It is always a milestone for an organization to achieve an ISO 27001 certification which is an indication that an organization has concern for protecting information. Nevertheless, one has to continue working to maintain such certification and make necessary changes.
Understanding ISO 27001 Certification
Generally, the ISO 27001 and ISO 27001:2013 certification is done for a period of three years but, it is not an activity done once. Thus, to maintain it one has to prove that he or she is always enhancing the knowledge and performing according to the standards set. These include internal audits conducted at regular basis and the external audit conducted at least once per year. Otherwise the organization certification will be jeopardized in case of negative remarks during any of these audits.
Key Strategies for Maintenance
- Training & Awareness: For training and awareness, it must be remembered that even though the implementation of Information Security Management System (ISMS) starts with top management but it is everyone concern. This is because some of the problems and gaps that the external auditors will pick when they come will be found through these audits.
- Continual Improvement: Maintaining Your Certification. The certification of the ISMS of your organization must be a continuous process in Australia. It is also critical to reveal that you are working on it and making progress, so audit results and actions to be taken should be considered on a regular basis.
- Employment Training: In regard to the realization of the ISMS rules, employees should be trained frequently to ensure that they do the right things. Training should also include new safety measures for example on how to address some threats if they arise.
- Documentation: It is wise that good records be kept for auditing to keep record of all processes done. This is because documenting how your organization meets these standards will be very useful during the assessments as stated by ISO 27001.
Preparing for the Future
As the update to the ISO/IEC 27001:2022 is on the horizon companies should heed a few particular actions:
- New Controls & Updated Areas: Get to know the new controls implemented in the updated version of the standard and the areas that have also been updated to reflect the existing threats in the current world.
- Risk Assessment: Being able to do an evaluation on risks aids in making updates on policies and controls.
- Increase awareness: Make people from different departments such as IT, HR, and operations aware of the ISO 27001 changes. This teamwork ensures that there is a culture of security established in the organization.
Sustaining the ISO 27001 certification Australia is not just a matter of compliance with the rules but embracing core values of customers and being capable to manage its security issues.