Six Key Drivers for ISO 27001 Certification

April 3, 2023

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Data from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) shows that ISO 27001 certification is one of the most rapidly-growing standards, with nearly 59,000 valid certificates in place as of December 2022. As a compliance framework that is based upon the core cybersecurity principles of people, processes and technology, ISO 27001 compliance provides your organization with significant benefits. So, you need to take action now.

In this first blog of a two-part series, we outline six key drivers for ISO 27001 certification. Then in Part II, we will show you how you can use Egnyte to jump-start your own organization’s ISO 27001 compliance efforts.

#1: To Improve Cybersecurity Preparedness

Many small- to medium-sized businesses don’t realize the level of cybersecurity risk that they’re exposed to everyday. For example, a whopping 25,059 Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) were documented in the year of 2022 alone.

ISO 27001 certification enables you to:

Maximize cybersecurity protection across your organization.
Increase your infrastructure’s resilience to potential cyber-attacks.
Respond to evolving IT Security threats more effectively.

#2: To Protect Your Company’s Most Valuable Asset: Data

Similar to the growth of CVEs, the volume of data that companies manage continues to skyrocket. In fact, the volume of global data created, captured, copied, and consumed is anticipated to grow to 120 zettabytes by the end of this year from 97 zettabytes last year.

Adopting ISO 27001 standards helps you to protect company data by:

Encouraging your organization to (re)examine data recovery processes. For example, ISO 27001- Annex A.17 addresses business continuity management.
Helping you to restrict users’ access to sensitive information based on their “Business Need to Know.” For additional information, refer to ISO 27001- Annex A.9.2, which addresses user access management.
Facilitating adoption of an incident response plan, along with routine updates to it. For further details, check out ISO 27001- Annex A.16, which addresses incident management.

#3: To Centrally Manage Risk

One of the most important ISO 27001 compliance advantages is the ability to provide a centrally managed framework that enables you to secure all of your data in a consistent way. Comprehensive data protection further enables you to secure data in all forms, including in historical paper-based, cloud-based, and digital formats, which provides you with a better overall understanding of your attack surface.

#4: To Obtain Independently-Audited Confirmation That Your Data is Secure

When your ISO 27001 implementation process is complete, you contact the ISO 27001 certification body, which carries out the initial certification audit. Phase 1 of the audit process consists of a review of your organization’s documentation, and Phase 2 consists of a review of your processes.

When both of the audits are completed, the lead auditor of the certification body decides whether or not to recommend your certification. If your company receives a recommendation, then the certificate is valid for three years, accompanied by annual certification audits. If the auditor does not recommend your certification, your company will undergo a follow-up audit to show the corrective actions you have taken.

#5: To Demonstrate Your Company’s Commitment to a Secure Infrastructure

When your company obtains certification, you can proudly disclose certification seals on your company’s Web site, business cards, email signatures, and so forth. Promoting your certification demonstrates to potential customers and threat actors that you take cybersecurity seriously. It can also provide you with a bargaining chip when soliciting business against your non-certified competitors.

From a practical perspective, going through the ISO 27001 certification process can also help you to lower overall costs, by reducing your spending on inefficient cybersecurity processes.

#6: To Use as a Bridge to Future Compliance Standards

Once your company is ISO 27001 certified, the certification can provide an important bridge to other ISO technical standards that are currently available, such as ISO 27701 (Privacy Information Management), ISO 27017 (InfoSec Controls for Cloud Services), and ISO 27018 (Protection of Personally Identifiable Information in Public Clouds), among others.

In particular, compliance standard ISO 27701 is frequently commented on, since it was designed for full compliance with European GDPR, and Brazil’s General Personal Data Protection Law (LGPD). So, you need to take the first step to ISO 27001 and ISO 27002 compliance now.