A startup can go years without even thinking about ISO 27001. A few days later, an email is sent from an enterprise client who is promising: “Please provide your ISO 27001 certificate as a part of our vendor security audit.”
The issue of certification is no longer something that will be discussed next year. The company would like to close a particular contract.
ISO 27001 can be a great starting point, especially for companies that are growing. The challenge is figuring out what exactly needs to happen without turning a manageable security project into an enterprise-sized compliance plan.
Week One should be about Scope, Not Shopping
First instincts may make you start looking at the platforms and consultants for compliance. The better place to begin is to identify what the Information Security Management System, or ISMS must cover.
The scope of the project is crucial because adding inefficient systems, locations or processes to the documentation may cause additional evidence or documents requirements.
A small SaaS company may have an environment that is largely focused on cloud infrastructure including employee devices, customer data. It might be also dominated by a small number of major vendors. Understanding the specific environment could help you decide what the certification process should cover.
Take a look at the security you Already Possess
Many companies researching ISO 27001 to start ups believe they’ll need to create a brand new security company.
However, this may not be the case.
Modern startups may already have established cloud providers and need multi-factor authentication, restricted employee permissions as well as system logs to track documents for onboarding and offboarding. It’s important to assess existing practices against ISO 27001, but if you start with what is working now, it can save unnecessary duplication.
Writing policies, conducting a risk assessment, determining the relevant Annex A Controls, completing the Statement for Applicability and gathering evidence are all the remaining tasks.
Which invoice pays for what?
The ISO 27001 cost becomes much easier to understand when expenses aren’t lumped into a single number.
The initial costs for a small business may range from $10,000 to $30,000 based on the amount of time required by employees, using software to monitor compliance, and an independent certification audit. Consulting is a different expense however, it’s optional instead of an automatic requirement.
The ISO 27001 Certification Cost charged by a certification body accredited is particularly important to distinguish from software-related fees. The compliance platform functions as a tool which can manage work, but it is not able to issue the certification. Certification comes through the independent audit procedure.
Following the proof follows the accusations
A policy that says employees’ access to corporate resources is terminated upon their departure is not sufficient. Auditor needs proof that the process is actually operating.
ISO 27001 is based on the distinction between showing and saying.
CertAssist helps to manage this work without the need to connect directly to live systems. It offers all 93 ISO 27001 Annex A controls on one screen. It also includes customizable templates for policies and proof, as well as a Statement of Applicability.
Templates can be utilized by a small group to eliminate the tedious task of creating each policy from scratch.
Certification Day isn’t the Day to Cross the Finish Line
A company that is starting at the beginning may need to take between three and six months to get prepared to be certified. This is contingent upon their security policies and procedures, as well as available resources. The certification body then conducts the Stage 1 and Stage 2 audits.
After you have passed the audits, it isn’t enough to ignore your ISMS. Controls and evidence need to be maintained and surveillance audits are conducted after the certification.
It’s essential to take this into consideration while designing the program. A small business doesn’t only need an ISMS it can afford to create. It must have an ISMS its staff can use after the project is over.
It’s rare to find that the largest organization is the one with the best ISO 27001 program. It’s one that meets ISO 27001 standards, shows authentic security practices, passes independent inspection and is able to be maintained once everyone returns to normal work.