The cost of ISO 27001 certification and the difference between compliance and certification
What is the cost of ISO 27001 and what are the differences between compliance and certification.
This article will examine the cost of obtaining ISO 27001 certification and the finer details between compliance and certification. We will look at the different recognised bodies certifying for ISO 27001 and the options available.
Reading time: 6 minutes
What is ISO 27001 certification?
ISO 27001, as explained in our âWhat is ISO 27001â article, is a widely-recognised standard created by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) that deals with information security management and the handling of data and information security risks.
Organisations implementing ISO 27001 commonly learn a great deal about their business and their information-handling procedures whilst improving their processes and enhancing their reputation with partners and customers.
The process of ISO 27001 implementation can help your organisation to formally organise their information security procedures and improve overall confidentiality, integrity and availability from top to bottom. In the long run, ISO 27001 certification can save you time and money and help you to gain new business leads.
What is the difference between ISO 27001 compliance and ISO 27001 certification?
ISO 27001, as explained in our âWhat is ISO 27001â article, is a widely-recognised standard created by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) that deals with information security management and the handling of data and information security risks.
Organisations implementing ISO 27001 commonly learn a great deal about their business and their information-handling procedures whilst improving their processes and enhancing their reputation with partners and customers.
The process of ISO 27001 implementation can help your organisation to formally organise their information security procedures and improve overall confidentiality, integrity and availability from top to bottom. In the long run, ISO 27001 certification can save you time and money and help you to gain new business leads.
Who can certify me for ISO 27001?
ISO 27001, as explained in our âWhat is ISO 27001â article, is a widely-recognised standard created by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) that deals with information security management and the handling of data and information security risks.
Organisations implementing ISO 27001 commonly learn a great deal about their business and their information-handling procedures whilst improving their processes and enhancing their reputation with partners and customers.
The process of ISO 27001 implementation can help your organisation to formally organise their information security procedures and improve overall confidentiality, integrity and availability from top to bottom. In the long run, ISO 27001 certification can save you time and money and help you to gain new business leads.
What is the process of certification for ISO 27001?
ISO 27001, as explained in our âWhat is ISO 27001â article, is a widely-recognised standard created by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) that deals with information security management and the handling of data and information security risks.
Organisations implementing ISO 27001 commonly learn a great deal about their business and their information-handling procedures whilst improving their processes and enhancing their reputation with partners and customers.
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The process of ISO 27001 implementation can help your organisation to formally organise their information security procedures and improve overall confidentiality, integrity and availability from top to bottom. In the long run, ISO 27001 certification can save you time and money and help you to gain new business leads.
What are the ISO 27001 certification requirements?
Overall, the ISO 27001 standard has over 200 different requirements. The requirements are outlined in the Annex A document and are all indicated by the word âshall.â Any sentence starting with âshallâ contains a process your organisation must have in place for certification to be achieved. An example of this is section 6.1.2 a) of ISO 27001:
There are four different requirements discussed in the above extract that are:
- An information security risk assessment process must be defined
- An information security risk assessment process must be applied
- The process must establish and maintain criteria to guide the decision on which risks to accept
- The process must establish and maintain criteria to guide decisions on when to perform a risk assessment.
How much does ISO 27001 certification cost?
Looking at the cost of ISO 27001 certification can initially be quite daunting. Several unknowns and many things about the certification you may not understand make it harder to gauge the cost. But in reality, there are only a few different costs to consider when starting the journey to certification.
- Firstly is the cost of certification; this is based on the number of days your chosen certification body will take to audit your ISMS. The time taken to complete this audit depends on the number of employees in your organisation, small organisations with less than ten employees may have to pay under ÂŁ5,000 for the certification term (3 years).â
- Next, you must consider the cost of technical solutions. This cost may not be needed and is based on the results of your risk assessment. Suppose you have flaws in your risk management systems. In that case, you may have to invest additional funds in technical solutions to meet the requirements of ISO 27001 certification.â
- The third cost to consider is the cost of internal resources. This is not an additional cost, but it may factor in depending on your policies. This cost describes the cost of your employees for the work they do to achieve ISO 27001 certificationâ
- Finally, it would be best if you considered the cost of consultancy and/or training. Suppose your organisation has little knowledge of implementing an ISMS and information security policies. In that case, you may have to hire a consultant or obtain additional training courses for your employees. We at Digital Octopii display our consultancy costs on our Pricing page.â
If youâre still struggling to understand the different costs of ISO 27001 certification, you may want to use our unique ISO 27001 Cost Calculator. Visit the link and fill out a few short questions, and we will give you an estimate of the total cost as well as a full cost breakdown sent to your email.
Elisabeth Belisle
Elisabeth is an Associate Consultant of the British Standards Institute (BSI), a BSI qualified ISO 27001 Lead Auditor and member of the Standard Committee responsible for the publication of the BS 10008 Standard.
Elisabeth can help you decide if ISO 27001 is for you and support you through its implementation, all the way to certification.