The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) sets standards for various industries. One of its globally recognized standards is ISO 27001, which provides guidelines for managing and protecting information in a company.
To prove compliance with ISO 27001 requirements, organizations must pass an ISO 27001 audit. The audit can be complicated. But knowing what it is, why it matters, and what to expect throughout the process helps you prepare.
What Is an ISO 27001 Audit?
An ISO 27001 audit is a review process that checks whether a company’s data security and management practices meet ISO 27001 requirements. The auditor confirms whether your information security management system (ISMS) — policies, tools, procedures, and controls — follow ISO’s best practices for protecting sensitive data from breaches, leaks, or accidental losses.
You must pass the audit to become an ISO 27001-certified organization. Otherwise, you can’t claim to comply with the international data security best practices.
Importance of ISO 27001 Audits
Here are the benefits of an ISO 27001 audit and certification:
- Beef up information security: Passing the ISO 27001 audit requires stepping up your data protection measures to meet strict requirements. This puts you in a stronger position to protect confidential data from hackers, insider threats, and other risks.
- Increase trust from customers and business partners: ISO 27001 certification is known and accepted globally. With it, you show customers and third parties you’re well-equipped to protect their sensitive data, which boosts your credibility.
- Sharpen your competitive advantage: Some business partners and B2B customers require compliance with ISO 27001 standards to enter or renew a contract. In such cases, passing ISO 27001 audits helps you attract and retain clients or corporate partners.
- Enhance regulatory compliance: Companies have to follow data security laws like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS to avoid costly penalties. Since ISO 27001 certification shows you protect sensitive information, it helps you stay on the right side of data security and privacy regulations. Passing ISO 27001 audits can also help with compliance for SaaS.
Learn more about the benefits of ISO 27001 certification.
Who Audits ISO 27001?
A certification body audits your company to confirm whether it meets ISO 27001 standards. Make sure the auditing firm is qualified to review ISO 27001 compliance and offer certification. To achieve that, choose an accredited ISO 27001 certification body in your country.
In addition to independent audits, organizations must also internally assess the effectiveness of their ISMS to comply with ISO 27001 requirements.
Types of ISO 27001 Audits
To obtain and maintain ISO 27001 certification, organizations conduct two types of audits: internal and external.
Internal Audit
Internal audits are handled by your in-house team that is trained in ISO 27001 standards, or by a third-party expert you bring in to work alongside them. The purpose of the audit is to provide details on whether your information security measures meet your own requirements and comply with ISO 27001.
To avoid any conflict of interest, internal auditors shouldn’t be the same people managing compliance or running your information security management system. This ensures members of your auditing team are objective and impartial.
If you don’t have a separate audit team, and creating one is too expensive or seems like too much effort, you can always hire an independent auditing firm to help with ISO 27001 internal audits.
ISO 27001 internal audits often involve the following:
- Assessing information security risks
- Checking whether a company has all the necessary controls to manage identified risks
- Reporting audit findings to the organization’s management and making improvement recommendations
Regular internal audits are necessary to maintain ISO 27001 certification.
External Audit
An external audit is conducted by an accredited certification body to check whether your business complies with ISO 27001 standards. Your organization must undergo the following four external audits (in this order) to obtain and retain ISO 27001 certification:
- ISMS design review: The auditor looks at how your policies, risk assessment procedures, and controls are set up on paper. Are they designed to meet the ISO 27001 standard? There’s no digging deep in this audit — it’s just making sure your information security blueprint meets ISO’s requirements.
- Certification audit: If your ISMS design is up to standard, the auditor moves on to the certification audit. The auditor checks if your ISMS design actually works in real life and whether it meets ISO 27001 requirements in practice. Activities during the process include reviewing documents, interviewing staff, and testing the effectiveness of information security measures. If your organization passes the audit, it earns an ISO 27001 certification.
- Surveillance audit: Once you get certified, your organization is audited at least once every year to ensure you comply with ISO 27001 throughout your certification period. Surveillance audits usually focus on specific areas of your ISMS, so they might not be as comprehensive as initial certification audits.
- Recertification audit: You must renew your ISO 27001 certification every three years. During the renewal, your organization goes through a full review again, just like during your first certification audit. Recertification audits ensure you continuously follow ISO 27001 standards and improve your measures as new data security risks emerge.
ISO 27001 Audit Stages
ISO 27001 audits have the following two main stages.
Stage 1: ISMS Design Review
Auditors from certification bodies check if you have the necessary information security documentation and whether it meets ISO 27001 requirements. Documents they often review in this stage include:
- ISMS scope: A clear statement describing the specific areas, processes, or assets covered by your information security management system
- Information security policies and objectives: Your data protection measures and goals
- Risk assessment and risk treatment process: How you identify, evaluate, and deal with information security risks
- Statement of applicability (SoA): A list of all ISO 27001 controls — explaining which ones you’ve adopted and justifying why you’ve ignored those that don’t apply to your business
- Security roles and responsibilities: Documentation of who is responsible for what in your ISMS
- Incident management procedure: The steps you’ll follow to respond to an information security incident
After reviewing your ISMS documentation, the auditor writes a report with their findings and improvement recommendations (if changes are necessary). You’ll need to make the required tweaks before moving on to the second stage of the ISO 27001 audit.
Stage 2: Real-World Evaluation and Certification Audit
Stage one checks whether your ISMS is documented properly. The second stage confirms whether the system is implemented and effective in real life. An auditor from a certification body collects evidence that confirms your information security procedures and controls meet ISO 27001 requirements.
During the review, auditors often do the following:
- Request proof that the recommended fixes from stage one have been implemented
- Interview your internal audit team and the people responsible for managing your ISMS
- Test your information security controls to see if they work effectively and comply with the ISO 27001 standard
If you pass stage two of the ISO 27001 audit, your organization is certified for three years. In that period, your company is audited annually to ensure continuous compliance with ISO 27001 requirements.
ISO 27001 Audit Process
Preparation for the ISO 27001 certification process usually kicks off with an internal audit. Your in-house audit staff reviews your information security management system and documents its scope. The team also gathers all the proof (policies, processes, controls, etc) to show that you meet ISO 27001 requirements.
Once you are ready, an auditor from an approved ISO 27001 certification body checks whether you comply with ISO’s information security and management standards. The audit usually follows these steps:
- Step 1: Documentation review: The certifying body examines your ISMS documentation — including the ISMS scope, SoA, security policies, incident management plans, and more — to see if it meets ISO 27001 requirements.
- Step 2: Certification audit (Field review): The auditor confirms that your ISMS is operational and effective in practice. Activities here include gathering evidence that your organization has implemented ISO 27001 information security measures and checking whether controls are working as intended. If everything is up to standards, you get an ISO 27001 certification.
- Step 3: Ongoing compliance checks: To maintain your ISO 27001 certification, you need to monitor and continuously improve your ISMS through regular internal audits. The certifying body will also come back for surveillance and recertification audits.
ISO 27001 Audit Requirements
Requirements you should meet before going through an ISO 27001 audit include:
- Set up an information security management system: Tools, processes, policies, and controls for protecting data in the company
- Create a statement of applicability: A list of all ISO 27001 controls, showing which ones your business uses, which ones it doesn’t (and the reasons why)
- Implement an internal audit process: How and when you assess your organization’s ISO 27001 compliance
- Have evidence of competence: Proof that people working on your ISMS are educated, trained, or experienced in ISO 27001 requirements
- Determine your information security objectives: Clear data protection goals ensure that your information security efforts are focused and measurable.
Can You Fail an ISO 27001 Audit?
You can fail an ISO 27001 audit if your ISMS doesn’t meet information security requirements. An organization may not pass the audit for many reasons, including:
- Lack of mandatory ISO 27001 documentation, like SoA, ISMS scope, and risk treatment plan
- Absence of an internal audit program
- Unclear or ineffective security policies
- Failure to address issues from previous audits
If an auditor finds compliance issues, they won’t recommend your organization for ISO 27001 certification. But they usually suggest changes to fix the problems. Once you prove that you’ve made the necessary improvements, you pass the audit and become certified.
Pass ISO 27001 Audits and Get Certified
Need help meeting ISO 27001 requirements, passing audits, and earning a certification? The ISO 27001 consultants at Trava Security are your go-to experts for compliance and cybersecurity advisory services.
Instead of carrying the compliance burden on your own, our experienced experts support you with actionable insights tailored to your unique needs.
Contact Trava Security to see how you can earn it the easy way.