What is Incident Management in ISO 27001 [ Download Template ]

The rapid increase in cyberattacks and security breaches constantly raises the bar for an acceptable information security posture globally. As an organization dealing with sensitive data,  you always aim to prevent a breach and protect organizational assets from misuse. But, eventually, bad actors find a way to access your weak spots before you are able to fix them and incidents occur. In an incident, business environments are compromised. 

This ISO 27001 guide on ISO 27001 incident management is designed for organizations building their first comprehensive incident management process / for organizations bridging the gap between their current incident management plan with that of ISO 27001 requirements.

By adhering to the ISO 27001 incident management principles, organizations can create a strong framework that allows them to recognize and respond to problems quickly, protecting vital data and ensuring business continuity.

What is ISO 27001 incident management?

ISO 27001 incident management is a systematic way to identify, analyze, respond to, and manage security incidents in order to minimize their impact and prevent their recurrence. It offers a foundation for businesses to set up an incident management procedure that guarantees issues are treated consistently, promptly, and under control.

How to approach incident management as per ISO 27001?

Following a defined and methodical process to handle and respond to security issues is part of the ISO 27001-compliant approach to incident management. 

As per ISO 27001, you can take the following approach when managing incidents:

1. Create an incident management strategy

Create a written policy that details the goals, boundaries, and accountability for incident management inside your company. This policy must be in line with ISO 27001 specifications and demonstrate the organization’s dedication to incident management.

2. Establish incident management procedures

Establish thorough protocols that spell out how occurrences will be located, evaluated, dealt with, reported, analyzed, and reviewed. These protocols describe the roles and duties of individuals or teams participating in incident management, as well as the routes for communication and escalation procedures.

3. Identification and recording of incidents 

Implement systems for quickly detecting and documenting security incidents. Utilizing different monitoring tools, automated warnings, intrusion detection systems, or staff reporting channels may be necessary for this. Make sure to record the crucial details about occurrences, such as the date, time, incident’s nature, impact, and a preliminary assessment.

4. Response to incidents and containment

Create an organized and precise incident response procedure. Define the procedures you will follow in response to various incidents, such as early evaluation, containment of the incident to stop additional harm, and restoration of impacted systems or data. Assign individuals or teams involved in the event response with clear roles and duties.

5. Reporting of incidents

Create a system for tracking and reporting events. This entails compiling incident reports that contain comprehensive details regarding the incident, the responses made, and any subsequent steps needed. Moreover, reports on incidents are important sources of information for analysis, spotting trends, and making adjustments in the future.

6. Analysis and investigation of incidents 

Investigate incidents thoroughly to ascertain their underlying causes, effects, and scope. Also, examine the underlying deficiencies or vulnerabilities that caused the incident to happen. This research aids in locating areas where security controls, procedures, and staff awareness should be strengthened. Apply corrective measures in light of the findings to stop such occurrences in the future.

Also, check out: ISO 27001 disaster recovery plan

How to implement ISO 27001 incident management?

Setting up and integrating the required procedures, controls, and practices inside an organization is crucial for the implementation of ISO 27001 incident management. 

Here are the 7 steps to help you through the implementation process:

1. Recognize the requirements of ISO 27001

Learn about the requirements of ISO 27001, especially Clause A.16, which deals with incident management. Acquire a solid understanding of the goals, values, and instructions listed in the standard.

Recommended: ISO 27001 isms requirements

2. Create an incident response team 

Create an incident response team with members who have the knowledge and abilities required to manage issues successfully. Furthermore, define their tasks, roles, and the incident response process. Make sure the team members have the knowledge and tools necessary to react to issues quickly and effectively.

3. Define the objectives and scope

Analyze your organization’s incident management program’s reach. Identify the resources, programs, procedures, and data that fall under the purview of incident management. Establish precise incident management goals that are in line with the broader information security objectives of your company.

4. Perform a risk assessment 

To find potential security threats and vulnerabilities that could result in incidents, do a thorough risk assessment. Prioritize issues based on their potential impact on the organization after evaluating the impact and likelihood that they may occur. Also, you can choose the appropriate controls and mitigation strategies with the aid of this assessment.

5. Create an incident management strategy

Ensure that the organization’s commitment to incident management is reflected in a written incident management policy. The goals, boundaries, and roles of incident management should all be specified in the policy. Furthermore, make sure that the policy is shared with all pertinent parties and complies with ISO 27001 criteria.

6. Put controls in place

To prevent, identify, and respond to security issues, implement the proper controls. These controls can consist of technical measures (such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems), organizational measures (such as access controls and incident response plans), and human resources measures (such as training and awareness programs). Make sure that the organization’s procedures and systems are connected with the controls.

7. Monitor and report

Keep an eye on and review the efficiency of the controls, processes, and practices for incident management. Moreover, to evaluate the effectiveness of incident management actions and make required improvements, conduct routine management reviews. Keep informed on new dangers, industry best practices, and alterations to applicable laws or standards.

Benefits of ISO 27001 incident management

ISO 27001 helps organizations protect their valuable assets, maintain business continuity, and continuously improve their security posture. Here are a few benefits of incident management:

• Minimal incident impact: The use of ISO 27001 incident management decreases the negative effects of security incidents.

• Better information security: Overall, strengthening of information security procedures, and sensitive data and systems happens.

• Improved continuity of operations: During security crises, organizations can maintain essential operations while limiting disruptions.

• Regulation adherence: Organizations can attain compliance with pertinent laws and regulations by incident response and reporting.

• Higher stakeholder confidence: Effective incident management promotes trust and confidence among stakeholders, partners, and clients.

• Continual development: The investigation of incidents results in continuing improvements to security procedures and controls.

• Strong incident response: Incidents are dealt with quickly and effectively to lessen their effect on the organization.

• Improved posture: A proactive approach to incident management helps establish a good reputation and draws in clients who appreciate security.

Sprinto’s role in ISO 27001 incident management

As security incidents are a constant threat in today’s world, you understand how crucial it is to be ready to identify and respond to them.

Your overall business plan should include ISO 27001 incident management’s salient components and present evidence to demonstrate compliance. Non implementing the ISO 27001 incident management plan can lead to a major non-conformity.

Framing, implementing, and monitoring effectiveness of an incident management plan on your own can be a daunting task with your engineering, development, and infosec teams working on menial and repeatable tasks. This is not what your best minds should do for a long-long time. You want them to build that next product that will become the northstar for decades to come.

Alternatively, you could bring in consultants, but they take 6-8 months to complete the compliance process and cost nearly USD 40,000 -100,000 based on their skillset and preferences.

The best way forward would be to place the compliance process on auto-pilot using an intelligent compliance solution that automates repeatable tasks. With Automation, organisations are able to achieve their ISO 27001 certification is 14 days, sometimes less. And the cost to achieve compliance is significantly (nearly 70%) lower when compared to legacy solutions.

Sprinto is the best example of how compliance automation has helped achieve shorter timelines and reduce costs for ISO 27001. Sprinto is a vulnerability and incident management tool that not only excels in aggressive alerting but also assists you in escalating incidents for timely action. It also does evidence gathering for remedial measures, which is automated and supported by audit standards. 

Additionally, Sprinto emphasizes compliance and security. Sprinto adds the proactive security management perspective to incident response and strengthens the organization’s security defenses by monitoring security controls in real time and monitoring compliance needs.

To improve your organization’s ISO 27001 incident management skills, book a demo with one of our specialists right away.

FAQs

Does ISO 27001 cover incident response?

Yes. In order to provide a methodical approach to handling security incidents, ISO 27001 mandates that organizations create, implement, and maintain incident identification, assessment, response, and reporting processes.

How is ISO 27001 incident management related to risk management?

Risk management and incident management are intertwined in ISO 27001 compliance. It entails identifying and evaluating risks, selecting safeguards to prevent incidents, and putting in place incident response procedures to lessen the risks determined.

Can ISO 27001 incident management assist with regulatory compliance?

Yes, putting ISO 27001 incident management into place can help organizations achieve regulatory compliance by establishing procedures and controls for handling incidents and reporting them in a way that is compliant with the relevant laws.