Information Security: ‘Zero Breaches’ through ISO 27001
Having survived the maelstrom of awareness training and activity leading up to the implementation of GDPR in May 2018, organisations holding data have had a lot on their plates in recent times.
As many organisations are starting to realise, the wider management of Information Security is not a quick fix but a cycle of continual development and testing. Thankfully, there’s an existing framework in ISO 27001:2013 on which to build. This is the management system that provides assurance to you and your clients that you are identifying vulnerabilities and controlling threats in a systematic way.
A component of your business may be that you regularly receive, control or capture personal records or other data for your own staff, clients or members of the public. Perhaps you develop software and systems or perhaps some of the updates from the ICO (Information Commissioners Office) have led to a focus on cyber security?
A fully implemented ISO 27001:2013 Information Security Management System provides your organisation with structure to manage the risks of handling your data and requires robust mechanisms to be in place to meet regulatory requirements. Having it independently certified provides further assurance to interested parties that the risk is being managed effectively. The outcome, if all is managed and implemented effectively, will contribute towards any ‘zero breaches’ objectives you have.
For those who are already registered to ISO 9001 you will find than ISO 27001 can be fully integrated within this management system. (Similarly, if you have ISO 27001 you can develop this to include ISO 9001 if you wish).
Achieving certification demonstrates commitment to keeping your clients’ data confidentially, together with complying with Data Protection Legislation of the UK and EU.
It’s all too easy to fall foul of UK and EU legislation and the fines and bad publicity as a result of a breach of security have very long reaching effects on your business – not just financial.
To find out more about preparing for ISO 27001 and to see what you can to develop a system to minimise the risks you face please go to Blog 2 in this series.