ISO 27001 is a globally recognized information security standard implemented by tens of thousands of companies across industries. It aims to help organizations build and maintain a comprehensive information security management system (ISMS) to protect critical IT assets and sensitive data.
The standard’s robust control coverage makes it an excellent option for organizations that want to follow effective security guidelines. This also means implementation can be challenging due to the many requirements your ISMS must meet—all of which must be reviewed by a third-party auditor.
Our strategic ISO 27001 compliance guide will help you avoid these challenges. Specifically, we’ll show you how to get ISO 27001 certification by covering:
- The certification timeline
- A detailed ISO 27001 certification process
- The main obstacles you might encounter (and how to overcome them)
How long does the ISO 27001 certification process take?
The ISO 27001 certification process typically takes three to ten months. As the obtained certificate lasts for three years with annual surveillance audits, you should also factor in ongoing compliance activities that allow you to maintain certification.
The following table breaks down the three key ISO 27001 certification process phases and their time frames:
The certification time frame is defined quite broadly to account for various factors that can impact the specific length of the process, most notably:
- Organization size
- Current security posture
- Available resources for maintaining the ISMS
-
{{cta_withimage2="/cta-blocks"}} | ISO 27001 compliance checklist
ISO 27001 certification path: 10 steps to implement
You’ll need to take the following steps to obtain your ISO 27001 certificate:
- Plan your ISO 27001 process map
- Define your ISMS scope
- Initiate risk assessment and gap analysis measures
- Implement the missing ISMS policies and controls
- Conduct employee training measures
- Prepare for the ISO 27001 certification audit process
- Go through a pre-certification readiness assessment
- Undergo the ISO 27001 stage 1 audit
- Pass the ISO 27001 stage 2 audit for certification
- Establish procedures for ongoing compliance
Below, we’ll cover each step in more detail.
Step 1: Plan your ISO 27001 process map
ISO 27001 requires cross-department collaboration because the controls you’ll need to implement go beyond the IT team’s responsibilities. That’s why you should map out the ISO 27001 processes alongside specific task owners and timelines.
You must also get management buy-in before starting the certification process to ensure adequate resource allocation. As compliance initiatives typically aren’t revenue drivers, you might have to clearly outline the benefits of ISO 27001 certification to get management on board.
Ideally, your process map will be visual and contain the following points:
- Specific processes broken down into tasks and milestones
- Responsibilities for each task
- The time and resources necessary for each process
- Procedural interdependencies
Step 2: Define your ISMS scope
Besides selecting the applicable ISO 27001 controls you’ll implement, you must also clearly outline the components of your management system that will be scoped by the audit. This includes:
- Information assets
- Specific employees
- Physical locations
At this stage, you’re defining your ISMS, which may come with several challenges that you need to be aware of.
{{sme_quote_2="/testimonials"}}
Step 3: Initiate risk assessment and gap analysis measures
ISO 27001 requires a formal risk assessment process that outlines all threats to your IT infrastructure and prescribes the right remediation measures. A typical ISO 27001 risk assessment process happens in six stages:
- Define your risk assessment methodology (qualitative, quantitative, etc.)
- Outline the specific metrics and scales you’ll use to measure risk
- Inventory all in-scope IT assets
- Identify all threats and vulnerabilities
- Assign risk scores based on impact and likelihood
- Define risk treatment measures
When performing a risk assessment, pay special attention to vendor and third-party risks, particularly the way you manage those risks ongoingly. Many organizations successfully complete the initial assessment but lack formal processes to re-assess the risks of a relationship with a partner on an ongoing (i.e., annual) basis.
Avoiding this mistake helps you keep up with the ever-evolving risk landscape, ensuring increased supply chain security.
Step 4: Implement the missing ISMS policies and controls
Your risk assessment will reveal all areas that lack the technical, procedural, or administrative security measures necessary for achieving ISO 27001 compliance. After completing it, you’ll likely need to complete various tasks to bridge the identified gaps, such as:
- Creating policies and documentation
- Conducting employee security training
- Establishing data access policies
The time and resources necessary to implement these controls depend mainly on your current security posture, but they typically take up considerable space in the overall certification process.
Step 5: Conduct employee training measures
ISO 27001 Annex A Control 6.3 stresses the importance of organization-level security awareness and adequate training. Your staff should understand basic security hygiene to prevent internal threats and ward off potential attacks by malicious parties.
Effective training should encompass various components, most notably:
- Comprehensive security materials (organization’s policies, best practices, etc.)
- Security guidelines regarding base-level measures (authentication, social engineering attack prevention, etc.)
- Information security event reporting guidelines
Security training should be conducted ongoingly to account for the changes in the organization’s risk landscape. Make sure your resources and programs are updated after each notable change to policies, procedures, and controls.
Step 6: Prepare for the ISO 27001 certification audit process
After bridging any ISO 27001 compliance gaps, you should prepare your organization for the formal certification process. The first step is to find a reputable auditor with extensive experience in ISO 27001 certification who’ll support you throughout the process.
Once you’ve found an auditor, schedule the audit and inform the key stakeholders about the necessary deadlines. Make sure to leave enough time for all the relevant preparation activities, most notably:
- Internal compliance audits
- Control documentation
- Evidence collection
When performing the final internal audit, make sure the internal auditor is independent of the functioning of the ISMS. Many times, smaller organizations have their ISMS audited by somebody with ISMS management responsibilities, which prevents the objectivity required for the continuous functioning of the ISMS.
{{cta_withimage2="/cta-blocks"}} | ISO 27001 compliance checklist
Step 7: Go through a pre-certification readiness assessment
You should conduct a readiness assessment beforehand to make the certification process as smooth as possible and avoid extensive back-and-forth. After the internal audit is complete, take the following steps:
- Review the final results to ensure there are no gaps
- Make evidence of control implementation readily available to the key stakeholders and the third-party auditor
- Map out the specific certification steps and get your team on board
Ideally, your chosen ISO 27001 auditor will help you with the last step. Don’t hesitate to ask them about the necessary compliance workflows you’ll need to set up and all the necessary details that will impact the certification process.
Step 8: Undergo the ISO 27001 Stage 1 audit
ISO 27001 certification happens in two stages, and the first one requires a comprehensive documentation review. Some of the key documents your auditor will ask for include:
- ISMS scope
- Statement of Applicability
- Definition of security roles and responsibilities
- Information security policy
- Information security objectives
- Risk assessment process and methodology
- Internal risk assessment report of results
- Risk Treatment Plan
You’ll also need to share your internal audit results to provide evidence of control implementation. This includes evidence of sufficient monitoring activities, management review results, and corrective action you’ve taken to remediate any compliance gaps.
If the auditor believes your documentation and evidence don’t meet the necessary standards, they’ll outline so-called nonconformities. These are areas of concern you’ll need to address before you can move on to the next audit stage.
Step 9: Pass the ISO 27001 Stage 2 audit for certification
After providing sufficient documentation, you will undergo the Stage 2 ISO 27001 assessment, also known as the Main or Certification assessment. This is where the auditor will examine your ISMS to ensure you’ve implemented all the necessary controls.
The audit is performed on-site or remotely, depending on the feasibility of both options. Either way, the key areas the auditor will review include:
- Risk management (recorded risks, treatment plans, etc.)
- Asset management (IT assets, third-party contracts, etc.)
- Incident management (trigger events, reporting process, etc.)
Besides the controls’ effectiveness, the auditor will review their fairness and suitability for your risk profile and overall security landscape. You may need to provide additional evidence at this stage, so have all the key documents readily available.
Step 10: Establish procedures for ongoing compliance
After obtaining an ISO 27001 certificate, you’ll undergo:
- Surveillance audits in years one and two
- A recertification audit during year three (before your certificate’s expiration)
The three-year ISO 27001 cycle repeats indefinitely, so you must set up adequate measures and processes for continuous compliance management.
Surveillance audits are much simpler than the initial certification audit and typically take little time—especially if you continuously monitor control effectiveness and maintain your evidence.
The recertification audit is structurally the same as the initial certification audit, though you may not need as much time to complete it. You’ll already have the controls in place, so there shouldn’t be any major compliance gaps unless your security posture changes dramatically.
Bonus read: If you need more resources to prepare for successful ISO 27001 certification, check out these guides:
- Who needs ISO 27001 certification?
- How much does ISO 27001 certification cost?
- ISO 27001 for startups: What every startup should know?
- Everything you need to know about ISO 27001 consultants
ISO certification procedure: Potential challenges
You might encounter various obstacles while completing different ISO 27001 processes, most notably:
- Inadequate risk treatment plans: This issue is particularly common in large organizations with complex risk profiles. As threats evolve, you must continuously update your risk treatment plan to account for them, which can be laborious and time-consuming.
- Inconsistent or insufficient evidence: Evidence collection is among the most painstaking compliance activities, and it can be particularly challenging if you use manual and/or disparate documentation systems. In this case, you run the risk of failing to provide sufficient evidence of control implementation and effectiveness.
- Balancing compliance efforts with everyday operations: ISO 27001 certification often takes months, and it can hinder the day-to-day activities of the involved departments. This can result in issues such as productivity drops and delayed deliverables.
Luckily, most ISO 27001 challenges can be avoided through compliance automation. By supporting the compliance process with the right software, you can get certified more quickly and effortlessly.
Start your ISO 27001 certification process with Vanta
Vanta is an end-to-end compliance and trust management platform that automates up to 80% of ISO 27001 compliance processes. By doing so, it removes inefficiencies and takes over the most time-consuming tasks to let your team focus on more impactful compliance work.
The platform does this through a dedicated ISO 27001 product, which comes with various useful features, including:
- Automated evidence collection supported by 375+ integrations
- Centralized compliance documentation to replace disparate systems
- Checklists, templates, and tests for developing and implementing your ISMS
- Streamlined access review features
- Comprehensive risk management built around ISO 27005 guidelines
- Built-in resources like templates and tests
Vanta also has an extensive partner network you can tap into to find industry-leading ISO 27001 auditors, so you won’t need to take shots in the dark.
Schedule a custom demo of Vanta’s ISO 27001 product to find out more about it and enjoy a personalized, hands-on experience.
{{cta_simple2="/cta-blocks"}} | ISO 27001 product page
Preparing for an ISO 27001 audit
Your ultimate roadmap to the ISO 27001 certification process
Preparing for an ISO 27001 audit
Your ultimate roadmap to the ISO 27001 certification process
Download the checklist
Preparing for an ISO 27001 audit
Looking to automate up to 80% of the work for ISO 27001 compliance?
ISO 27001 is a globally recognized information security standard implemented by tens of thousands of companies across industries. It aims to help organizations build and maintain a comprehensive information security management system (ISMS) to protect critical IT assets and sensitive data.
The standard’s robust control coverage makes it an excellent option for organizations that want to follow effective security guidelines. This also means implementation can be challenging due to the many requirements your ISMS must meet—all of which must be reviewed by a third-party auditor.
Our strategic ISO 27001 compliance guide will help you avoid these challenges. Specifically, we’ll show you how to get ISO 27001 certification by covering:
- The certification timeline
- A detailed ISO 27001 certification process
- The main obstacles you might encounter (and how to overcome them)
How long does the ISO 27001 certification process take?
The ISO 27001 certification process typically takes three to ten months. As the obtained certificate lasts for three years with annual surveillance audits, you should also factor in ongoing compliance activities that allow you to maintain certification.
The following table breaks down the three key ISO 27001 certification process phases and their time frames:
The certification time frame is defined quite broadly to account for various factors that can impact the specific length of the process, most notably:
- Organization size
- Current security posture
- Available resources for maintaining the ISMS
-
{{cta_withimage2="/cta-blocks"}} | ISO 27001 compliance checklist
ISO 27001 certification path: 10 steps to implement
You’ll need to take the following steps to obtain your ISO 27001 certificate:
- Plan your ISO 27001 process map
- Define your ISMS scope
- Initiate risk assessment and gap analysis measures
- Implement the missing ISMS policies and controls
- Conduct employee training measures
- Prepare for the ISO 27001 certification audit process
- Go through a pre-certification readiness assessment
- Undergo the ISO 27001 stage 1 audit
- Pass the ISO 27001 stage 2 audit for certification
- Establish procedures for ongoing compliance
Below, we’ll cover each step in more detail.
Step 1: Plan your ISO 27001 process map
ISO 27001 requires cross-department collaboration because the controls you’ll need to implement go beyond the IT team’s responsibilities. That’s why you should map out the ISO 27001 processes alongside specific task owners and timelines.
You must also get management buy-in before starting the certification process to ensure adequate resource allocation. As compliance initiatives typically aren’t revenue drivers, you might have to clearly outline the benefits of ISO 27001 certification to get management on board.
Ideally, your process map will be visual and contain the following points:
- Specific processes broken down into tasks and milestones
- Responsibilities for each task
- The time and resources necessary for each process
- Procedural interdependencies
Step 2: Define your ISMS scope
Besides selecting the applicable ISO 27001 controls you’ll implement, you must also clearly outline the components of your management system that will be scoped by the audit. This includes:
- Information assets
- Specific employees
- Physical locations
At this stage, you’re defining your ISMS, which may come with several challenges that you need to be aware of.
{{sme_quote_2="/testimonials"}}
Step 3: Initiate risk assessment and gap analysis measures
ISO 27001 requires a formal risk assessment process that outlines all threats to your IT infrastructure and prescribes the right remediation measures. A typical ISO 27001 risk assessment process happens in six stages:
- Define your risk assessment methodology (qualitative, quantitative, etc.)
- Outline the specific metrics and scales you’ll use to measure risk
- Inventory all in-scope IT assets
- Identify all threats and vulnerabilities
- Assign risk scores based on impact and likelihood
- Define risk treatment measures
When performing a risk assessment, pay special attention to vendor and third-party risks, particularly the way you manage those risks ongoingly. Many organizations successfully complete the initial assessment but lack formal processes to re-assess the risks of a relationship with a partner on an ongoing (i.e., annual) basis.
Avoiding this mistake helps you keep up with the ever-evolving risk landscape, ensuring increased supply chain security.
Step 4: Implement the missing ISMS policies and controls
Your risk assessment will reveal all areas that lack the technical, procedural, or administrative security measures necessary for achieving ISO 27001 compliance. After completing it, you’ll likely need to complete various tasks to bridge the identified gaps, such as:
- Creating policies and documentation
- Conducting employee security training
- Establishing data access policies
The time and resources necessary to implement these controls depend mainly on your current security posture, but they typically take up considerable space in the overall certification process.
Step 5: Conduct employee training measures
ISO 27001 Annex A Control 6.3 stresses the importance of organization-level security awareness and adequate training. Your staff should understand basic security hygiene to prevent internal threats and ward off potential attacks by malicious parties.
Effective training should encompass various components, most notably:
- Comprehensive security materials (organization’s policies, best practices, etc.)
- Security guidelines regarding base-level measures (authentication, social engineering attack prevention, etc.)
- Information security event reporting guidelines
Security training should be conducted ongoingly to account for the changes in the organization’s risk landscape. Make sure your resources and programs are updated after each notable change to policies, procedures, and controls.
Step 6: Prepare for the ISO 27001 certification audit process
After bridging any ISO 27001 compliance gaps, you should prepare your organization for the formal certification process. The first step is to find a reputable auditor with extensive experience in ISO 27001 certification who’ll support you throughout the process.
Once you’ve found an auditor, schedule the audit and inform the key stakeholders about the necessary deadlines. Make sure to leave enough time for all the relevant preparation activities, most notably:
- Internal compliance audits
- Control documentation
- Evidence collection
When performing the final internal audit, make sure the internal auditor is independent of the functioning of the ISMS. Many times, smaller organizations have their ISMS audited by somebody with ISMS management responsibilities, which prevents the objectivity required for the continuous functioning of the ISMS.
{{cta_withimage2="/cta-blocks"}} | ISO 27001 compliance checklist
Step 7: Go through a pre-certification readiness assessment
You should conduct a readiness assessment beforehand to make the certification process as smooth as possible and avoid extensive back-and-forth. After the internal audit is complete, take the following steps:
- Review the final results to ensure there are no gaps
- Make evidence of control implementation readily available to the key stakeholders and the third-party auditor
- Map out the specific certification steps and get your team on board
Ideally, your chosen ISO 27001 auditor will help you with the last step. Don’t hesitate to ask them about the necessary compliance workflows you’ll need to set up and all the necessary details that will impact the certification process.
Step 8: Undergo the ISO 27001 Stage 1 audit
ISO 27001 certification happens in two stages, and the first one requires a comprehensive documentation review. Some of the key documents your auditor will ask for include:
- ISMS scope
- Statement of Applicability
- Definition of security roles and responsibilities
- Information security policy
- Information security objectives
- Risk assessment process and methodology
- Internal risk assessment report of results
- Risk Treatment Plan
You’ll also need to share your internal audit results to provide evidence of control implementation. This includes evidence of sufficient monitoring activities, management review results, and corrective action you’ve taken to remediate any compliance gaps.
If the auditor believes your documentation and evidence don’t meet the necessary standards, they’ll outline so-called nonconformities. These are areas of concern you’ll need to address before you can move on to the next audit stage.
Step 9: Pass the ISO 27001 Stage 2 audit for certification
After providing sufficient documentation, you will undergo the Stage 2 ISO 27001 assessment, also known as the Main or Certification assessment. This is where the auditor will examine your ISMS to ensure you’ve implemented all the necessary controls.
The audit is performed on-site or remotely, depending on the feasibility of both options. Either way, the key areas the auditor will review include:
- Risk management (recorded risks, treatment plans, etc.)
- Asset management (IT assets, third-party contracts, etc.)
- Incident management (trigger events, reporting process, etc.)
Besides the controls’ effectiveness, the auditor will review their fairness and suitability for your risk profile and overall security landscape. You may need to provide additional evidence at this stage, so have all the key documents readily available.
Step 10: Establish procedures for ongoing compliance
After obtaining an ISO 27001 certificate, you’ll undergo:
- Surveillance audits in years one and two
- A recertification audit during year three (before your certificate’s expiration)
The three-year ISO 27001 cycle repeats indefinitely, so you must set up adequate measures and processes for continuous compliance management.
Surveillance audits are much simpler than the initial certification audit and typically take little time—especially if you continuously monitor control effectiveness and maintain your evidence.
The recertification audit is structurally the same as the initial certification audit, though you may not need as much time to complete it. You’ll already have the controls in place, so there shouldn’t be any major compliance gaps unless your security posture changes dramatically.
Bonus read: If you need more resources to prepare for successful ISO 27001 certification, check out these guides:
- Who needs ISO 27001 certification?
- How much does ISO 27001 certification cost?
- ISO 27001 for startups: What every startup should know?
- Everything you need to know about ISO 27001 consultants
ISO certification procedure: Potential challenges
You might encounter various obstacles while completing different ISO 27001 processes, most notably:
- Inadequate risk treatment plans: This issue is particularly common in large organizations with complex risk profiles. As threats evolve, you must continuously update your risk treatment plan to account for them, which can be laborious and time-consuming.
- Inconsistent or insufficient evidence: Evidence collection is among the most painstaking compliance activities, and it can be particularly challenging if you use manual and/or disparate documentation systems. In this case, you run the risk of failing to provide sufficient evidence of control implementation and effectiveness.
- Balancing compliance efforts with everyday operations: ISO 27001 certification often takes months, and it can hinder the day-to-day activities of the involved departments. This can result in issues such as productivity drops and delayed deliverables.
Luckily, most ISO 27001 challenges can be avoided through compliance automation. By supporting the compliance process with the right software, you can get certified more quickly and effortlessly.
Start your ISO 27001 certification process with Vanta
Vanta is an end-to-end compliance and trust management platform that automates up to 80% of ISO 27001 compliance processes. By doing so, it removes inefficiencies and takes over the most time-consuming tasks to let your team focus on more impactful compliance work.
The platform does this through a dedicated ISO 27001 product, which comes with various useful features, including:
- Automated evidence collection supported by 375+ integrations
- Centralized compliance documentation to replace disparate systems
- Checklists, templates, and tests for developing and implementing your ISMS
- Streamlined access review features
- Comprehensive risk management built around ISO 27005 guidelines
- Built-in resources like templates and tests
Vanta also has an extensive partner network you can tap into to find industry-leading ISO 27001 auditors, so you won’t need to take shots in the dark.
Schedule a custom demo of Vanta’s ISO 27001 product to find out more about it and enjoy a personalized, hands-on experience.
{{cta_simple2="/cta-blocks"}} | ISO 27001 product page
Explore more ISO 27001 articles
Introduction to ISO 27001
ISO 27001 requirements
Preparing for an ISO 27001 audit
Streamlining ISO 27001 compliance
Understanding ISO differences
Get started with ISO 27001
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