If you are an organisation that plans to implement ISO 27001, it is crucial that you write a policy alongside it. The process of creating this policy is complex. You should consider the security risks that your organisation, and the people associated with it, face each day. 

This article will discuss ISO 27001 in its entirety covering what it is and some of the things you need to consider when creating your policy. 

What Is An ISO 27001 Policy?

Your IOS 27001 policy is the foundation of your information security management system. It will help you acquire your ISO 27001 certification. This certification is something that your clients may have asked you for in the past. Since 2010, UK firms have started to understand its importance. It shows your clients that you have identified the risk of data breaches and worked actively to put a security management system in place to protect sensitive information that your company holds. This helps your clients enlist their trust in your company to protect their data. 

An ISO 27001 policy is a set of rules that help you mitigate the risk of security threats. Your policy should outline what you plan to do to prevent threats from occurring. Your policy will be seen by clients, potential customers and your staff. It educates your team on what is expected of them while showing customers that you have a proactive approach to security management. You can learn more about what ISO 27001 is by conducting some in-depth online research. 

Things To Consider In Your Policy

Instead of creating multiple security management policies, you can create one document with multiple pages and different sections, making it easy to understand and manage. If you break it down into manageable chunks, you can share relevant parts of the policy with people who need to see it. Take a look at these templates from High Table to help you get started. Their ISO 27001 policy templates allow you to create your own documentation. Not only does this save you a lot of time, but it also saves you money as you can say goodbye to expensive consulting fees. It helps make ISO 27001 implementation clear, concise and a lot more manageable. 

Breaking your policy down into chunks means your customers don’t need to spend their time reading a section of the policy aimed at your team. Before you delve into writing your policy, there are three things that you need to consider: People, technology and processes. Let’s delve into more detail below. 

People

People can pose a considerable security threat to your organisation in many ways. Human error and malicious intentions are amongst the most common. Your policy should consider the security risks associated with the people who work for your company. Putting the wrong people in control of your system could result in a data breach and misuse of sensitive information. Your company needs to trust its employees to carry out their job professionally and safely; therefore, you should have strategies in place that ensure your team have the proper credentials to carry out their jobs. 

To mitigate risk, you should conduct employee screenings. It verifies your staff’s credentials, both new and those moving to a new role within the company. The screening is an in-depth background check that allows employers to access information about the candidate, such as if they have a criminal record. It gives your organisation confidence that you are hiring the right people for the job. You can learn more about what an employee screening entails through various online resources. 

Technology

Although technology has advanced over the years, many security threats still exist. Statistics show that in the past 12 months, 37% of UK companies have reported a data breach incident. Your policy should mitigate the risks associated with the technology you use to avoid falling into this statistic. One way that your organisation can achieve this is by focusing on coding and programming language. Your company should write guidelines for your developers to help them reduce the risks of an attack on the software used. 

Programming languages have an array of strengths and weaknesses. It is the weaknesses that your policy should consider. For example, some programming languages are not that secure. This is because they are open-source, meaning the source code becomes easily accessible. 

Software Development Environments

Your policy should consider separating the different software development environments within your organisation. This should be a standard procedure; however, it is one that companies often forget to prioritise. Isolating the different environments from one another reduces the risk of disruption and shows that they are distinct processes. This demonstrates that there are separate teams of people responsible for each operation. 

This is important for several reasons. For example, if you had a team of developers working alongside your testers, you run the risk of your testing process becoming flawed. This is because developers undergo tasks such as debugging and programming, which means frequent change is imminent. These frequent changes could affect the tools running in the testing environment. Isolating the two also helps mitigate the risk of bias by providing an opinion solely from someone using the tools in a live setting.