ISO 27001’s Importance and Benefits
What is ISO 27001?
ISO / IEC 27001:2013 is an internationally recognised standard with the overarching goal of aiding organisations of all sizes implement an Information Security Management System (ISMS) and protecting the three basic aspects of information; confidentiality, integrity, and availability, often referred to as the CIA Triad.
Improving Your Security Stance & Benefits
Gaining ISO / IEC 27001:2013 certification doesn’t just vastly improve your organisation’s information security stance, but it also has other less obvious benefits associated. The first being that once implemented, organisations often see lower yearly costs in relation to cyber security than before certification. By implementing technical measures alongside staff training and response documentation, cyber security threats can be spotted and dealt with accordingly, often before they become an incident or escalate further. This potentially saves money in ICO fines, ransom demands, and the many hours of labour that can go into post incident investigations.
Alongside protecting your organisation’s information and saving money, ISO 27001 can be a great way of demonstrating to both new and existing clients that your organisation takes the protection of their information seriously. With the increasing amount of breaches and cyber-attacks being reported by mainstream media, many organisations not only want themselves to become more secure but their suppliers as well. They’re aware that supply chain attacks can have serious consequences as shown last year with the SolarWinds attack. Organisations are much more likely to switch to suppliers who can demonstrate that they take information security seriously. With ISO 27001 also being recognised internationally, your organisation could widen its scope when looking for new clients.
Complying With Legal Requirements
Whilst highlighting your organisation’s stance on information security, ISO 27001 aids organisations of all kind in complying to many regional, national, and international legal requirements. By implementing the Information Security Management System and the associated policies and procedures, employees throughout your organisation would be provided the materials to be able to follow all information security rules and requirements.
Educating Your Workforce
Finally, part of ISO 27001 requires educating your organisation’s employees in basic cyber security skills in accordance with the policies and procedures produced as part of your new ISMS. Through analysing data collected through a recent survey conducted by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), it can be said that human error was a “major contributing factor” to 90% of all cyber breaches within the UK in 2019. Many other cyber security certifications do not include staff training into their schemes, highlighting how efficient and effective ISO 27001 is at combatting all forms of cyber based threats.
Want to start your organisation’s journey to becoming ISO 27001 certified? Contact Bruce & Butler today for more information.
Luke Green
Cyber Security Advisor
