You simply can’t be too careful when it comes to information security.

Protecting personal records and commercially sensitive information is critical. Standard BS EN ISO/IEC 27001 Information security management system (ISMS) helps you implement a robust approach to managing information security (infosec) and building resilience.

It provides an excellent framework that helps organizations from every sector manage and protect their information assets so that they remain safe and secure. It helps you to continually review and refine the way you do this, not only for today but also for the future.

Achieving Organization Resilience with an Information Security Management System

So, why is BS EN ISO/IEC 27001 the Information Security Management System (ISMS), so relevant to organizations? 

It’s worth starting with the wider context of organizational resilience.

Organizational Resilience is the ability of an organization to anticipate, prepare for, respond, and adapt to incremental change or sudden disruptions, in order to survive and prosper.

In today’s modern business world, at the heart of that is going to be information and information systems.

To be able to deliver products and services to support employees and to ensure that their processes are available, organizations need to make sure that they’ve got the right information and systems available to the right people at the right time. It is more accurate, therefore, to think of an ISMS as a business enabler- not just an IT issue.

If businesses get this right, it’s going to help their organizations to not just survive but prosper in the long term.

Managing Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability of Information

Since the advent of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), BSI has seen quite a sharp rise in the number of organizations that are adapting to the BS EN ISO/IEC 27001.

Over the last three or four years, we’ve seen between 20-30% year-on-year growth on organizations implementing the standard. This rise in demand is unlikely to be a coincidence in the advent of GDPR.

However, BS EN ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t excuse you from GDPR, or even a defence against it. What it does do is provide a robust ISMS framework so you can put appropriate controls in place to help mitigate the risk of a data breach.

GDPR has highlighted the importance of protecting your data and imposed huge fines when this isn’t followed correctly. Prior to GDPR, the UK Data Protection Act allowed for maximum fines of up to £500,000, with GDPR it’s €20m or up to 4% of the global annual turnover of the organization.

Large fines have been imposed; we’ve seen internationally recognized brands receive notice of intent fines reaching £100 million and above, with actual fines of nearly £20 million.

This reinforces the importance for organizations to ensure that people are trained, knowledgeable, and understand the implications of not following the information security processes and policies that can be put into place.

To learn more about standards and how they support EU GDPR, click here.

What are the Benefits of BS EN ISO/IEC 27001?

BS EN ISO/IEC 27001 standard will benefit anyone planning to build, operate, audit, or certify an ISMS system. It will also be useful to anyone with an interest in integrated management systems, or a general interest in assessing information security measures.

This standard reflects current best practices for information security management.

• It provides specific recommendations to help you establish an ISMS, monitor its performance, and implement improvements when necessary.

• It also enables external assessment and certification of an organization’s information security.

This standard is not unnecessarily prescriptive, allowing great flexibility in how requirements are satisfied and giving organizations the freedom to implement requirements in a manner best suited to them.

For it to be effective, BS EN ISO/IEC 27001 needs to be driven by senior leadership. That commitment needs to be demonstrated. They must provide direction and guidance. It is crucial to understand how information security and information security management is going to support that strategic direction for the organization.

ISMS and BS EN ISO/IEC 27001 is not an off-the-shelf solution. It is about demonstrating that what you’ve got is what we need and that it is operating and working effectively for you in your organization.

Everything at the heart of what this standard does goes back to the information security triad: Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability of information.

Want to have access to all your information management standards in one place? A BSI Knowledge subscription gives you instant access to the resources you need to improve your information management system. The flexibility and visibility it provides of the best practices guidance enable you and your team to get the most from standards - from cybersecurity to digital trust. Build your own custom collection of standards, or opt for access to our GBM24 Information Technology - Software & Networking module and keep up-to-date with any relevant changes to your cybersecurity strategy. Request to learn more.

Ensure your organization is meeting regulations and protecting its information by adopting standard BS EN ISO/IEC 27001 today.