5 Steps of ISO/IEC 27001 Internal Audit for Information Security Management System

ISO/IEC 27001:2013 is an international standard that helps organizations to manage the security of their information assets. ISO/IEC 27001 standard provides a management framework for implementing an information security management system to guarantee the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all commercial data such as financial information, intellectual property, employee details, or information managed by third parties. The ISO 27001 framework was published in 2013 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and belongs to the ISO 27000 family of standards. ISO 27001 standard is an internationally recognized certifiable information security standard.

ISO/IEC 27001 explains how to implement information security controls for managing information security risks in the organization. Also, an ISO 27001 internal audit provides proactive assurance that the management system and its processes are conforming with the requirements of the standard, communicated throughout the organization, understood by employees and key stakeholders, and executed effectively. The objective of the audit is to determine any non-conformities, also it regulates the ISMS’s effectiveness, and provides the opportunity to improve. Along with that, there are many benefits of implementing ISO/IEC 27001 internal audit, it discovers nonconformities before others discover them, and the organization ensures a strong security stance by identifying areas that require attention before a security event. The internal audit demonstrates and informs management commitment. Also, assist staff understanding and awareness and helps in continual improvement.

To meet the ISO 27001 internal audit requirements, below mention five essential steps that every organization must follow.

1. Documentation review: Firstly, to start the internal audit process the organization should begin by reviewing the documentation, that was created when implementing the ISMS. This is because the audit’s scope should be matched with the organization’s requirements. From now, doing so will establish clear limits for what needs to be audited. Also, gathering all the important ISO/IEC 27001 documents in one place, because it will easy to provide the documentation that might be required during the audit.

1. Management review: The management review step is where the audit activity begins to take shape. Before creating a detailed audit plan, the internal auditor should communicate with management to agree on the timing and resourcing for the audit. This will often involve establishing set checkpoints at which the auditor will offer short-term updates to the board. Also meeting with management at this early stage allows both parties the opportunity to raise any concerns they may have.
2. Field review: It is at this stage that the practical assessment of the organization takes place. Where the auditor audit and observe how the ISMS works in practice by speaking with front-line staff members. Also, perform auditing tasks with help of the ISO 27001 audit checklist to validate evidence as it is gathered. As well as complete audit reports documenting the results of each test and review ISMS documents, printouts, and any other relevant data.
3. Analysis: Once the evidence is collected during the audit process should be sorted and reviewed the organization’s risk treatment plan and control objectives. Infrequently, this analysis may reveal gaps in the evidence or indicate the need for more audit tests.

5. Report: After, reviewing the documentation, management, fields, and the analysis the auditor prepared the ISO/IEC 27001 ISMS internal audit checklist report. The ISO 27001 audit checklist report includes:

An introduction clarifying the scope, objectives, timing, and extent of the work performed.

An executive summary covering the key findings, high-level analysis, and a conclusion.

The planned recipients of the report and, where appropriate, guidelines on classification and circulation.

Also, a detailed analysis of the findings. Conclusions and recommended corrective actions.

A statement detailing recommendations or scope limitations.

And, it involves management promising an action plan that resolves the problem.

Source: https://certificationauditchecklist.wordpress.com/2022/06/25/5-steps-of-iso-iec-27001-internal-audit-for-information-security-management-system/

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