In this ultimate guide I show you everything you need to know about the ISO 27001 information security policy. Exposing the insider trade secrets, giving you the templates that will save you hours of your life and showing you exactly what you need to do to satisfy it for ISO 27001 certification. I show you exactly what changed in the ISO 27001:2022 update. I am Stuart Barker the ISO 27001 Ninja and this is the ISO 27001 information security policy
The information security policy is a high level policy that sets out what the management approach of the organisation is. It includes some key elements such as management and leadership buy in. As a stand alone document it can be shared with staff to explain what they should be doing and with customers and potential customers to assure them you are doing the right thing.
The ISO27001 standard was updated in 2022 and this guide shows you how to write an Information Security Policy to meet the requirements of the updated standard.
You are going to have a pack of policies that are required by ISO 27001. This makes good, practical sense for a governance framework. It could all be in one document but there are practical benefits to having separate policies. By having separate policy documents, they are:
Designed to save hours of work and prewritten and fully populated the ISO 27001 Information Security Policy Template meets the requirements of ISO 27001 and other leading frameworks.
An information security policy is important because your organisation processes, stores and transmits valuable data and information. To understand the value of an information security policy, let’s break out the data we are protecting into three parts.
Customer Data: what ever your product or service, you are going to be handling customer data of some description. It could be customer personal information, order information, technical information. What is fundamental is that your customer cares deeply about that information. They also care about how you are taking care and protecting it.
Employee Data: you have employees and you have their most private and personal information. It is likely that you have names, address, bank details, social security and tax information, sickness information, performance data, pension information and more. Your employees care deeply about the protection of their most private information.
Company Data: you have financial data relating to your performance, you have customer databases and CRM, you potentially have intellectual property or secrets about the way you conduct business. Your owners care a lot about protecting this to protect their profits.
The easiest way to create and information security policy is to download and information security policy template and tailor it your organisation. By downloading a trusted template most of the hard work has been done for you.
This video on How To Create An Information Security Policy has been viewed over 13,000 times. If you are doing it yourself watch and learn step by step how to create an information security policy in under 5 minutes.
An information security policy is a document that is created by the organisation. Usually created in Microsoft Word with the final version saved as a PDF. It will be based on best practice such as the ISO 27001 the international standard for information security. It will have key common elements within it that are standard across every organisation. The information security policy will be approved by senior management and then shared with employees to let them know what is expected of them. It may form part of annual employee training. The policies will be reviewed, updated and reissued at least annually. As part of most customer tenders and bids you will be asked for a copy of your information security policy and it will be shared with them.
The information security management system is built upon an information security policy framework. In conjunction with this policy, the following policies make up the policy framework:
Time needed: 4 hours and 30 minutes
How to write an information security policy
Let’s map the information security policy template to each version of the ISO 27001 standards.
ISO 27001:2022 Clause 5 Leadership
ISO 27001:2022 Clause 5.1 Leadership and commitment
ISO 27001:2022 Clause 5.2 Policy
ISO 27001:2022 Clause 6.2 Information security objectives and planning to achieve them
ISO 27001:2022 Clause 7.3 Awareness
ISO 27002:2022 Clause 5 Organisational Controls
ISO 27002:2022 Clause 5.1 Policies for information security
ISO 27002:2022 Clause 5.36 Compliance with policies, rules, and standards for information security
ISO 27002:2022 Clause 5.4 Management Responsibilities
ISO 27002:2022 Clause 6 People Controls
ISO 27002:2022 Clause 6.3 Information security awareness, education, and training
ISO 27002:2022 Clause 6.4 Disciplinary process
ISO 27001:2013/2017 Clause 5 Leadership
ISO 27001:2013/2017 Clause 5.1 Leadership and commitment
ISO 27001:2013/2017 Clause 5.2 Policy
ISO 27001:2013/2017 Clause 6.2 Information security objectives and planning to achieve them
ISO 27001:2013/2017 Clause 7.3 Awareness
ISO 27002:2013/2017 Clause 5 Information security policies
ISO 27002:2013/2017 Clause 5.1 Management direction for information security
ISO 27002:2013/2017 Clause 5.1.1 Policies for information security
ISO 27002:2013/2017 Clause 5.1.2 Review of the policies for information security
ISO 27002:2013/2017 Clause 7 Human resource security
ISO 27002:2013/2017 Clause 7.2.1 Management Responsibilities
ISO 27002:2013/2017 Clause 7.2.2 Information security awareness, education, and training
ISO 27002:2013/2017 Clause 7.2.3 Disciplinary process
The purpose of the policy is to set out the information security policies that apply to the company to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data.
What is the scope of the ISO 27001 Information Security Policy?The scope of the policy is all employees and third-party users. This includes permanent staff, contractors, consultants and third party supplier employees working for your business.
What is the principle of the ISO 27001 Information Security Policy?Information security is managed based on risk, legal and regulatory requirements and business need.
Does an ISO 27001 Information Security Policy Include Leadership Commitment?Yes. Having a statement in the policy from the Chief Executive is a good way to record leadership commitment.
What is an ISO 27001 Information Security Policy?An information security policy sets out what you do for information security. It covers the what you do not how you do it. How you do it is covered in process, procedure and operating documents. It sets a clear direction for the organisation.
Does ISO 27001 require an Information Security Policy?Yes. An Information Security Policy is a key requirement of ISO 27001 forming part of ISO 27001 and ISO 27002 / Annex A.
Where can I get an ISO 27001 Information Security Policy template and best practice? What is the definition of confidentiality?Access to information is to those with appropriate authority.
The right people with the right access.
Information is complete and accurate
The right people with the right access to the right data.
Information is available when it is needed
The right people with the right access to the right data at the right time.
CIA is the Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability of data.
Is the ISO 27001 Information Security Policy required for ISO 27001 certification?Yes, it is a required element of the ISO 27001 certification.
What does an ISO 27001 Information Security Policy cover?
An information security management policy covers the following as a minimum:
Document Version Control
Document Contents Page
Purpose
Scope
Information Security Policy
Principle
Chief Executives Statement of Commitment
Introduction
Information Security Defined
Information Security Objectives
Information Security Policy Framework
Information Security Roles and Responsibilities
Monitoring
Legal and Regulatory Obligations
Policy Compliance
Compliance Measurement
Exceptions
Non-Compliance
Continual Improvement
