ISO 27001 Audit: How to Conduct Successful Audit?

SaaS businesses need to inspire confidence and trust about how they manage and establish data security to clock continued growth. And the best way to build such trust is by gaining independent and internationally-recognized accreditations for your security controls.

The ISO 2700 certification is one of the most recognized international security standards. It demonstrates your commitment to upholding global best practices in information security and adds to your competitive advantage.

The ISO 27001 audit, therefore, is critical to determining whether your organization meets the ISO 27001 requirements. But what does the ISO 27001 audit checklist entail? And what are the auditors looking for? How can you know if you are audit-ready?

Read on to learn more about the ISO 27001 audit process, its types, and how to prepare for it.

What is an ISO 27001 Audit?

ISO 27001 audit helps an organization to evaluate an Information Security Management System (ISMS). It aims to determine whether the ISMS complies with all requirements specified by the standard.

An audit analyzes the effectiveness of security controls, risk management processes, and overall information security (IS). The main objective is to ensure that the ISMS protects sensitive information, maintains data and systems’ confidentiality and integrity, and assures availability.

What are the requirements of an ISO 27001 audit?

The requirements of ISO 27001 audit (internal audit) are described within the standard’s documents. All the requirements come under Clause 9.2 of the ISO 27001 standard. Let’s have a look at the sub-clauses to understand each requirement.

• Clause 9.2a – This clause states that you need to conduct internal audits at regular and planned intervals to provide information on whether your ISMS complies with the requirements for the ISMS.
  
  
• Clause 9.2b – This clause states that your internal audit needs to conform to the requirements of the ISO 27001 standard.
  
  
• Clause 9.2c – This clause states that the audit program must be planned, established, put into action, and maintained. This includes its frequency, procedures, roles, and reporting needs.
  
  
• Clause 9.2d – This clause requires you to define the audit criteria and scope for each audit. This should be documented to ensure that audit objectives are met.
  
  
• Clause 9.2e – This clause requires you to choose the team of auditors that ensures that the audit process is conducted impartially.
  
  
• Clause 9.2f – This clause requires that the results of the audit, upon successful completion, need to be reported to the relevant management.
  
  
• Clause 9.2g – This clause requires you to retain and document all the information regarding the audit process and results. This is also a requirement for ISMS owners under Clause 7.5.3.
  

Now that we understand the audit requirements let’s see the types of ISO 27001 audits.

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