Your security and compliance glossary

All the terms you need to know when you’re trying to get compliance audit ready, fast.

Show filters

What is an Information Security Management System (ISMS)?

An Information Security Management System (ISMS) establishes a systematic approach to managing an organization’s information security. As a documented management system, ISMS provides a set of security controls a company can record in policies, procedures, and other kinds of documents; it may also consist of established processes and technologies that are not documented. The ISO 27001 standard defines which documents must exist at a minimum. 


Implementing an ISMS provides a structured approach to integrating information security into an organization’s business processes. Helping to manage and minimize risks to acceptable levels increases the organization’s resiliency against evolving security threats and ensures the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of organizational and customer information. 


In any implementation, companies need to define and document a risk assessment method and state the protection of specific business assets. The scope of an organization’s ISMS can be as small or as large as is necessary; the ISMS can cover part of an organization, such as a specific function or service or the entire organization.

{{cta_withimage2="/cta-modules"}}

Additional resources you might like:

Vendor Risk Management
Events
Office Hour: Transform how you manage third-party and internal risk

Join us for a live, interactive Office Hour as we dive deeper into Vanta’s vision for unified, continuous, AI-powered risk management, and what it means for your business today.

Compliance
Events
Live Demo: Accelerate Security and Compliance Workflows with AI

Join us for a live demo to see how Vanta AI streamlines your security and compliance workflows.

SOC 2
Events
Live Demo: Automating SOC 2, ISO 27001 & More with Vanta

Join our demo to see how leading startups and security teams are automating compliance across 35+ frameworks, including SOC 2, ISO 27001, and HIPAA.

Additional resources you might like:

Vendor Risk Management
Events
Office Hour: Transform how you manage third-party and internal risk

Join us for a live, interactive Office Hour as we dive deeper into Vanta’s vision for unified, continuous, AI-powered risk management, and what it means for your business today.

Compliance
Events
Live Demo: Accelerate Security and Compliance Workflows with AI

Join us for a live demo to see how Vanta AI streamlines your security and compliance workflows.

SOC 2
Events
Live Demo: Automating SOC 2, ISO 27001 & More with Vanta

Join our demo to see how leading startups and security teams are automating compliance across 35+ frameworks, including SOC 2, ISO 27001, and HIPAA.

Compliance
Events
Navigating Fintech Compliance in an Evolving Regulatory Landscape

Join Vanta and Codat for a deep-dive on how to future-proof your fintech’s compliance strategy and transform it into a competitive advantage. 

Comparisons and reviews
Blog
Why enterprise leaders choose Vanta over Drata to prove and manage trust

Learn how Vanta is uniquely equipped to meet the needs of large, complex organizations.

GRC
Events
The New Growth Playbook: How GRC Unlocks Trust and Speed at Scale

Join experts from Vanta, and Sensiba for a practical discussion on how to evolve your approach to risk and compliance — turning it from a blocker into a business accelerator.

SOC 2
Events
Demo: Automating Compliance for SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and More

Watch on-demand to learn how Vanta helps organizations streamline compliance for frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and more.

Vendor Risk Management
Events
Demo: Navigating Third-Party Risk Through Vanta’s Vendor Risk Management

Watch this on-demand demo to learn how Vanta’s Vendor Risk Management solution automates and streamlines security reviews so that you can spend less time on repetitive work and more time strengthening your security posture.

GRC
Events
Turning Chaos Into Clarity: Continuous Security at Scale

Watch this on-demand demo to learn how automated, continuous trust management replaces manual processes, helps you stay audit-ready, strengthens risk insights, and turns your GRC program into a business advantage.