ISO 27001 Training Program [How to get started]

Like it or not, your employees are your first line of defence in the event of cyber attacks, data breaches, and hacks. You must, therefore, never shy away from investing in establishing a robust organization-wide security culture. Whether you are implementing ISO 27001 or are already certified, investing in building a security-savvy workforce will generate returns many times over.

In this article, we have answered some of the oft-asked questions related to ISO 27001 training requirements and lined up some must-have features for the training program you eventually implement.

What is ISO 27001?

ISO 27001 is part of the ISO/IEC 27000 family of standards designed to help organizations keep information assets secure. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) developed this standard in 2005 in partnership with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) to aid organizations in adopting an Information Security Management System (ISMS) to protect their information.

Organizations of any size and industry can get ISO 27001 certification to protect their information. The current standard was updated in 2022. 

What are the ISO 27001 training requirements?

Three clauses in ISO 27001 talk about the ISO 27001 training requirements for employees handling information security. Let’s dive deep into the requirements below:

Clause 7.2 Competence

ISO 27001 Clause 7.2, or Competence, whether your company has skilled and capable individuals to handle information security tasks. The clause also goes above and beyond to state the importance of people and their abilities, skills, experience, and competency.

For example, it’s important to consider experience and relevant certifications such as Certified Information Systems Security Professionals (CISSP) or Certified Information Security Managers (CISM) while hiring an IT professional. 

The clause states that you need to:

• Assess the competence level of individuals working on the ISMS to ensure they can perform their tasks without any hiccups. (Basically, hire people qualified to do the tasks like CISM or CISSP)
• Take proper measures to impart necessary ISO 27001 security awareness training or education if needed, and of course, measure the success of the action plan 
• Maintain records of these assessments for audit purposes
• Make sure that the skilled IT professionals you hire are considered competent based on their relevant education, training, or experience

Clause 7.3 Awareness

ISO 27001 Clause 7.3, called “Awareness,” ensures everyone in your company understands the importance of keeping information secure in a clear-cut way. This means ensuring all staff know about the company’s information security policy and their particular role in keeping data safe.

For example, it’s vital that you focus on training them about your company’s information security policy, including guidelines for handling sensitive data, procedures for reporting security incidents, and best practices for maintaining confidentiality. 

The clause states that you need to ensure:

• The persons doing the work should be aware of every crucial detail about the information security policy rules set by the company
• Everyone chips in to make the ISMS work better 
• Everyone understands that when the ISMS doesn’t stick to the requirements, it opens the door to potential security issues like data breaches or leaks

Annex A 6.3 Information security awareness, education and training

In ISO 27002:2022, Control 6.3 discusses how employees should get the right information security training. Here, make sure to keep data safe and understand the company’s rules. This includes giving them regular updates on the security policy, especially regarding their job.

Here are some ways to teach your employees about information security:

• Conduct in-person sessions for your employees with your in-house experts or from an external source where they learn about security topics
• Allow employees to take webinars, online courses, or e-learning modules that are widely available now. This lets them learn at their own pace, which is handy for companies with remote workers.
• Organize security awareness campaigns to keep employees informed about security threats and best practices. They might include emails, posters, or social media updates.
• Conduct simulation exercises like security breaches to teach employees how to respond if a serious incident does happen.
• Conduct on-the-job ISO 27001 security awareness training to help your employees get guidance and training while doing their regular tasks, allowing them to learn about security in a practical manner.

What should your ISO 27001 Awareness Training Program include?

Your ISO 27001 security awareness training includes the parameters on how all of your employees should receive awareness training on information security. You can refer to the ISO 27001 checklist for a detailed overview of the steps involved. 

Having ticked off some of the critical steps in your ISO 27001 compliance journey, you are now at employee awareness and security training. 

As we mentioned earlier, this is an equally crucial step. Important how? It doesn’t matter if you have the best security controls in place if your employees aren’t educated and aware of them. Your people will implement, run, and maintain your ISMS, and the importance of training them on security best practices perhaps cannot be overemphasized. 

Requirement 7.2.2 of ISO 27001 states: “All employees of the organization and, where relevant, contractors and third-party users should receive appropriate awareness training and regular updates in organizational policies and procedures, as relevant for their job function.”

A well-trained workforce is key to the success of any ISMS. Here are some of the must-haves in your security program: 

• A basic security training program that helps your employees identify and assess the key risks to some of your most valuable information assets
• Periodic awareness programs for employees on your organization’s various security policies and processes. This includes responding to some of the common risks your organization faces
• Role- and responsibility-based training programs. For instance, staff that are involved in the implementation of security may need to be trained on the specifics of the framework
• Regularly review your training content to ensure it is updated and relevant for your organization
• Incorporation of metrics to show engagement and understanding of the content such that it allows for retraining or suitable tweaks to the training content
• Simulate data breaches to test your employees’ incident response and processes to be followed after that

Sprinto has pre-built security awareness training on different frameworks. All you need to do is customize it according to your requirements, and you’re ready to go.

Here’s how to set up Sprinto as your security training provider:

• Log in to Sprinto as an administrator.
• Go to the “Security Hub” and click on “Training,” then select the “Overview” tab.
• Click on the “+ Add training provider” button.
• Choose Sprinto from the options provided.
• Select the training programs you want to assign to all employees on the setup page. You can also choose whether to include a test by checking the box.
• Review your selections and click “Save changes.”

Once Sprinto is set up as your security training provider, you’ll see a new tab for Sprinto. That’s it!

How do I get started with training ISO 27001?

If you want to get started with training in ISO 27001, make sure to first create a plan for what you are going to include in the training. We have already spoken enough about why ISO 27001 and the importance of security training; let’s look at how you can start the process. 

Talk to your staff and understand what they know and don’t

Before creating a security training program, you must establish where your employees are regarding knowledge and awareness of security practices. 

You can use a security awareness questionnaire to assess the risks. Doing this will help you roll out a program they really need to act as the security moat of your organization.

Create a Security Training Requirements Docket

Use your risk assessment and risk treatment plan to list down high-risk areas for your organization. Juxtapose it against staff awareness level and create a security training requirements docket.

Schedule it ahead of time

When you eventually roll out the security training program, consider the different employee roles and responsibilities and accordingly schedule it ahead of time. You should also schedule these programs regularly so new employees and contractors can attend them.

You have a couple of options for designing the security program.

• Do-it-yourself – You could set up an internal team to spearhead the program and ensure its execution and updation. While it will not cost you at all, there will be an opportunity cost in terms of loss of productivity of the team you put on the job. Remember, this would be on top of their regular work responsibilities. Alternatively, you could also put your internal auditors on the job. That said, employing a security professional of any kind could make it expensive.
• Contract External Training Consultant/Agency – Most organizations use this. While this isn’t remarkably inexpensive, at least it doesn’t come in the way of your key employees’ work. The fee is broad-ranged here. While some may charge you about $25 per employee per session, some charge $15000 as a one-time charge. You also have online self-paced employee security awareness and training modules customizable per your ISO 27001 requirements. Popular e-learning platforms also offer ISO 27001 lead auditor training, risk management training, foundation training courses, and internal auditor courses, among other things. (Check out: ISO 27001 consultancy services)
• Use built-in security training programs baked in compliance automation tools like Sprinto – Sprinto is built with basic security training and framework-specific security training modules at no added cost. Sprinto ensures the content is updated and relevant. Moreover, Sprinto gives you detailed visibility of which employee(s) haven’t undertaken their security training yet. It collects evidence of compliance automatically in exchange for you doing absolutely bupkis. 

List of ISO 27001 courses to consider

Here is a list of ISO 27001 courses you can consider to boost your knowledge about security and awareness. These courses cover everything from basics to advanced techniques, and they are:

Courses	Price
ISO 27001 Foundations Course	$349
ISO/IEC 27001:2022. Information Security Management System	$7
ISO 27001 Lead Auditor Course	$1797
ISO 27001:2022 Transition Course	$249
Security Awareness Training	Free

Is investing in information security management training worth It?

The answer is both a yes and a no. Yes, you should invest. And no, you shouldn’t invest any amount of money. There’s a lot to be said. Let’s tackle the reasons one after the other.  

Employees Aware, Cyberattackers Beware

As cheeky as that sounds, it’s what it is. You can decisively add to your security strength by conducting periodic infosec training for your employees. The result? Your employees can ward off many attacks simply by being security aware.

Build Internal SMEs

If you are a small business, you could start by having a select employee(s) undergo ISO 27001 Lead Auditor training. Instead of taking a professional certification course, you could consider self-paced online training courses that offer free training without a certification. 

While there is no rule in terms of how much you should invest in training, a good practice here would be to base the decision on the budget you have put aside as ISO 27001 certification cost. 

There are many cost heads in the process, and security training is one of them. Based on your total budget, the growth stage of your organization, the industry in which you operate, and the prevalent cybersecurity risk, base the decision on your total budget.

Benefits of ISO 27001 Information Security Management 

ISO 27001 Information Security Management is the foundation of a secure information system, and it can help your business achieve:

• Increases Credibility. When you are an ISO 27001-certified organization, your customers and prospects will know you are serious about security. It helps establish trust and retain customers.
• Adds to your Cyber Resilience. Implementation of the ISO 27001 standard ensures that you have a globally accepted level of security effectiveness in terms of the processes, policies, and controls to protect your organization against data threats. 
• Adds Global Appeal. ISO 27001 is known and accepted internationally. Besides, the framework has much in common with other frameworks, such as SOC 2 and GDPR, which makes it easier for you to add to your compliance kitty at a later date.
• Increases the Likelihood of adding Customers. The ISO 27001 certification can add to your competitive edge, attract new clients, and turn them into loyal customers. Why not? Everyone wants to work with trustworthy people!
• Approaches Information Security Systematically. Improved documentation toolkit, well-defined processes and policies, and response management to imminent threats help your organization not lose sight of its security posture even as you grow.
• Improves Compliance with Commercial, Contractual, and Legal requirements. The last domain in the ISO 27001 controls (A.18) ensures that your organization identifies the applicable laws and regulations such as IPR, protection of PII, and privacy and abides by them. It also ensures you have a risk mitigation plan in place (risks from non-compliance and penalties).
• Promotes Continual Improvement. ISO 27001 is designed to improve and keep pace with the latest technological changes continually. Compliance with the standard ensures you are too. 
• Builds a Sustainable Security Culture. ISO 27001 mainstreams the organization-wide security culture and educates and empowers your people as the frontline defence in any cyber attack, breach, or hack.

One-stop Solution to ISO 27001 Training

Sprinto has solved the problem of plenty for you by integrating the ISO 27001 security training module with its platform. 

When you sign up for Sprinto as your compliance platform, you get access to updated security programs that you can use to educate and train your workforce. You also get an intelligently automated solution that will make getting compliance a breeze. 

Book a demo with us today to learn more about everything Sprinto can do for you!

Add FAQs

Does ISO 27001 require security awareness training?

Yes, ISO 27001 certification requires security awareness training. This will be your employees’ first line of defense against cyber threats.

What is the ISO 27001 training plan?

Your ISO 27001 training plan should start with some basics of information security that help your employees identify and assess the key risks that could potentially affect the company’s assets. 

What is ISMS awareness training?

ISMS awareness training is a program designed to educate individuals within an organization about the principles and practices of ISMS. This training aims to clarify the roles of employees and how their actions impact the organization’s overall security posture.

Is ISO 27001 free?

No, ISO 27001 is not free. Currently, it costs approximately $125 for your to download the document of the standard. Also, you’ll need a document of the ISO 27002 standard, which costs $225. ISO 27002 provides guidance on implementing controls related to information security management.