ISO 27001 is not something startups should be thinking about for many years. An email from a business customer solicits your ISO 27001 certification as part our security inspection of the vendor.
Suddenly, certification isn’t something to be considered next year. The company wants to finish the specific contract.
ISO 27001 can be a great starting point, especially for growing businesses. It’s an uphill task to decide what’s required without turning an easily managed project into a strict compliance program for enterprises.
Week One should be about Scope, not Shopping
Initial instincts might make you start looking at compliance consultants and platforms. It is best to establish the requirements that ISMS (Information Security Management System) should cover.
The project’s scope is essential to consider, since adding unnecessary procedures, processes, or locations to the documentation could lead to additional evidence and the need for documentation.
A small SaaS company, like could have a concentrated environment based around cloud infrastructure employees’ devices, customer data, and a couple of important vendors. Knowing the context will aid in determining what certification is needed.
Review the Security You Already Have
Companies researching ISO 27001 for startups sometimes assume they need to build an entirely new security operation.
It could be that it isn’t.
A modern-day startup may require multi-factor authentication, restrict employees’ rights, manage systems logs, maintain backups documents onboarding and offboarding, and utilize well-established cloud providers. It’s important to assess existing practices against ISO 27001, but if you start with the practices that work today, you can avoid unnecessary duplicate work.
The remaining tasks include establishing policies, performing a risk assessment, determining the appropriate Annex A controls, completing the Statement of Applicability and obtaining proof.
Know Which Invoice Pays for What?
When costs are not combined into a single number it becomes easier to understand the ISO 27001 cost.
Initial expenses for a small organization may total roughly $10,000 to $30,000 when the independent certification audit, compliance software, and staff time at the internal level are taken into consideration. A consulting fee can be included, but it isn’t a major expense.
The ISO 27001 Certification Cost charged by a certification organization that is accredited is essential to distinguish from the software fees. A compliance platform can assist with the task, but it’s not able to issue the certificate. The independent auditing process is the process that validates the certification.
Then Comes the Evidence
The mere fact of a policy that says access to employees will be revoked after the departure of an employee isn’t enough. Auditors will have to see evidence that the procedure is put in place.
The difference between proving and saying is the most important aspect of ISO 27001.
CertAssist is designed to organize this work without connecting directly to the live systems of a business. It presents all ISO 27001:2022 Annex A controls on one screen It also provides editable policy and evidence templates, supports the Statement of Applicability and permits auditing access only for read-only.
In a small group template, you will help you eliminate the inefficient documenting of each policy on the blank page.
Certification Day is Not the Day to Cross the Finish Line
A new company can spend anywhere from three to six months working towards certification dependent on its current security policies and the resources available. The certification body conducts its audits at Stage 1 and Stage 2.
The fact that these audits are passed isn’t a reason to forget about the ISMS. Following certification, controls and proof must be maintained. Audits for surveillance will follow.
This is an important aspect to take into consideration when making the program. It’s not enough for a small business to have an ISMS which it can afford. It must have an ISMS its staff will be able to use once the project is over.
It’s not often that the biggest organization has the top ISO 27001 program. The best ISO 27001 system is one that adheres to the standard, reflects actual security practices, and is able to stand up to scrutiny from an outsider and be manageable after everyone returns to work.