For the past 18 months, Personnel Checks have been working hard to refine the way we do things. All this has been contributing towards our final goal of ISO 27001:2013 certification.

We are proud to announce that last week we achieved exactly that!

ISO/IEC 27001:2013 is the ultimate best practice standard for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS).

In some industries, this standard is a mandatory part of legal or regulatory compliance. Many other businesses choose to adopt the standard so that they and their customers can be confident that their data is secure.

QEC, one of ISO’s UK certification bodies, defines ISO 27001 as:

“a framework for implementing an ISMS, safeguarding your information assets while making the process easier to manage, measure, and improve.

It helps you address the three dimensions of information security: Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability.

ISO 27001 also specify requirements for the implementation of security controls customised to the needs of individual organisations through establishing, implementing, operating, monitoring, reviewing, maintaining and improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS).”

But, definition aside, what are the tangible benefits of being certified to this standard?

What are the benefits of ISO 27001 Certification?

The key benefits of getting your organisation certified to the ISO 27001 standard are:

Improved data security

As more information is processed digitally, having safe and secure processes in place to manage this data is vital. Not only does it ensure your business can manage risk, but it also gives your customers confidence that you’re protecting their data.

ISO 27001 is designed to make the management of data as secure as possible. Meeting this standard means your business can be confident that whether its financial information, intellectual property or personal information, you're managing it in the most secure way possible.

Legal/ Regulatory Compliance

As we’ve mentioned, for some ISO 27001 is important simply because they have a legal or regulatory requirement to meet it. One of the key legal areas they help businesses with is data protection. ISO 27001 has a lot in common with the GDPR. This means adopting it can help prevent any costly penalties association with data breaches or non-compliance with data protection laws.

Clarifies internal processes

Part of the ISO 27001 certification process is formalising all the internal processes of your business. Clear processes are important for any business to avoid confusion, but are particularly important for organisations experiencing rapid growth. Having clear instructions for how to securely manage data means you can be confident that no matter how big your business grows, things are being done in a compliant manner.

Reduces Security Risks

Working with data in the most secure way possible means that the risk of data being lost, stolen or corrupted is minimalised. The processes a business defines as part of the ISO 27001 certification process also help identify when security risks might occur. This means your business can prevent them before they happen.

Gives your business a competitive edge

Many enterprise level businesses have ISO 27001 certification. This type of business are often far more interested in the data protection practices of the businesses in their supply chain.

Any business hoping to work with or supply to one of these organisations will struggle if they aren’t also certified to the same standard.

In the modern world, having a comprehensive ISMS is vital to ensure the long term success fo your business. Each year businesses are processing more and more data. Between 2010 and 2020, the amount of data being process increased by over 2000%. Businesses ultimately have a duty to safeguard this data and achieving ISO 270001 certification is one way to ensure you’re doing this properly.

What is ISO 27001:2013 and why is it important?