It is possible for a startup to last for years with no having a serious look at ISO 27001. Then an email arrives from an enterprise client who is promising: “Please provide your ISO 27001 certificate to us as part of our vendor security assessment.”
The issue of certification is no longer a subject that will be debated next year. The company needs to conclude an agreement.
For many growing companies it’s the best basis for ISO 27001 for small business. The trick is figuring out what exactly needs to happen without changing a simple security program into a massive compliance program.
Week One should be about Scope, Not Shopping
The first instinct may be to start comparing compliance platforms and consultants. An alternative is to figure out what Information Security Management System, or ISMS must cover.
The scope of the project is essential since adding unneeded systems, locations or processes to the documentation can lead to additional evidence and documentation requirements.
Small SaaS businesses, for example, may have an environment that’s centered around cloud infrastructures and employee devices, as well as client information, and few key vendors. Understanding the current environment can assist in determining which certification is needed.
Check the security that you Already Have
Companies researching ISO 27001 for startups sometimes assume they need to build an entirely new security operation.
It’s possible that this is not accurate.
Modern startups might already have established cloud providers that require multi-factor authentication, a restricted set of access to employees and system logs for managing the onboarding process and documentation for offboarding. It’s important to evaluate current practices against ISO 27001, but if you start with the practices that work now, it will help avoid unnecessary duplicates.
The remaining work includes preparing policies, performing risk assessments and making decisions about Annex A controls applicable, complete Statements of Applicability (SOA) and collecting evidence.
It is now possible to identify the invoices that pay what.
When costs are not combined into one number it becomes easier to understand the ISO 27001 cost.
The first year’s expenses for a small-sized business could range from $10,000 to $30,000 when the independent certification audit, compliance software, and internal staff time are taken into account. Consulting costs are an additional expense, but it’s not required.
The ISO 27001 certification cost charged by an accredited certification organization is especially important to distinguish from software-related fees. The compliance platform functions as a tool that allows for the organization of work but is unable to issue a certification. Certification comes through the independent audit procedure.
Then, the proof
The mere fact of a policy that says access to employees will be revoked after leaving isn’t enough. Auditor needs proof that the process is actually working.
ISO 27001 is based on the distinction between showing and saying.
CertAssist is designed to facilitate this work without connecting directly to a company’s live systems. It displays all ISO 27001:2022 Annex A controls on a single board, provides editable policy and evidence templates, supports the Statement of Applicability and also allows auditor access that is read-only.
Templates are a great tool for small groups of people to reduce the lengthy process of creating each policy by hand.
Certification Day Isn’t a Finish Line
Based on the existing security practices and resources, it may take between three and six month to get certified. The body that certifies conducts audits at both Stage 1 and Stage 2.
Passing those audits isn’t permission to ignore the ISMS. Controls and evidence need to be maintained, and surveillance audits follow after the certification.
This is an important element to consider when creating the program. It’s not enough for small businesses to simply use an ISMS which it can afford. It needs an ISMS to ensure that the team can function realistically following the initial project ended.
It’s not often that even the biggest organization is the one with the best ISO 27001 program. It’s one that is in line with the requirements of the standard, incorporates genuine security practices, survives independent scrutiny, and is manageable when everyone returns back to their work.
