How to achieve TISAX certification

Think ISO 27001 is enough in the automotive industry to safeguard your data and win customer trust? Think again. TISAX (Trusted Information Security Assessment Exchange) is the most widely accepted standard among automotive companies to prove and review security posture, ensuring that businesses collaborate with businesses with top-notch security practices to mitigate risks across the supply chain. 

In an industry where intellectual property theft, prototype leaks, and supply chain breaches are existential threats, automakers and suppliers don’t have the luxury of trust by default. TISAX certification isn’t a choice; it’s the price of entry. Fail to meet its requirements, and you’ll find doors closing. 

In this article, we walk you through everything you need to know about getting TISAX certified. Let’s dive in. 

TL;DR

TISAX is a security standard designed specifically for the automotive industry to protect sensitive manufacturing data, prototypes, and customer information.

It builds on controls similar to ISO 27001 but tailors them to the unique needs of automotive suppliers, making audits and compliance more efficient.

With AL1, AL2, and AL3, TISAX offers varying degrees of evaluation for different maturity levels, ensuring organizations can showcase their security readiness to industry partners.

What is TISAX?

TISAX, short for Trusted Information Security Assessment Exchange, is an information security standard for automotive businesses. It focuses on protecting information related to OEM manufacturing, such as IPs, research, prototype information, customer information, and more. 

What is TISAX Certification?

TISAX (Trusted Information Security Assessment eXchange) is an information security assessment and exchange framework developed by the German automotive industry (VDA) and managed by ENX Association. It standardizes ISMS evaluations for automotive suppliers and partners, ensuring compliance with industry-specific security requirements.

Moreover, TISAX certification is very similar to ISO27001 in terms of implementation controls and risk mitigation policies. However, while ISO 27001 is a general-purpose security standard, TISAX places an additional emphasis on streamlining and standardizing security practices across the automotive industry.   

In short, here are the key aspects of TISAX certification:

The assessment covers several crucial areas:

• Information security management
• Data protection
• Prototype protection
• Connected production
• Business continuity management

Companies typically comply to TISAX certification when:

• They are suppliers to automotive manufacturers
• They handle sensitive automotive industry data
• They need to demonstrate their information security capabilities to automotive partners
• They want to participate in automotive industry projects requiring TISAX compliance

What are the three different TISAX certification levels?

TISAX participation offers three different maturity levels of assessments: AL1, AL2, and AL3. Each level attests to a certain level of security posture and demonstrates different levels of trust. 

Here’s an overview of all three levels of TISAX assessment: 

1) Assessment level 1 (AL 1):

An AL1 assessment is majorly for internal assessment purposes and is not helpful or intended to demonstrate your security posture outside of it. For example, you can not showcase the AL1 report to your potential partners to establish a security posture. 

For this type of assessment, an auditor is only engaged to verify that a self-assessment has been completed. However, the contents of the self-assessment are not verified at this stage, and the auditor has not asked for further evidence.  

For an assessment in assessment level 1, an auditor checks for the existence of a completed self-assessment. He does not assess the content of the self-assessment. He does not require further evidence.

However, regarding trust, the TISAX Level 1 certification offers low trust and can only serve as an initial proof of compliance in early-stage partnerships when a potential customer requests attestation.

2) Assessment level 2 (AL 2):

The TISAX level 2 assessment involves an auditor verifying your self-assessment’s correctness and depth. This typically includes all the business locations and units you defined in the scope earlier in the process. The auditor primarily looks for evidence and interviews the person responsible for the organization’s security posture. 

Usually, these interviews are virtual, but an auditor may visit some locations in person. Moreover, organizations that don’t intend to share evidence online can request an on-site inspection for the auditor. 

3) Assessment level 2 (AL 3):

For an assessment in assessment level 3, the audit provider demands a comprehensive list of requirements and criteria to be fulfilled before attesting to your organization’s compliance posture with TISAX. The auditor will vet the self-assessment, conduct on-site assessments of all the business units covered under the scope of TISAX certification, and conduct interviews with the in charge of security posture. 

However, in contrast to the inspection in level 2, a level 3 inspection by an audit provider is a bit more granular, encompassing things like: 

• Examining documents and evidence
• Conducting interviews with the compliance or security head and the individual process owners. 
• The assessor will also observe the local or on-site conditions. 
• An auditor will vet the execution of all processes under the scope of certification.
• He/they will also conduct unplanned interviews with the participants in the process.

How do you achieve a TISAX certification? The process

Getting a TISAX certification or attestation involves 3 primary steps — registering for the assessment, assessing your security posture, and getting it validated by an ENX-accredited TISAX evaluator. 

Let’s speak about these steps in a bit of detail:

1) Registering on TISAX portal

TISAX attestation participants can register on the ENX portal by providing basic details about themselves and the organizations. As per the TISAX guidelines, here are the requirements to sign for the certification process:

The TISAX registration process starts with signing up on the ENX portal, where you must provide basic details about yourself and your company. According to the participant’s handbook, the signup requires:

• Contact and Billing Information includes your company’s billing address and an organization-provided phone number.
• Agreement to Terms & Conditions – You must review and accept the terms before proceeding.
• Scope of Assessment – You’ll be asked to define the scope of your information security assessment, which determines the level and depth of evaluation required.

TISAX offers multiple assessment objectives, each suited to the different security needs of original equipment manufacturers. We break them down in the next section.

2) Scoping requirements for your TISAX certification

Once registered, TISAX participants anticipating certification need to define the scope of their assessment type. This is important as different scopes involve different evaluation levels and incur different costs.

Typically, there are three types of objectives in a TISAX certification: information security assessment, prototype objectives, and data protection. 

However, there are more nuances than those 3 levels:

• You need to identify which business units will undergo assessments and which ISMS (Information security management systems) units will not. 
• A standard scope TISAX assessment covers a broad range of evaluation criteria, including management processes, data protection protocols, business policies, and physical security of the business units. This assessment also covers all the physical locations and vendors partnering with the business. 
• At times, industry partners may request additional assessments to better align the process with your organization’s needs or circumstances. This approach allows for a sharper focus on the most critical aspects of business resilience and partnership sustainability.

Here’s how you define the scope for TISAX:

3) Conducting self-assessment and audit

Once you’re done with scoping, you come to the self-assessment phase. Here, you will internally audit the assets and business units you declared in the scope and have the report validated by the assessor. The internal audit must be done per the assessment requirements outlined by TISAX.  

However, the objective of the assessment will decide your path forward, and it depends on the type of data you’re planning to handle for your partner. 

For example, here are the different types of data and objectives of assessment they require:

Type of assessment objectives	Name	Description
Information security	High security	Select this if you handle data requiring strong protection but not at the highest level.
	Very high security	Choose this for handling data that demands the highest level of protection
	Confidential	Opt for this when dealing with highly sensitive data requiring strict access control, ensuring only authorized users can access it.
	Strictly confidential	Use this for data that demands the highest level of confidentiality with strict access restrictions.
	High availability	Choose this if the data you manage must remain accessible to key stakeholders at all times.
	Very high availability	Select this when real-time availability for all stakeholders is essential.
Prototype information	Parts	Applicable if you work exclusively with prototype components
	Proto vehicles	Choose this if you handle data related to full prototype vehicles.
	Test vehicles	Select this if your organization manages test vehicles or requires access to their data.
	Proto events	Opt for this if you handle prototype-related activities at events, exhibitions, or similar settings.
Data	Personal data	Compliance with GDPR Article 28 (Processor) for general personal data handling.
	Special data	Compliance with GDPR Article 28 (Processor), specifically for handling special categories of personal data as outlined in GDPR Article 9.

4) Paying the Fee and registering on the ENX portal

Getting TISAX attested comes with costs that all businesses need to cover. The active participant is responsible for the expenses while auditing their security status.

Since the assessment level and audit scope can vary, the certification fees also differ based on the audit is intensity. Here’s a general breakdown of the costs involved:

• Registration Fee: Companies typically pay between €400 and €700 to register with ENX.
• Assessment Fee: This is the most significant chunk of the cost. For small to medium businesses or standard suppliers, it ranges from €5,000 to €15,000. Larger corporations might have custom pricing, but it usually starts at around €15,000 or higher.
• Annual Label Fee: A monthly fee of about €1,000 to €3,000 is required, depending on the company’s size and specific needs.

Common challenges in getting a TISAX certification and their solutions:

TISAX compliance can boost businesses in the automotive industry, streamlining business partnerships and bolstering customer trust. However, the TISAX process is more rigorous and nuanced than other certifications like ISO 27001 and SOC 2. Here are some nuances of the TISAX journey and the solutions to these challenges:

1. Harmonizing TISAX with Existing Standards

Organizations in the domain might already comply with similar standards like ISO/IEC 27001 and may find translating their existing ISMS to satisfy TISAX criteria complex. 

However, there is potential to conduct a gap analysis and pinpoint the overlap between ISO/IEC 27001 to save implementing controls from scratch and devising and enforcing new policies. ISO 27001 shares control similarities with TISAX, and when identified correctly, organizations can save additional lift to satisfy TISAX criteria from scratch.   

2. Managing Audit Fatigue

Organizations may face multiple requests from different customers demanding a different scope or level of TISAX assessments multiple times, which can add to audit fatigue. This can be easily mitigated by predicting future customer requirements and the organization’s growth to start satisfying the right level of TISAX assessments and criteria. 

3. Addressing Global Supply Chain Complexities

Supply chains can be complex in the automotive industry, especially when because some suppliers can operate across international borders. 

A centralized ISMS that streamlines vendor risk management and policies to manage third-party risk can quickly mitigate this issue. Organizations can also centralize and automate monitoring of their vendor risk with the help of tools like Sprinto.

5. Ensuring Comprehensive Prototype Protection

Securing sensitive information is daunting, mainly when an organization works in multiple locations, partnering with multiple vendors that can access the systems in some capacity. Additionally, information sharing over cloud applications adds to the possibility of a potential compromise. To mitigate this, organizations need to implement adequate controls and continuously evaluate their performance to maintain their security posture against threats. 

A possible solution is to implement such frameworks with ready-to-launch compliance programs that come baked in with compliance automation tools like Sprinto. Sprinto automatically maps controls to framework requirements and collects evidence to build a clear audit trail. This significantly reduces the effort to get audit-ready and achieve compliance certification.  

Get TISAX ready with Sprinto

Complying with TISAX involves reusing the controls and policies set for ISO 27001. Sprinto makes it easier for ISO 27001-compliant organizations to attest additional TISAX by leveraging the automated, baked-in control repurposing feature. This allows you to comply with additional frameworks like TISAX without additional lift. 

Moreover, with Sprinto’s intuitive integrations, you can automatically align TISAX criteria with your controls while continuously monitoring them to gather audit-ready evidence without overloading your team. Its robust library of controls and pre-configured policies takes the guesswork out of compliance, eliminating the need for tedious manual tracking. Continuous monitoring and automated evidence collection pave a smooth road to readiness and attestation, and our expert compliance advisors are always ready to guide you through the process.

FAQ

What is the difference between ISO 27001 and TISAX certification?

While ISO 27001 is accepted across a wide range of industries and outlines data protection standards for all, TISAX specifically caters to the needs of automotive partnerships and their information security needs. It was built upon ISO 27001 to further tailor the controls and policies to strengthen security in the automotive industry. TISAX ensures that automotive suppliers and partners adhere to industry-specific security requirements and can seamlessly share assessment results.

Who needs TISAX certification?

TISAX is for any organization in the automotive industry that supplies other businesses as a vendor or partner. As suppliers and service providers handle sensitive information and intellectual property for manufacturers, the entire supply chain needs to adhere to TISAX. Thus, if your organization is in the automotive industry, TISAX applies to you by default. A TISAX certification helps demonstrate that you meet the high standards of information security required in this industry.

What are the different objectives of a TISAX certification?

TISAX certification is designed with several key objectives in mind:

• Protect Sensitive Information: Ensure robust controls are in place to safeguard confidential data and intellectual property.
• Build Trust: Create a standardized, transparent security assessment process that fosters trust among automotive partners and service providers.
• Identify and Mitigate Risks: Help organizations pinpoint vulnerabilities specific to the automotive sector and implement measures to manage them.
• Streamline Compliance: Simplify and harmonize the audit process, reducing the burden of managing multiple security assessments across the supply chain.

What is a TISAX participant’s handbook?

The TISAX participant’s handbook is a comprehensive guide that outlines the requirements, procedures, and best practices for organizations seeking TISAX certification. It details the assessment criteria, explains the certification process, and provides practical advice on achieving and maintaining compliance with TISAX standards, making it an invaluable resource for participants.

Why is TISAX Certification Important, and why does it differ from other cybersecurity certifications?

Amidst a plethora of automotive companies, TISAX certification sets you apart. It shows that you’re serious about protecting sensitive information and that you understand the industry’s unique challenges and regulations. Unlike broader cybersecurity certifications, TISAX is designed specifically for automotive needs. This targeted focus builds trust among your partners and makes security assessments more efficient, smoothing out the compliance process for everyone involved.