An ISO 27001 consultant assists companies in creating an effective information security management system that meets compliance standards. They can also assist companies preparing for certification by creating the Statement of Applicability (SOA).
Provides gap analyses and risk analyses to evaluate current information security practices against industry standards, perform internal audits, and provides documentation support services.
They’ll help you get started
ISO 27001 is an information security management system (ISMS) standard used by businesses of all sizes to design and implement an ISMS. Businesses of all sizes should familiarise themselves with this standard and adhere to its guidelines when establishing an ISMS. Consulting can assist in this endeavour, thus decreasing data breach risks and making your bid more competitive for contracts that mandate compliance with this standard.
An ISO 27001 consultant can perform in-depth assessments to assess whether an organisation’s ISMS meets all the standards, auditing existing documents and systems to identify any areas for correction in order to be fully compliant. From there, they can develop documents and processes that address these weaknesses while meeting all standard requirements.
Your service provider can also assist with the internal auditing and monitoring required for an effective ISMS, including creating an internal audit programme and training employees on conducting internal audits themselves. Furthermore, they can assist in creating policies designed to protect a company’s sensitive data.
Implementing ISO 27001 presents one of the greatest challenges, in that creating an effective security posture without jeopardising other aspects of company operations can be difficult. A good consultant can assist a business in creating an ISMS and complying with standards more smoothly.
Finally, they offer training to new hires to inform them of how best to adhere to a company’s security policy and comply with it. This can be particularly beneficial in cases where new employees struggle to accept and adhere to company security practices.
Hiring an ISO 27001 consultant can be costly; smaller businesses seeking ISO certification may have difficulty affording this service. However, there are software tools such as Sprinto that provide all of the benefits associated with consultants for much less money, such as creating and monitoring an ISMS prior to certification.
They’ll help you create security policies
Your company must adhere to ISO 27001 in order to achieve compliance, which requires having an Information Security Management System (ISMS). An ISO 27001 consultant will assist in designing and creating all the components of an ISMS that is certified, making sure that policies and procedures align with both security requirements and organisational goals.
Your consultant can also assist with creating and implementing security policies to safeguard against cyber attacks and data breaches, from employee responsibilities to business continuity plans. They’ll even help devise a risk treatment plan in case any gaps are discovered during the risk evaluation process.
Consultants familiar with your organisation will be able to develop security policies tailored specifically for you that meet compliance standards. In addition, they’ll assist in creating procedures to implement security policies so everyone is on the same page about how best to tackle cybersecurity matters.
When it comes to policy creation, the last thing you want is for policies to become rote without truly comprehending their content. An ISO 27001 consultant can take a look at your existing security policies and help refine them for your company.
Your provider can also assist in developing and implementing processes to protect the cloud environment of your company. As more of its processes move into the cloud, it’s vitally important that these systems are safe from external threats; their IT department should help set up tools to scan these environments regularly for malware or other forms of risk.
Your ISO 27001 consultant will then help you form an ISMS team. This involves selecting individuals to manage its implementation; typically, this would include IT staff as well as employees from various departments like HR. All stakeholders must be included so that everyone understands security.
They’ll help you monitor cloud environments.
Utilising an ISO 27001 consultancy provides your business with access to experts who can assist with creating an information systems security management system and creating security policies that comply with this standard. In addition, consultants from this field can monitor cloud environments for compliance with both this and any other relevant standards (including those from third-party cloud service providers).
ISO 27001 offers more than just cloud monitoring; it also outlines processes that enable you to respond to and manage security incidents quickly and effectively. Incident management procedures may include identification (via alarms, for instance), containment, investigation, eradication, and recovery. An ISO 27001 consultant can help create and implement an incident response plan with all these processes so you can react promptly in case any security events arise.
Working with an ISO 27001 consultant offers several advantages. An impartial assessment can give your organisation an objective evaluation of its security posture, which helps identify errors you might otherwise miss when viewing systems from within your own environment. Working day after day on something can lead to overlooking potential security gaps that need addressing.
If you are seeking ISO 27001 certification, consulting can also provide invaluable help with fulfilling compliance requirements established by other laws, such as Sarbanes-Oxley or NIST. They may even assist with preparations to get FedRAMP approval so that cloud services provided by government agencies can be utilised more easily.
Once compliant with ISO 2701, monitoring information security controls is critical. If you need help getting started, why not sign up for a free trial of Conformio? Conformio provides an ISO 27001 compliance software solution designed to assist organisations in creating an ISMS and auditing your organisation against Annex A’s 93 controls.
Quality ISO 27001 solutions not only help monitor cloud environments but can also increase productivity by automating many of the tasks involved with ISMS management. Secureframe’s ISO 27001 compliance platform lets you keep tabs on your ISMS and its components while also performing audits and producing reports automatically, making compliance management far simpler!
They’ll help you perform vendor risk assessments.
As part of your ISO 27001 certification process, your consultant can assist in identifying any third parties that could threaten the information security of your organization. This typically happens during initial selection but can also occur at various points throughout your relationship—for instance, before providing access to business-critical systems and data or discovering they do not meet compliance standards. These assessments can help prevent costly problems down the line while showing you have conducted due diligence in advance.
To conduct an effective risk evaluation, you’ll require as much information on the vendor as possible, from financial statements and regulatory filings (e.g., 10Qs and 10Ks) to references. When reviewing location and reputational aspects, be mindful of any conflicts or unrest occurring near their operation that might disrupt it and consequently yours. It is also a good idea to examine any media coverage of them—have they ever been involved in major breaches or scandals that could impact your company?
An ISO 27001 consultant can also help your organisation craft security policies as required by the standard, including defining ISMS scope, creating procedures, assessing risks, documenting them, and performing audits. Experienced consultants will know how to draft policies that fit within organisational culture while satisfying auditors.
An ISO 27001 consultant can also help you develop processes to monitor your cloud environment, which is an essential step that may prove challenging without help from an expert. Once they know your specific needs and preferences, consultants are best equipped to select and utilise tools designed specifically to detect breaches and other critical issues in cloud environments.
Implementing ISO 27001 can be a lengthy and challenging process, but with help from an experienced consultant, it can become much faster and less costly. Make sure you consider any fees associated with consulting for ISO 27001 as well as ongoing costs related to maintaining your ISMS post-certification.
