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To safeguard your company’s data against hackers, scammers, and other web criminals, you need an effective system. And one of the most foolproof ways is achieving ISO/IEC 27001 certification.
Completing the ISO/ECI 27001 certification process increases your protection against data breaches and increases customer trust—two invaluable benefits. Here’s everything you need to know about this certification and how to prepare.
What Is an ISO/IEC 27001 Certification?
The ISO/IEC 27001 standards were jointly published by the International Organization of Standardization (ISO), a group formed by experts across nations to create standards across industries, and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), a group that creates standards for electrotechnology, specifically. The ISO/IEC 27001 was released in 2022, with one amendment in 2024 to address climate action notes.
ISO/IEC 27001 is occasionally referred to as ISO 27001, but the official title contains the name of both organizations: IOS/IEC 27001:2022 “Information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection — Information security management systems — Requirements.”
These standards focus on cybersecurity, helping organizations determine whether they have an effective information security management system (ISMS). An ISMS should create, execute, and uphold security standards and protect sensitive data.
ISO/IEC 27001 certification isn’t legally required. But the standards are considered best practices, so if you choose to implement ISO/IEC recommendations, getting certified proves your commitment to keeping information secure. You just have to go through a third-party audit proving your compliance.
The Importance of ISO/IEC 27001 Certification
Data theft and cyberattacks concern every organization, especially when we rely so heavily on technology. Poor security can lead to stolen data, broken trust, and—in severe cases—lengthy and expensive legal action.
Although the information technology (IT) industry has the most ISO/IEC 27001-certified companies, businesses across any industry or economic sector benefit from implementing these practices.
Other benefits of completing the ISO/IEC 27001 certification process include:
- Increased security
- Reduced vulnerability to cyberattacks or hackers
- Compliance with regulatory guidelines
- A boost in customer trust
- Better data management across organizations
- The ability to work with customers or clients that were previously unwilling to collaborate due to security concerns
- Cost savings, thanks to increased efficiency and security monitoring
Steps to Achieve ISO/IEC 27001 Certification
Meeting the ISO/IEC 27001 certification requirements calls for significant preparation, which can be broken down into six steps.
Before implementing changes, complete a risk assessment that outlines a security roadmap and threats to the project’s completion. From there, implement controls, create documentation to share with the auditor, and monitor your ISMS until it’s time for your audit.
Once your organization meets compliance ISO/IEC 27001, keep these steps handy. Continuous improvement helps your organization uphold security best practices.
1. Create a Plan and a Team
The success of the ISO/IEC 27001 certification process hinges on your project plan. Without a well-defined roadmap, your team may hit snags later, so take the time to create a clear and robust plan.
First, appoint a project manager on your team. This person oversees the certification process while acting as the point person for stakeholders, like compliance officers or department heads. Any questions regarding the certification plan can go to the project manager.
2. Choose a Scope for Your ISMS
Identify what information your company needs to secure and how you currently protect it. Do you only need to protect employee data? Are you hoping to safeguard all company details? Is there one particular department that needs stronger security?
While assessing what you need to protect, track how your company records and stores assets. Make sure everything has a best practice, like changing computer passwords weekly, that teams know to follow.
3. Complete a Risk Assessment and Roadmap
Achieving ISO/IEC 27001 compliance requires you to complete a risk assessment, detailing what risks your organization faces and what methods are in place to protect it. Rank these threats in order of priority, likelihood, and impact.
Then, complete a security roadmap that shares proposed fixes to any identified threats—also known as a risk treatment plan. You’ll return to this document as you work to improve security posture.
4. Develop Controls and Train Teams
Design and execute controls that mitigate the risks you identified above. Certification requires documentation of existing security controls and any changes, so make sure you record any and all updates. It’s also a good idea to complete internal audits for maximum visibility and improvement.
Training team members on security best practices is another way to improve your defense against cyberattacks, so include a training plan on your roadmap. Human error—like overlooked weaknesses and phishing attacks—can be the difference between an effective plan and one that fails.
5. Prepare Documentation for Audit
The certification audit has two stages. The first focuses on your ISMS documentation, and the second on your processes and security controls. We’ll dive deeper into these steps later.
Give your external auditor the documentation that proves you meet the ISO/IEC 27001 requirements. Purchase the ISO/IEC 27001 handbook to find the exact documents you need. If everything’s there, the auditor will complete a thorough assessment of your organization’s ISMS.
Documentation should be well-organized and comprehensive, sharing your business’s policies, controls, and processes as they relate to the ISMS. Make every related policy and assessment accessible to the auditor to avoid roadblocks.
6. Track and Resolve Issues
If your auditor identifies any nonconformities, take the time to resolve them. Make sure every team follows the processes you outlined and approved before reaching out for another audit. When you’re as thorough as possible, you save both your team and the auditor time.
Once your organization is up to standard and receives certification, implement continuous monitoring and improvement to remain compliant.
How To Obtain ISO/IEC 2701 Certification: Inside the Audit
The two-step audit determines how well your business implements its ISMS, mitigates the associated risks, and adheres to the ISO’s security best practices and controls.
Here’s what to expect at each stage:
Stage 1
Think of Stage 1 as the foundation of your audit. It’s all about providing the right documentation for the auditor.
These documents should prove that your business effectively manages information security risks. They may include a Statement of Applicability, a Risk Treatment Plan, and a Risk Assessment Report. The auditor uses these to evaluate your ISMS practices and project scope.
Stage 2
The bulk of the audit occurs during Stage 2. Now, the auditor reviews your practices to make sure what happens internally matches what’s in your documentation—and that those activities align with ISO/IEC 27001 standards. To achieve this, your auditor uses tools like observation, interviews, and record-checking.
At this point, the auditor decides if there are any nonconformities that disqualify you from certification. If your organization is in good shape, you earn an ISO/IEC 27001 certification that’s valid for three years.
If your business didn’t succeed, the auditor supplies a deadline by which you must rectify the problem—typically 90 days. To be successful, your resolution efforts need to get to the source of the issues. When you’re ready, let your auditor know and provide documentation of your changes.
If you don’t successfully resolve the issues, the auditor may deem the fix insufficient and withhold certification, requiring you to go through the process again.
Post-Audit
Your work isn’t done just because of the audit. The post-audit stage centers around maintaining a secure ISMS, even after certification.
To achieve this, the certification body uses brief surveillance audits, which occur annually. After three years, you can decide if you want to recertify the business. While you have to complete the original ISO/IEC 27001 certification process again, it will likely take less time and energy since you already have the documentation.
ISO/IEC 27001 Certification Cost
Certification costs vary vastly due to several factors, including:
- ISMS complexity
- Business size
- The certifying organization you select
- The external auditor you work with
- The cost of the ISO/IEC 27001 standards and guides
- The cost of conducting an internal audit
- Gap analyses and penetration testing
- Employee training costs (if you hire a consultant)
- New security tools (if you need to implement more)
The more complex your ISMS and the larger your organization, the higher the price tag. Typically, the cost will fall somewhere between $6,000 and $40,000, with the audit itself costing around $15,000.
The best way to pinpoint ISO/IEC 27001 certification cost is to receive quotes from several certification bodies. Then, you can decide which is within budget. But if you’re looking to lower the bill, here are some strategies:
- Complete a readiness assessment before pursuing certification to diagnose and fix any problems before the third-party audit.
- Leverage tools that streamline security processes and create reports to simplify the ISMS process.
- Get quotes from different certification bodies to avoid paying for a more expensive option.
- Implement security tools that protect your data from the beginning.
- Diagnose issues internally ahead of the (expensive) third-party audit.
Achieve ISO/IEC 27001 Certification With Legit Security
ISO/IEC 27001 tells customers and potential partners alike that your organization takes ISMS security seriously. By following the outlined steps for compliance, your team is well-prepared to get a favorable audit—and build robust security practices along the way.
Make the process easier with Legit Security by your side. Legit expedites reporting and attestation with prebuilt control mapping to ISO/IEC 27001.
Book a demo today to learn more about how Legit Security can improve your security practices and chances of certification.