Whether your business is a one-man-band working on a contract or an established multinational, clients and stakeholders want to see you have ISO 27001 certification. This will demonstrate that their information is in good hands and that you follow best practices.
Hiring an ISO 27001 consultant to streamline the certification process is an attractive option.
Help With Defining ISMS
A well-defined scope is essential for the successful implementation of an ISMS. It prevents you from doing work that isn’t needed, and saves your clients and stakeholders money by eliminating redundant efforts.
When scoping your ISMS, you should include all processes, systems, data and physical locations that are critical to your business operations. This will ensure that the policies and controls you implement are effective in protecting these vital activities.
Regulatory Requirements
Getting ready for an ISO 27001 audit can be a big hassle and requires many internal resources. A consultant can help with this by assessing the company’s existing security systems and documenting them in accordance with compliance requirements.
A consultant will also conduct a risk assessment and identify any gaps that need to be addressed. This will involve identifying, quantifying and prioritizing the information risks of various assets and then documenting an appropriate risk treatment plan.
Defining Risks
The most obvious thing that an ISO 27001 consultant can help with is identifying and assessing the risks that your business faces. This involves compiling a list of assets (including things like electronic files, hardware and intellectual property) and who owns each one. Then you need to evaluate each asset against the threat levels set out in the standard, and determine which ones are acceptable and which aren’t.
Once you have a list of all the risks, your ISO 27001 consultant can help you design a risk treatment plan and write a Statement of Applicability (SOA) that outlines how you will comply with Annex A of the standard. They can also support you throughout the entire ISO 27001 certification process, from gap analyses and audits to ongoing management system and control audits.
Defining The Controls
They can also help you to implement the control, which are required to demonstrate compliance with the ISO 27001 standard. This is important as it will allow you to show your customers and clients that you take data protection seriously and are a secure company that they can do business with.
Ultimately, an ISO 27001 consultant can make the entire process of achieving certification as simple and efficient as possible. By providing you with the support and expertise that you need to design and build and implement a functional ISMS.