An Overview of ISO 27701,The Privacy Information Systems Standard

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Bruce Schneier says, “Data is the pollution problem of the information age, and protecting privacy is the environmental challenge.”

This quote double-clicks the importance of keeping data and privacy on the highest pedestal of protection. This is where the ISO 27701 certification comes in.

ISO/IEC 27701:2019 serves as an essential tool for organizations. It is a data privacy extension to ISO 27001, a well-established information security standard. ISO/IEC 27701 offers guidance for companies that aim to establish systems that ensure compliance with regulations like GDPR and other data privacy requirements.

Let’s dive in to know what the ISO 27701 certificate stands for and how you can achieve that!

What is an ISO 27701 Certification?

ISO 27701 is an international standard for data privacy that builds upon the ISO 27001 framework and provides guidance for the establishment, maintenance, and improvement of a Privacy Information Management System (PIMS).
It plays a pivotal role in managing Personally Identifiable Information (PII), whether you’re the custodian of this sensitive information (PII controller) or processing it on behalf of others (PII processor).

ISO 27701 certification is an audited assurance of the fulfilment of PIMS requirements as established by the standard. Any organization that processes PII in the ISMS must demonstrate implementation of privacy best practices and controls to achieve the certification.

Purpose of ISO/IEC 27701

The purpose of ISO/IEC 27701 certification is to provide a framework to ensure that privacy risks are minimized. It integrates privacy best practices into organization’s policies and processes and facilitates the secure processing of personal data.

Establishing and maintaining an effective PIMS also lays the foundation for companies to comply with other data privacy standards such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).

Additionally, it demonstrates that the organization is committed to protecting customer data and enhances public perception to enable you to unlock better business opportunities.

What are ISO 27701 certification requirements?

ISO/IEC 27701 Certification follows a structured approach known as the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, adopting the Annex SL framework. This framework consists of 10 sections, where the first 3 are just introductory, while the remaining 7 talk about the auditable requirements for implementing ISO 27701 PIMS.

Context of the Organization (Section 4)

Identifies all relevant processes and activities related to ISO/IEC 27701 Certification, meaning it ensures a well-defined privacy management system.

Leadership (Section 5)

Highlights the role of top management and auditors in the implementation process. It clearly outlines their responsibilities to prevent conflicts.

Planning (Section 6)

Sets objectives for the management system and analyzes risks for their elimination from the organization.

Support (Section 7)

Ensures the organization has the tools, technologies, and resources for PIMS implementation. It also addresses competence, awareness, maintenance, and control of documented data.

Operation (Section 8)

Focuses on the operational processes and monitors progress toward objectives. Key requirement: regular risk assessment.

Performance Evaluation (Section 9)

Involves regular reviews of the management system, ensuring arrangements, processes, and controls are effective. Periodic monitoring of all processes and activities for proper privacy management.

Improvement (Section 10)

Drives continual enhancement of the privacy management system to mitigate risks effectively.

Also learn the difference between ISO 27001, ISO 27002 and ISO 27701 from this video:

What are the 5 categories of controls in ISO 27701?

There are 184 controls included in ISO/IEC 27701, but here, we have divided them into 5 categories. You need to address the security gaps in these 5 categories to create an effective PIMS and achieve ISO 27701 compliance. The five categories are:

Security management

This is where it all begins. These controls are responsible for creating and maintaining a robust security management system. It’s the foundation for data protection under the ISO 27701 certification requirements.

Information security incident management

When it comes to data, sometimes things don’t go as planned. These controls tell you how to manage incidents that threaten data security according to ISO 27701 certification requirements. It’s the plan for when the unexpected happens.

Information security controls

They include technical standards that safeguard your information from unauthorized access, usage, disclosure, and/or destruction.

Business continuity management

This is here to ensure your company can keep running even when you face unexpected incidents.

Information security risk management

Every journey has risks, and this category identifies, evaluates, and responds to those data security risks. It’s like having a map to navigate through the hazards of the information landscape.

Also check : Best Risk Analysis Tools in 2023

Steps to get ISO 27701 certified along with ISO 27001

In order to get ISO 27701 certified in conjunction with an ISO 27001 certification, you must understand how the two frameworks align and integrate with each other. The process starts by getting ISO 27001 certified followed by the implementation of privacy best practices mentioned by ISO 27701.

Step 1: Ensure buy-in from stakeholders

First, you need the green light from your stakeholders – the decision-makers who hold the keys to your organization’s future. ISO 27001 isn’t a solo expedition; it’s a team effort that spans across departments and levels of management.

So, gather your team, from the top-tier managers to the frontline staff. Brief them about the tasks ahead and the significance of their roles. 

Step 2: Conduct a risk assessment

Risk assessment gives you a clear picture of your business’s security status. It’s a snapshot of your security posture. With this snapshot, you can spot vulnerabilities and, more importantly, prioritize them based on the risk they pose to your business.

Step 3: Conduct a gap assessment 

You need to conduct a gap assessment regarding ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27002, and 27701 to find which controls are missing. 

If your ISMS is still taking baby steps, doing the gap assessment right at the beginning is smart. This way, you’ll get a clear picture upfront of where you stand and how big your compliance gap is.

The gap assessment will reveal which ISO 27001 controls you’ve already implemented. Your risk assessment will likely highlight many of these controls as essential for mitigating identified risks. It’s all about making sure you’re on the right track.

You can use the help of a compliance automation platform to find the missing controls. Sprinto is a compliance automation platform that will help you find the missing gaps in your system and address them promptly. It even sends an alert notification to the admin to fix it as soon as possible.

Step 4: Implement missing controls

The next step is to implement the missing privacy controls so you know where the gap is.

Do you have the right information security policies in place? Does your system cover proper human resource security?

Not only these, there are 114 controls in ISO 27001, and ISO 27701 has 184 controls in total. Start planning your implementation for this.

Step 5: Create an implementation plan

Implementation isn’t just about numbers and spreadsheets. It’s often a company-wide transformation, and change can meet resistance, especially for privacy management.

Before implementing, familiarize your team with the best practices for creating a secure business environment. One effective way to do this is through periodic security training programs.

These programs equip your team with the knowledge and skills to embrace the changes, contribute to a safer, more secure work environment, and build towards  ISO 27701 certification requirements.

Also check: ISO 27001 Training Program

Step 6: Evaluate performance

Remember to check in on your performance regularly while you’re in the thick of implementing your security measures for privacy management.

Periodically analyzing your performance reports.

This step helps you understand where you might still be at risk. Why is this important in the certification process? Because these vulnerabilities can directly impact your final audit with an external auditor.

Step 7: Conduct an internal audit

Now that you’ve set up all your systems and assigned the right people to manage them, what’s next? Well, keeping a close eye on your compliance efforts is important. You can bring in an external expert or a qualified internal auditor to check things out.

This internal audit will give a reality check for your business. It gives you an unbiased view of how well you’re doing with your security systems. Also, it helps you see where you need to make improvements.

Once you get the results from the audit, use them to fine-tune your security controls, public cloud, code of practice, and internal requirements.

Step 8: Select a third-party auditor

This is when you select a good third-party auditor to conduct your final audit. It happens in the following way:

Preliminary check

First, an ISO-certified auditor takes a close look at your organization. They dive into the legal requirements, how things operate, administrative processes, and all the technical details. It’s a thorough inspection to see if your organization aligns with ISO 27001 standards.

During this stage, they review your ISMS, Statement of Applicability (SOA), security risk reports, and plans to fix any issues or risks. They move on to the next security techniques if things look good. But if they still need to, they’ll ask you to improve specific areas before you start.

In-depth assessment

In the second stage, the auditor goes even deeper into a code of practice. They assess how well your ISMS is implemented. They check how applicable it is to your organization’s needs and how effectively your security techniques safeguard against cyber threats.

With the help of certification services, the auditor meticulously matches the controls you’ve put in place to the evidence they find. They want to ensure that what’s written down on paper matches what’s happening in your real business environment.

Step 9: Issuance of audit report and certificate

If the auditor is satisfied with your ISMS in the certification audit, protective and corrective plans, and the evidence they’ve gathered, and if they don’t spot any major issues, you’re on your way to getting ISO 27001 certified with the right security management standard.

Step 10: Establish constant monitoring

Dealing with compliance and privacy standards can be a real headache if you only think about it once in a blue moon. It often leads to a last-minute frenzy to follow the requirements of ISO, where you rush to check all the boxes, fix any issues, and hope nothing unexpected happens to your business processes as profit organization.

That’s why we’re here to stress the importance of continuous compliance monitoring or surveillance audits as a crucial part of your process.

This is where Sprinto comes in and takes away your effort in doing manual processes.

Sprinto connects with your systems and monitors your controls, ensuring you follow the requirements of ISO and see if they align with ISO 27701. It runs compliance tests, gathers evidence, and even alerts your security teams when something goes amiss.

This way, you’ve got plenty of time to fix any issues and keep your compliance program on track 24/7.

Steps to get ISO 27701 certified when you’re already ISO 27001 compliant

Now, if you are already ISO 27001 certified, the steps to ISO 2771 certification become much easier as you have already implemented many controls. Here are the steps to achieve the certification:

Know your basics

First things first, figure out the scope of your PIMS. This means outlining exactly what parts of your company this system will cover. Make sure it aligns with the ISO 27701:2019 Standard requirements.

Also, identify and evaluate the operational risks connected to your PIMS’s scope. In this step, you’re just looking for potential privacy hazards within your organization.

Do a gap assessment regarding 27701

Start by doing a gap assessment. This will take a snapshot of where you currently stand with your ISMS and how it aligns with the ISO 27701:2019 and ISO 27001:2022 requirements.

Now, it’s time to dive a bit deeper. Perform a gap analysis. This means comparing your existing ISMS to the standards set by ISO 27701:2019 and ISO 27001:2022. See where you’re in sync and where gaps need attention.

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