ISO 27001; Setting the standard for Information Security Management

All organisations should recognise how important  information management is, but for us at PeopleClear, it is a top priority. Working in both the finance and compliance space comes with responsibilities which we take very seriously. That’s why we have robust processes in place to manage our information and why we are proud to have renewed our ISO 27001 Information Security Management accreditation with the British Assessment Bureau via Citation Ltd.

What is the ISO 27001 Accreditation?

ISO 27001 is the information security management standard which sets out the requirements for businesses to manage their information assets and data securely and to a standard that is recognised internationally. The “assets” that this refers to could be customer and employee information, intellectual property, financial information, as well as third party data.

All organisations that collect and process data can seek out this accreditation. In order to receive it, you will need to demonstrate a very high standard of information security management across the whole organisation including risk assessment, clear and secure management processes and vigorous security controls.

Why get ISO 27001 accreditation?

ISO 27001 isn’t a legal requirement but as a recognised international standard it is often expected that organisations that hold or process customer data have this accreditation. Holding ISO 27001 accreditation demonstrates to customers that you value their data and that security is a top priority. For some customers it may be considered a requirement for working with you.

But it’s not just about winning business. It’s about running a business to best industry standards. ISO 27001 accreditation helps you to strengthen your data, assess and improve your processes, and demonstrates a commitment to data security to staff and customers.

How do you get accredited?

Working closely with the team at Citation Ltd, there is an initial assessment to identify any current gaps and highlight any steps that are needed to achieve accreditation. There will be time to make any necessary changes before the next assessment where the auditor will make an in-depth review. This review will be to verify that your organisation meets the standards required for information security.

After the assessment the auditor will make their recommendations which will need to be approved by their Compliance department. Providing the standard is met, certification will be issued shortly after and is then reviewed annually to ensure the standards continue to be met.

Why is it important?

By now we should recognise how important data security is for organisations, especially with the high risk of Cyber attacks. Loss of data through a security breach is time consuming and costly to resolve and the reputational damage can be hard for organisations to recover from.

Whilst your organisation may already hold high standards of security management without the accreditation, the ISO 27001 badge of approval on your website is a quick and surefire way to demonstrate this high standard to customers. It can give you the edge over competitors and can ensure that your organisation continues to review and adapt to the ever changing digital world.

Renewing our ISO 27001 is always a top priority for us to ensure that we can offer our clients the assurance that their data is in safe hands with us. We always use this as an opportunity to review our internal security management processes and update and adapt as necessary.

If you would like to read more about the importance of information security read our blog post Why Cyber Security is Important for SMCR. If you would like information and support to manage your SMCR compliance from an ISO 27001 accredited organisation, get in touch now.