Benefits of Building an ISO 27001 Information Security Management System

Benefits of building an information security management system

Certification against ISO 27001 shows that an organization takes information security seriously, that it has completed the required steps, and that it controls those steps on an ongoing basis. That is the minimum an ISO 27001 certificate means. The practical benefits go well beyond the certificate itself, and the list below sets them out.

Awareness of information assets. The organization becomes aware of the information assets it holds and understands their value. It protects those assets through clearly defined methods, controls, and processes. This awareness supports customers, shareholders, employees, and business and delivery partners by giving them a credible signal that management and information systems are being handled responsibly.

Stronger credit standing and market reputation. Suppliers, in particular, gain confidence that their information will be protected, along with any other party that depends on the integrity of the organization's information.

Real protection of information. Under the system, information is protected and no detail is left to chance. The organization also keeps the ability to continue operating in the face of a security incident, rather than being paralyzed by it.

Lower long-term cost. Even a small security incident can lead to significant cost. Implementing the controls required by an information security management system reduces costs over time by preventing incidents rather than responding to them.

• Improves employee motivation and helps prevent legal proceedings.
• Serves as visible evidence of conformity with regulations and laws, which supports organizational reputation.
• Establishes the importance of information at every level of the organization.
• Provides competitive advantage against peers that cannot present the same evidence.
• Supports higher profitability by reducing avoidable incident costs.
• Strengthens brand image in business-to-business relationships.
• Supports conformity with laws, contract terms, and regulations in scope.
• Defines and documents security measures in a repeatable way.
• Raises awareness of information-security risks across the organization.
• Clarifies information-system decision flows and processes, both formal and informal.
• Clarifies the skills, resources, systems, funding, time, people, and technologies linked to information-security knowledge.
• Puts information assets under appropriate protection relative to business need.
• Supports business continuity by protecting information assets from identified threats.
• Defines the form and scope of contractual relationships that touch information assets.
• Identifies key drivers and trends that affect the organization's objectives.

What makes the benefits sustainable

The benefits above only hold if the management system is actually operated. A certificate that sits in a drawer while the underlying controls are ignored loses its value at the first surveillance audit. The organizations that get the most out of ISO 27001 integrate it into normal operations: risk assessments refresh on a published cycle, incident records feed management review, and corrective actions close on time. That is what moves the certificate from a marketing asset to a business one.