The ISO 27001 is the global benchmark that serves as a guarantee to clients that the service provider has adopted standards of excellence in handling confidential information. The certification covers the company’s Information Security Management System (ISMS) and includes the establishment, implementation, audit, and maintenance of your ISMS.
One of the misconceptions of the ISO 27001 certification is that it only covers the IT-related companies. However, those in the healthcare industries and pharmaceutical industries, and even government agencies, will benefit from adopting the sets of guidelines incorporated in the certification.
Are Companies Legally Obligated to Implement the Standards?
Companies and organizations are not required by law to adopt the ISO 27001. While taking standards is the goal, not all of the controls outlined in the certification may be applicable to all businesses.
The certification has two main principles:
- Identifying the information and the accompanying risks
- Conducting a risk assessment to minimize threats
In relation to those principles, you need to:
- Come up with your ISMS security policies and objectives
- Draft the process of risk management
- Create a risk treatment plan
- Regular auditing and reporting of the risk treatment plan
- Come up with corrective actions
As you may expect, the documentation process can be exhaustive. It is also intimidating for a small organization with a thin staff. Fortunately, there are service providers who can help them comply with the ISO 27001 certification standards.
With that said, you may miss out on opportunities, particularly on B2B transactions or M&As, since some companies will only work with ISO-certified organizations.
How Much Does it Cost to Get Your Company Certified?
One of the reasons why organizations hesitate to adopt ISO standards is the cost. To be sure, the expenses can be substantial.
Several factors may affect the overall cost:
- The size of your organization
- The number of controls that are applicable to your company
- The scope and level of adaptability of your ISMS
- The existing status of your ISMS status vs. your goals
- The capability of your personnel to meet the criteria
Implementing ISO 27001 is done in phases, and each stage entails cost.
- Pre-certification stage I — It includes the scope, risk assessment, security compliance, your risk management plan, gap analysis, etc.
- Pre-certification stage II — It includes closing the gaps, risk treatment committee, auditing of ISMS, audit certification support, etc.
- Certification audit — The cost is fixed, depending on the scope of work and size of the organization.
Figure a minimum of about AUD$6,000 to a high of $10,000 for an organization with 1-45 workers. The total audit will take about three to five days. For companies with more than 100 but less than 500 employees, you may spend about AUD$20,000.
Once you are already ISO 27001 certified, you will also allocate a budget for succeeding audits. You can hire third-party consultants to handle this task. While the certification is renewable after three years, failure to conduct an internal audit every year will result in losing your certification.
These values are estimates only. There are several other variables that go into the process that getting even a ballpark figure can be a challenge. But at least you already have an idea.
Suggested:
- Do you want to be a security analyst? Click the link to know more about this cybersecurity skill.
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AUTHOR BIO
I’m James Parker. I lead the content marketing department at Globex Outreach. I love helping people build their online businesses through my content marketing strategies. The best thing about it – I get paid for it.