Many organizations struggle during their journey to ISO 27001 compliance if they lack in-house expertise and experience getting certified. To fill these gaps, organizations often hire an ISO 27001 consultant to help obtain their certification. In this article, we’ll cover what an ISO 27001 consultant is and how they can help with your compliance process.

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What is ISO 27001?

ISO 27001 is a standard for creating and maintaining an information security management system (ISMS). It was created by the International Organization for Standardization and has become a common requirement among businesses as they bring on SaaS vendors. An ISO 27001 certification demonstrates to potential customers that you’re doing your part to protect their data.

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What is an ISO 27001 consultant?

An ISO 27001 consultant is a professional who specializes in the ISO 27001 standard. They have in-depth knowledge of how to implement the required ISO 27001 controls and know what auditors are looking for. They may work as independent contractors or in a consulting firm.

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What does an ISO 27001 consultant do?

An ISO 27001 consultant can help with your entire compliance and certification process or they can help with specific stages and tasks. The scope of their work will be up to you when you hire them. It can include:

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• ISMS management
• Risk assessment
• Policy development and documentation
• Training
• Gap analysis
• Internal audit
• Preparation for audits and certification

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ISMS management

An ISO 27001 consultant can help you build a strong ISMS by leading your compliance project through design and development to meet the standard’s criteria. They can also help you implement the ISO 27001 security controls and identify ISO 27001-friendly ways to strengthen your existing ISMS.

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Risk assessment

Conducting an ISO 27001 risk assessment is a key part of the compliance requirements. The process involves analyzing the potential risks to your information security, determining their likelihood and impact, and identifying ways to minimize each risk.

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An ISO 27001 consultant can guide your team through this process and help you set up a continuous risk assessment procedure to help you maintain your compliance in the years ahead.

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Policy development and documentation

To be ISO 27001 compliant, there are certain policies and protocols you must have in place. These include policies about security practices staff members must follow, what to do in the case of a data breach and who to alert, how to conduct background checks for employees, and so on. A consultant can help you document, organize, and distribute these policies and make it easy for your auditor to verify they’re in place.

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Training

ISO 27001 requires that all personnel receive training on how they can prevent a data breach and reduce the risk of unauthorized access. This could include training in how to spot a potential phishing email, secure ways to verify an employee’s identity before granting or restoring access, how to keep passwords secure, and more. An ISO 27001 consultant can help you develop this training program for your organization or conduct the training for you.

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Gap analysis

ISO 27001 outlines extensive requirements for a strong ISMS. At the start of your compliance project, your ISMS likely already meets some of the requirements, but not all of them. A gap analysis is a thorough review of your system against the ISO 27001 requirements to identify which ones may be missing.

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Your ISO 27001 consultant can conduct a detailed gap analysis for you. You’ll want to do a gap analysis at the start of your compliance project to determine where you stand and then at least one later in the process to verify you’re ready for audit. The consultant can help you rectify any gaps that are found.

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Preparation for audits and certification

An ISO 27001 consultant can also help you prepare for your audit. They will collect all the documentation and evidence you’ll need to demonstrate your compliance to the auditor, organizing it so it’s easy for the auditor to understand. Since they know what auditors are looking for, they can help you improve your chances of a successful certification.

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Your consultant can also facilitate the audit for you. They can provide support by answering the auditor’s questions and giving them any additional documents they may need.

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Should you hire an ISO 27001 consultant?

Whether an ISO 27001 consultant is right for you will depend on your organization’s needs. Some organizations will benefit more than others — for example, organizations that have no established compliance team or that lack ISO 27001 expertise will get more value out of a consultant. It will also depend on the budget you have to hire a consultant.

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Benefits of an ISO 27001 consultant

For certain organizations, an ISO 27001 consultant can make ISO 27001 compliance possible and make it easier to get compliant. Consider these benefits:

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• Fill in knowledge gaps: A consultant can give organizations the expertise of a skilled compliance professional without hiring a full-time compliance team.
• Streamline your compliance process: Your team may be able to reach ISO 27001 compliance but a consultant will know the most efficient and effective way to do it.
• Improve your audits: Increase the likelihood that your compliance audit will be successful thanks to the input of an expert who knows what auditors want to see.
• Benefit from specialized tools: Get access to tools your consultant has that will better organize and streamline your compliance process.

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The benefits will depend on what tasks you hire your consultant to help with, but the items above can substantially improve your compliance process and the likelihood of receiving your certification.

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Disadvantages of ISO 27001 consultants

Here are some of the limitations and disadvantages that come with hiring an ISO 27001 consultant:

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• Cost: Specialized consultants command a high price tag, and while they do bring value to your organization, the cost could be prohibitive for some organizations.
• Need for trust: Not all consultants are equally skilled and knowledgeable. If you don’t have experts on your team, you’ll need to place a high amount of trust in your consultant to get your compliance project done right.

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How much does an ISO 27001 consultant cost?

The scope of your work with an ISO 27001 consultant can vary, which will impact the cost of hiring them too. Your consultant’s fees will depend on how large and complex your ISMS is. Generally, you can expect to pay between $35,000 to $40,000 for a consultant who works with you for your entire compliance process, from defining the scope of your project through implementation and audit.

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Simplifying your ISO 27001 certification

The steep cost of an ISO 27001 consultant isn’t something every organization has the budget for, but there’s a way to get specialized knowledge for ISO 27001 compliance with a much lower price tag: compliance automation. 

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Vanta’s trust management platform with automated compliance capabilities offers much of what an ISO 27001 consultant does, including conducting gap analysis, providing policy templates, guiding your risk assessment process, and compiling documentation for your audit. All while streamlining and automating up to 80% of the work it takes to get ISO 27001 compliant.

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