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 ISO 27001 nonconformity?

An ISO 27001 nonconformity is an organization’s non-fulfillment of a requirement of the ISO standard. Both major and minor nonconformities may be recorded in the process of a company’s certification audit. The presence of a major nonconformity means that a company cannot get certified. 

An organization is at risk of nonconformity if they have not fulfilled the standard requirements of the ISO 27001; if an organization’s documentation specified a process the organization is not following; or if an organization is not upholding contractual requirements in its dealings with third parties.  

A company’s ISO auditor will utilize nonconformities to judge the compliance of that company’s Information Security Management System (ISMS) against the ISO standard. An auditor will describe the nonconformity, provide evidence of the issue, reference by clause the requirement that is not being adequately addressed, and summarize what must be done to meet the stated requirement.

Examples of major nonconformities include:

  • Failure to fulfill a certain requirement of the standard
  • Absence of mandatory documentation
  • Breakdown of a process or procedure
  • Accumulation of minor nonconformities about one process or element of an organization’s management system, illuminating a larger problem 
  • Misuse of a certification mark, thus misleading customers 
  • Unresolved minor nonconformities

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

Additional resources you might like:

Compliance
Events
Building Trust in the AI Boom: Security, Capital, and Credibility from Day One

Join the CFOs of Vanta and Mercury for a tactical conversation on how early-stage teams can build trust with investors and buyers, without slowing down.

Compliance
Events
Live Demo: Accelerate security and compliance workflows with AI

Join us for a live demo where we’ll walk you through the AI functionality within the Vanta platform and how it can simplify your compliance process. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to ask live questions—whether it’s about AI specifically, compliance, or how to get started with Vanta.

Compliance
Events
Démo en direct : Simplifiez votre mise en conformité ISO 27001 ou SOC 2 avec Vanta

Participez à notre démo le 16 septembre pour découvrir Vanta en action et poser vos questions relatives à la conformité en direct.

Additional resources you might like:

Compliance
Events
Building Trust in the AI Boom: Security, Capital, and Credibility from Day One

Join the CFOs of Vanta and Mercury for a tactical conversation on how early-stage teams can build trust with investors and buyers, without slowing down.

Compliance
Events
Live Demo: Accelerate security and compliance workflows with AI

Join us for a live demo where we’ll walk you through the AI functionality within the Vanta platform and how it can simplify your compliance process. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to ask live questions—whether it’s about AI specifically, compliance, or how to get started with Vanta.

Compliance
Events
Démo en direct : Simplifiez votre mise en conformité ISO 27001 ou SOC 2 avec Vanta

Participez à notre démo le 16 septembre pour découvrir Vanta en action et poser vos questions relatives à la conformité en direct.

Compliance
Events
Product Demo: Automating Compliance for ISO 27001, GDPR and more with Vanta

Watch on-demand to explore how Vanta's automation can streamline your compliance efforts and save you time and money - all while helping you build customer trust.

Compliance
Events
Live-Produktdemo: ISO 27001- und SOC 2-Compliance mit Vanta einfach umsetzen

Der Nachweis von Compliance mit einem Sicherheitsrahmensystem wie ISO 27001 oder SOC 2 ist nicht nur für den Ausbau Ihres Unternehmens und die Beschaffung von Kapital unverzichtbar, sondern schafft auch die so wichtige Vertrauensbasis.

GRC
Events
Security, AI, and Trust: What We Learned from the Trust Maturity Report

Listen on-demand for a conversation with Matt Johansen, Founder & Security Researcher at Vulnerable U, as we dig into the findings of the report and explore what trust maturity looks like at every stage of growth.

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

Discover how Vanta’s automation and AI tools can help your team simplify compliance, strengthen security, and scale trust across frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and more.

AWS
Events
Turn security into your startup’s secret sales weapon

In this joint session with AWS, Vanta, and BreachRx, you’ll learn how early-stage teams are turning that pressure into an advantage.

Compliance
Events
Inside the FedRAMP 20x Pilot: Lessons Learned with Vanta

Get an inside look at our journey submitting the first FedRAMP 20x pilot submission - a new initiative that fast-tracks the path to FedRAMP Low authorization without the need for an agency sponsor.