The ISO 27001 standard was published in October 2005, essentially replacing the old BS7799-2 standard. It is the specification for an ISMS, an Information Security Management System.

BS7799 itself was a long standing standard, first published in the nineties as a code of practice. As this matured, a second part emerged to cover management systems.

It is this against which certification is granted. Today in excess of a thousand certificates are in place, across the world.

ISO 27001 enhanced the content of BS7799-2 and harmonized it with other standards. A scheme has been introduced by various certification bodies for conversion from BS7799 certification to ISO27001 certification.

The objective of the standard itself is to "provide a model for establishing, implementing, operating, monitoring, reviewing, maintaining, and improving an Information Security Management System". Regarding its adoption, this should be a strategic decision.

Further, "The design and implementation of an organization's ISMS is influenced by their needs and objectives, security requirements, the process employed and the size and structure of the organization".

The standard defines its 'process approach' as "The application of a system of processes within an organization, together with the identification and interactions of these processes, and their management".

It employs the PDCA, Plan-Do-Check-Act model to structure the processes, and reflects the principles set out in the OECG guidelines (see oecd.org).

THE CONTENTS OF ISO 27001

The content sections of the standard are:

Management Responsibility

Internal Audits

ISMS Improvement

Annex A - Control objectives and controls

Annex B - OECD principles and this international standard

Annex C - Correspondence between ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and this standard