s best practices and stay up to date with the latest data-safeguarding methods.

• Improved security awareness:

ISO 27001 certification suggests organizations establish, follow, monitor, and evaluate their security policies, improving security awareness. Also, it includes clauses for evaluating suppliers and partners for security measures.

Concluding Thoughts

The ISO 27001 certification benefits can help you establish a structured process to maintain your company’s ISMS. You will be able to protect the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of your stakeholders’ data, eliminate the risk of cyber security issues and associated costs, and comply with applicable regulations. Furthermore, since continual improvement is a critical clause of ISO 27001, your ISMS will never be overlooked ever again.

Logs act as digital diaries for effective information security. It allows organizations to follow meticulous recording steps and keep track of valuable interactions and events.

Additionally, logs are helpful when evaluating incidents. If anything goes wrong in your ISMS, you can use the recorded logs to find out precisely where things went wrong and who is responsible for it.

It is why ISO 27001 certification consultants, as well as the standard itself, encourage organizations to implement controls for effective logging.

In clause 8.15 of Annex A of ISO 27001, you will find the control requirement for producing, storing, protecting, and analyzing logs.

In today’s blog, we offer a breakdown of this requirement to help you comply with it.

So, if your company is pursuing the ISO 27001 certification, continue reading!

Logging Requirements In ISO 27001 Certification: Your ISO Audit Consultants

According to ISO 27001:2022, your ISMS logs should record activities, faults, exceptions, and other relevant events.

Overall, the control should focus on

•Recording events,

•Collecting evidence,

•Protecting information integrity,

•Securing log data against unauthorized access

•Identifying events and actions that can lead to data or security breaches,

•Acting as a tool in investigating internal and external matters.

What To Include In The Event Log?

ISO 27001 certification consultants explain that events are actions performed by a physical or logical presence on a computer system. For instance, it could be something like requesting data or deleting a file.

What you should include in the event log essentially depends on your operations. Yet, there are a few pointers that every event log should contain.

They are:

•User ID: Who or what account completed the event or performed the actions,

•System activity: What happened,

•Timestamps: Date and time of the actions or events,

•System and device identifiers and location: The system where the event occurred,

•Network address and protocols: IP information.

What Events Should You Record?

Logging every event may not be possible for your organization. In that case, ISO 27001 certification consultants and Control 8.15 highlight 10 critical events that you should definitely log in.

•System access attempts,

•Data or resource access attempts,

•System or OS configuration changes,

•Using elevated privileges,

•Using maintenance facilities or utility programs,

•File access, deletion, migration requests,

•Access control interruptions and alarms,

•Activation and deactivation of security systems,

•Identity administration work,

•Specific suspicious actions, such as data alterations,

How To Protect The Logs?

Logs play a vital role in establishing system and user behavior during investigation.

Therefore, it’s essential to protect their integrity and prevent users from deleting or modifying their own logs.

Reputed ISO 27001 certification consultants agree that each log should be complete, safeguarded, and accurate.

Experts recommend the following methods for protecting logs.

•Cryptographic hashing,

•Append-only recording,

•Read-only recording,

•Using public transparency files,

If your organization needs to send logs to suppliers to resolve incidents, you should de-identify the logs and mask the following information.

•Usernames,

•IP addresses,

•Hostnames.

Additionally, you shall take measures to secure personally identifiable information as per the organization’s data privacy protocols and applicable legislation.

What To Consider When Analyzing The Logs?

When you need to analyze the logs for identifying, resolving, and analyzing information security issues, you must consider the following factors.

•The competence of the person carrying out the analysis,

•The methods of analyzing the logs,

•The category, attributes, and type of each event that you need to analyze,

•Exceptions applied via network rules emerging from security platforms,

•The default network traffic flow compared to unexplainable patterns,

•Trends resulting from specialized data analysis,

•Threat intelligence.

What To Consider When Monitoring The Logs?

Along with log analyzing, ISO 27001 certification consultants recommend monitoring the logs to analyze key patterns and anomalous behavior.

For effective log monitoring, you should consider

•Reviewing attempts to access critical resources, such as web portals, file-sharing platforms, and domain servers,

•Scrutinize logs to keep an eye on outgoing traffic linked to dubious sources or dangerous server operations,

•Collect data usage reports to identify malicious activities,

•Collect logs from physical access points like fob logs, key cards, or room access information.

Additional Information

ISO 27001:2022 certification consultants recommend organizations consider utilizing specialized utility programs to search through vast amounts of information. It can help you save time and resources.

If your organization uses a cloud-based platform to carry out any operation related to logging, make log management a shared responsibility. Your organization, as well as the services provider, should take responsibility for the management system.

Furthermore, when implementing this control, you should check out the supporting controls of ISO 27001, including 5.34, 8.11, 8.17, and 8.18.

A lot of people ask how long they should retain the logs. Truthfully, ISO 27001 does not dictate a specific retention period. Therefore, it comes down to your needs. Your organization should specify the log retention period in its policy. If you are still confused, a good rule of thumb is to retain logs for at least three years.

Wrapping Up

So, are you ready to implement the log requirements of ISO 27001? Hopefully, this guide from ISO 27001 certification consultants has helped you understand the control. If you have any further queries, check out the Annex A control list of ISO 27001. Also, make sure you choose skilled and competent experts to oversee the controls and measure their effectiveness periodically.