What is ISO 27001 Policy Template? How to Create one

The ISO 27001 policy provides a comprehensive framework to establish and maintain an information security management system. To demonstrate your commitment to information security to stakeholders, having a defined ISO 27001 template is highly significant.

The ISO 27001 policy templates are an effective resource that helps organizations manage risks and establish an effective information security management system. It encompasses policies, procedures, and guidelines covering key aspects of information security, risk assessment, access control, and incident management, among others. 

In this blog, we will elaborate on how to create an ISO 27001 policy template and what the template should contain. 

What is ISO 27001 policy?

ISO 27001 is an information security policy with frameworks and guidelines that helps organizations protect sensitive information, manage risks effectively, and demonstrate their commitment to information security to stakeholders.

The purpose of an ISO policy is to define and understand what an organization wants to achieve with information security. The management defines the owners for ISMS implementation and maps the expectations in the policy.

Why is the ISO 27001 policy required?

Well, one of the most obvious and primary reasons for having an ISO 27001 policy is to protect the organization’s data from security threats. But there’s more to it. Let’s see why ISO 27001 information security policy is important to have.

• Protect Customer Data: While handling client data such as their personal information, technical information, and so on, clients expect that you have security systems in place to protect the data. The policy helps you streamline the process.
  
• Protect Employee + Company Data: You have the personal and financial data of your employees and also the data of your company in the databases and CRM. This is sensitive information, and ISO 27001 policy helps you keep this data safe.
  
• Avoid Regulatory Fines: ISO 27001 is a starting point for various security regulations such as GDPR. By having an information security policy in place, you can avoid hefty penalties for non-compliance with data protection requirements.
  
• Stay Organized and Focused: With proper policy documentation, employees can retain their roles and responsibilities regarding information security. The policy helps your organization stay focused on information security tasks.

Also read: Five Benefits of ISO 27001 Certification

What does ISO 27001 Information Security Policy Template Include?

Often businesses believe that their ISO 27001 information security policy needs to have everything about the organization’s security posture. However, this is not the intent of the information security policy template.

The main objectives of creating this policy include :

• Implementing targeted goals for information security.
  
• Getting management’s commitment toward continuous improvement of the ISMS.
  
• Providing a general overview of the ISMS so that the management understands how ISMS works and who is responsible for it.
  

Now that the objective of creating this document is clear, what exactly do you need to define in your ISO 27001 policy? To effectively draft the policy, we have outlined the main points that are added and defined in the document.

The ISO 27001 information security policy template includes:

• Purpose: This section contains the purpose of defining the information security policies. The primary purpose is to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the organization’s data.
  
• Scope: This section defines the people to whom this policy is applicable. It generally contains all employees and third-party users.
  
• Requirements: This section contains any applicable contractual, legal, and/or regulatory requirements.
  
• Roles & Responsibilities: This section defines the roles and responsibilities of different employees who will be responsible for designing, implementing, maintaining, and monitoring the performance of the ISMS.
  
• Support: This section defines the resources and supplemental policies that will be helpful for the ISO 27001 auditors.

Finally, the organization needs to assign a policy owner responsible for keeping this policy up to date. Also, the policy owner needs to ensure that the policy gets reviewed annually.

How to create ISO 27001 policy and implement it?

Download the ISO 27001 template and customize it to suit your organization’s goals and requirements. This way, you won’t have to start from scratch and can fill in the gaps in the template to create your own policy.

Once you create the policy by keeping ISO 27001 security compliance in mind, you can implement it across the organization. To do so, you need first to get the policy approved by the senior management. Upon approval, share it with the employees so that they understand their roles and responsibilities.

The policy is also included as a part of the annual employee training program to keep everyone on the same page. At least annually, the policy is reviewed, updated, and reissued.

As the scope of the policy applies to third-party users, too, you may have to share a copy of the policy with those third-party users/vendors.

Defining information security policy is not just a requirement for ISO 27001 but also serves as an important document for other data and security regulations. To draft your comprehensive information security policy, we have the right template for you to get started!

Wrapping Up

By leveraging these ISO 27001 policy templates, organizations can save time and effort in developing their own policies while ensuring compliance with the ISO 27001 standard and other security regulations.

However, there are many other requirements regarding ISO 27001 and data security regulations such as GDPR, PCI DSS, etc. How to streamline it all?

The Sprinto way– Is the smart way to stay ahead in this compliance-driven world. Sprinto is a compliance automation platform that helps you put your repetitive compliance processes and requirements in auto-pilot mode.

To know more about how Sprinto can be a perfect compliance partner for your ISO 27001 ventures and other regulatory needs, connect with our compliance expert right away!

FAQs

Does an information security policy include leadership commitment?

Yes, having a statement from higher management, such as the CEO or CTO, is a good and confident approach to record leadership commitment.

Can companies from different industries use the same policy template?

Yes, companies from different industries can use the template as a base to customize and develop the ISO 27001 policy as per their goals and requirements.

Is it mandatory to implement ISO 27001 information security policy?

Yes, as per Annex A.5.1.1, organizations must have an information security policy, and the stakeholders must be informed of all the policies in place.