ISO/IEC 27001:2005

ISO/IEC 27001 part of a growing family of ISO/IEC standards, the 'ISO/IEC 27000 series' is an information security management system (ISMS) standard published in October 2005 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Its full name is ISO/IEC 27001:2005 - Information technology -- Security techniques -- Information security management systems -- Requirements but it is commonly known as "ISO 27001".

It is intended to be used in conjunction with ISO/IEC 27002, the Code of Practice for Information Security Management, which lists security control objectives and recommends a range of specific security controls. Organizations that implement an ISMS in accordance with the best practice advice in ISO/IEC 27002 are likely simultaneously to meet the requirements of ISO/IEC 27001 but certification is entirely optional (unless mandated by the organization's stakeholders).

Certification

Organizations may be certified compliant with ISO/IEC 27001 by a number of accredited certification bodies worldwide. Certification against any of the recognized national variants of ISO/IEC 27001 (e.g. the Japanese version) by an accredited certification body is functionally equivalent to certification against ISO/IEC 27001 itself. Certification audits are usually conducted by ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Auditors.

In some countries, the bodies which verify conformity of management systems to specified standards are called "certification bodies", in others "registration bodies", "assessment and registration bodies", "certification/ registration bodies", and sometimes "registrars".

ISO/IEC 27001 certification usually involves a three-stage audit process:

• Stage 1 is a "table top" review of the existence and completeness of key documentation such as the organization's security policy, Statement of Applicability (SoA) and Risk Treatment Plan (RTP).

• Stage 2 is a detailed, in-depth audit involving testing the existence and effectiveness of the information security controls stated in the SoA and RTP, as well as their supporting documentation.

• Stage 3 is a follow-up reassessment audit to confirm that a previously-certified organization remains in compliance with the standard. Certification maintenance involves periodic reviews and re-assessments to confirm that the ISMS continues to operate as specified and intended.

See also

• ISO 9001
• ISO/IEC_27000-series
• ISO/IEC 15408
• ISO/IEC 18045
• BS 7799
• Cyber security standards
• International Organization for Standardization
• List of ISO standards
• Standard of Good Practice published by the Information Security Forum

External links

• ISO 27001 Source from BSI
• ISO 27001 and ISO 17799 User Group
• ISO 17799 and ISO 27001 Wiki
• 27001.com
• IT Governance