What is ISO 27001?
ISO/IEC 27001 is an international standard for information security. The standard describes how an organisation should set up, implement, maintain and continuously improve an Information Security Management System (ISMS).
The aim is to safeguard the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information — whether digital, paper or verbal.
🎯 Purpose of ISO 27001
- Identifying and managing information security risks
- Implementing controls against cyber threats, human error and data breaches
- Protecting sensitive data such as customer information, IP, production data, etc.
- Meeting Compliance requirements (such as AVG, NIS2, ePrivacy)
🧱 Key components of ISO 27001
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| ISMS | Information Security Management System |
| Risk assessment | Identification of threats, vulnerabilities and risks |
| Annex A | List of 93 controls (2022 version) |
| Statement of Applicability (SoA) | Explanation of which controls are or are not applied |
| Policy documents | Security policy, access management policy, Incident Response, etc. |
| Continuous improvement | Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle (PDCA) |
🔒 Examples of topics in Annex A
- Access control
- Physical security
- Backup and recovery
- Incident management
- Encryption
- Supplier management
- Awareness and training
- Network security and Monitoring
🔐 Relation to industrial environments
Although ISO 27001 is primarily focused on IT and information security, it is also applicable in industrial (OT) environments, for example:
- Securing production data in MES/ERP
- Managing access rights to SCADA systems
- Protecting information in IIoT applications
- Linkage with IEC 62443 for OT-specific measures
✅ Why pursue ISO 27001 certification?
- Demonstrable compliance with international standards
- Increased trust from customers and partners
- Strong foundation for cybersecurity policy
- Improved risk management
- Competitive advantage in tenders
📌 In summary
ISO 27001 is the global standard for information security. It helps organisations to systematically manage risks and protect sensitive information — in both IT and OT environments.