ISO 27001 vs. ISO 27002: How to Find Your Way Around the World of Information Security Standards
In the world of information security, which is always changing, ISO 27001 and ISO 27002 stand out as examples of how things should be done. These standards are often talked about together, but they have different but related jobs to do in the field of information security management. The goal of this piece is to clear up any confusion about ISO 27001 and ISO 27002 by looking at their differences, how they work together, and how they can be used in today’s digital world.
Getting to Know the Basics: ISO 27002 and ISO 27001 Set Out
The exact name for ISO 27001 is ISO/IEC 27001:2013. It is an international standard that tells you how to set up, run, manage, and keep improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS). It gives you a way to organize and keep track of private company data that keeps it safe, private, and accessible.
ISO 27002, whose full name is ISO/IEC 27002:2013, is a set of rules for how to keep information safe. It tells you how to put the rules in Annex A of ISO 27001 into action. You can find out what needs to be done in ISO 27001, and how to do it in ISO 27002.
What Makes ISO 27001 and ISO 27002 Different
Nature and Goals
An ISO 27001 standard is for a management system. It gives companies a way to make an ISMS, with a focus on the tools and methods they need to handle information security well. The standard is meant to be adaptable so that groups can change it to fit their goals and risk situation.
ISO 27002, on the other hand, is a manual that gives advice. It gives detailed advice on how to put the security rules in ISO 27001 into action. It doesn’t tell companies how to set up their ISMS, but it does give them ideas for best practices.
Building and Content
ISO 27001 is made up of several parts, which are:
Clauses 4–10 spell out what an ISMS needs to do. Annex A contains a list of 114 controls organized into 14 areas.
There are 14 control areas in Annex A of ISO 27001. These form the basis of ISO 27002. It gives the following for each control:
A control statement Advice on how to put it into action
Some other things
Certification and Following the Rules
One big difference between these standards is how they handle compliance and certification: ISO 27001 is a standard that can be certified. An approved certifying company can do an official audit of an organization to show that it follows ISO 27001 guidelines. Getting this license can help you build trust with clients and show that you care about information security.
There is no way to certify ISO 27002. It is a code of behavior, not a list of standards. It can be used as a reference for putting in place security controls, but it is not a requirement for official approval or licensing.
Methods for Managing Risk
ISO 27001 stresses that information security should be based on risk. It tells businesses they have to:
Find information assets
Look at possible risks and weak spots.
Look at how likely and bad security leaks are to happen.
Put in place the right measures to reduce the risks that have been discovered.
Even though ISO 27002 doesn’t talk about risk assessment directly, it does talk about how to put controls in place that may be chosen based on the risk assessment process in ISO 27001.
Nature of Requirements vs. Choice
ISO 27001 uses directive language to tell businesses what they “shall” do to follow the rules. It lists the conditions that an ISMS must meet.
ISO 27002, on the other hand, uses wording that is more descriptive and gives advice on the best ways to do things. It uses words like “should” and “may,” which gives groups more freedom in how they put the rules in place.
What is a symbiotic relationship? How ISO 27002 and ISO 27001 Work Together
Even though they are different, ISO 27001 and ISO 27002 are meant to work together to make an all-around method to information security management:
Framework and Advice on How to Implement It
ISO 27001 is the main document that tells you what needs to be done for an ISMS. It lays out the rules for creating, applying, managing, and always making an ISMS better.
Then, ISO 27002 fills in the blanks by giving advice on how to put certain rules in place. It tells businesses the best ways to apply each of the 114 controls listed in Annex A of ISO 27001 and what the best practices are.
Evaluation of Risk and Choice of Controls
Based on an organization’s unique risk profile, ISO 27001 helps them figure out which controls they need and how to measure those risks.
Then, ISO 27002 gives thorough instructions on how to put these chosen rules into action correctly. It gives useful tips and things to think about for every control, which helps businesses make their execution fit their wants and situation.
Always Getting Better
Through its Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, ISO 27001 stresses how important it is for the ISMS to always get better.
This is supported by ISO 27002, which gives thorough instructions on how to make certain rules better over time. When businesses look at and improve their security measures, they can use ISO 27002 to find the best ways to do things and get started.
Usage in Real Life: Setting up ISO 27001 and ISO 27002
These steps are usually what a company does when it chooses to use an ISMS based on ISO 27001:
Scope Definition: Set the limits of the ISMS (an ISO 27001 condition).
Information Security Policy: Make a broad policy for information security (ISO 27001 standard).
Risk Assessment: Do a full risk assessment (this is required by ISO 27001).
Risk Treatment: Develop a risk treatment plan, choosing suitable controls from Annex A of ISO 27001.
Statement of Applicability: Write down which controls apply and which do not, along with reasons (ISO 27001 rule).
Control Implementation: Put the chosen controls into place, using ISO 27002 to help you with best practices and specifics of how to do it.
Training and Awareness: Make sure that everyone who needs to know about information security knows what they need to do (ISO 27001 standard).
Operations: Manage incidents and run the ISMS (this is required by ISO 27001).
Review and Monitoring: Always check to see how well the ISMS is working (ISO 27001 standard).
Internal Audit: Do internal checks on a daily basis (ISO 27001 requires it).
Management Review: The ISMS needs to be reviewed by top management on a regular basis (ISO 27001 standard).
Continuous Improvement: Based on tracking and review results, keep making the ISMS better (ISO 27001 standard).
During this process, companies can use ISO 27002 to get clear instructions on how to set up certain rules. For instance, if a company wants to use access control methods (Control A.9 in ISO 27001), they would look at the relevant part in ISO 27002 for specific information on how to register users, handle passwords, and manage access rights.
Case Study: A Journey of a Healthcare Provider
Take the example of HealthCare Plus, a medium-sized healthcare provider that chose to use an ISMS built on ISO 27001 to keep patient data safe and follow healthcare rules.
Following the steps needed by ISO 27001, they first defined the scope of their ISMS and did a full risk review. This evaluation showed that there were a lot of risks in areas like controlling who can access what, encrypting data, and managing mobile devices.
In order to put rules in place to deal with these risks, HealthCare Plus looked to ISO 27002 for specific instructions. As an example:
They looked at ISO 27002 for advice on how to set up a strong user authentication system and manage access rights for access control (Control A.9 in ISO 27001).
For cryptography (Control A.10 in ISO 27001), they followed the advice in ISO 27002 to make a strategy on how to use encryption and set up ways to handle keys.
For managing mobile devices (Control A.6 in ISO 27001), they used the advice in ISO 27002 to make rules for safe mobile device use and set up tools for managing mobile devices.
With the help of both standards, HealthCare Plus was able to create an ISMS that fully handled their unique risks and met both ISO 27001 and healthcare laws. They got ISO 27001 approval after 18 months of application and a good audit. This shows that they are dedicated to keeping private patient information safe.
Problems and Things to Think About
ISO 27001 and ISO 27002 provide a strong strategy for managing information security, but companies may face a number of problems when they try to put them into practice:
Requirements for Resources: Setting up an ISMS and the rules that go with it can take a lot of time, money, and knowledge.
Organizational mindset: Changing to a mindset that cares about security can be hard, and workers may fight it.
Up-to-Date on Technology: As technology changes, so do new security risks. To deal with these new risks, organizations must always be updating their security methods.
Finding the Right Balance Between Security and Usability: Putting in place strict security controls can sometimes make the system less usable. Security steps shouldn’t get in the way of work, so companies need to find the right mix.
Understanding and Applying: ISO 27002 gives a lot of detailed information, but companies may still have trouble understanding and using this information in their own unique situation.
How ISO 27001 and ISO 27002 Have Changed Over Time
These standards are always changing because the digital world is always changing. Some possible future trends are:
More focus on privacy controls, in line with rules like GDPR; more attention paid to cloud security and situations where workers are spread out;
AI and machine learning being used together in security settings
Better advice on how to keep the supply chain safe
More in line with other management system guidelines to make merging easy
In conclusion
Both ISO 27001 and ISO 27002 are separate, but together they make a strong pair in the field of information security management. ISO 27001 sets the rules and structure for an ISMS, and ISO 27002 gives you all the information you need to set up controls that work.
Organizations that want to set up strong information security practices need to know how these standards relate to each other. By properly using both standards, businesses can build a strong base for safeguarding their data, earning the trust of stakeholders, and managing the complicated world of information security dangers.
The ideas behind ISO 27001 and ISO 27002 will continue to be very important in how businesses handle information security as we move further into the digital age. Organizations that follow these guidelines are better able to protect their important information assets in a world that is becoming more and more connected, whether they want to get certified or just make their security better.