How to convince management to implement ISO 27001

ISO 27001 is an internationally recognised framework that ensures the organisation analyses the gaps in its information security policies and makes changes that meet the Citation Certification of cybersecurity and awareness amongst staff. This process helps to identify the level of compliance that your existing management system has in the context of information security and allows you to mitigate potential threats to your organisation before they impact your bottom line.

To seek your management’s attention, you have to speak their own language. Top management, like Executives, General Managers, etc., wants to see everything in their profitability. Therefore, it is important to emphasise how ISO 27001 can be profitable for the business.

Talk about ISO 27001 benefits not features

ISO 27001 is a standard with 14 domains and 114 controls. Of course, you cannot explain all of the standards in one meeting. You have to be specific and concise. Suppose you are an internal auditor or a security officer and have enough knowledge about your organisation. You feel that ISO 27001 ISMS must be included in your organisation because your information is not secured.

Do not expect your management team to understand – on their own – why ISO 27001 is good for their company; you have to work very hard to convince them.

Essentially, you need to explain two elements to be successful in that process:

1. Prepare a list of business benefits that are really applicable to your company, and
2. Communicate those benefits in a manner that is understandable to your executives.

Time is money

For all the top executives and managers, time is their biggest asset. So, while presenting your project, you should be capable enough to make them understand the importance of ISO 27001 at a precise time. When you start your project, always start with “WHY” It is the keyword from where you can convince your team to look at your presentation more actively. Let’s discuss a few ISO 27001 related questions to include in your project.

Why is ISO IEC 27001:2013 important?

ISO IEC 27001:2013 Information Security Management Standard (ISMS) when implemented, ensures the confidentiality of information by applying risk management processes to manage threats.
You can give an example of why ISO 27001 is important and should be implemented: The answer is they can control the risk for the employee’s BYO devices, company’s own privacy, compliance, and legal obligations to avoid the loss of the information. You need to talk much about information issues, not technical issues. Annex A of the standard covers only 50% of IT issues, whereas it engraves more pressure on Information security issues.

What are the goals of ISO 27001 standard?

This is an important part of your presentation, as top management will look into the investment goals as key criteria in their decision-making process. The basic goal of ISO 27001 is to protect three aspects of information:

• Confidentiality: only authorised persons have the right to access information.

• Integrity: only the authorised persons can change the information.

• Availability: information available to only authorised people.

Each organisation has relationships with its clients. In return, they have to protect data and keep the information secure. Setting up policies and procedures to amend, delete, or add any other new information to that data requires access. The ISO 27001 controls define the actual terms of authorised access by identifying the mitigated risks. In simple terms, it keeps the data of your customers, suppliers, and internal information safe from prying eyes and hackers, which in some industries is actually a legal obligation.

How will ISO 27001 help my business?

When implementing ISO 27001, your management team will be looking for a certain set of benefits. Below are the certain benefits you can mention to them:

• Legal Compliance: When implementing ISO 27001, you must gather all the knowledge of the legal regulation and statutory obligations like The Privacy Act or the GDPR. Suppose, if you are dealing with a company in Europe (EU), GDPR automatically binds you to protect the privacy of the content you stored for them. If there is any breach of that information, you may suffer huge financial losses.
• Marketing Edge: When implementing ISO 27001, the certification gives tough competition to competitors in the market. ISO 27001 will enhance your reputation and stands you out that information security is your top priority.
• Lowering the expenses: Implementing ISO 27001 can lower the expenses associated with updating records every time. It could also help you to avoid lawsuits after a breach occurs; it is worth spending $30k as an investment for your organisation rather than $300k on the breach’s damages.
• Optimising business process: When implementing ISO 27001, you will have ongoing support in the form of surveillance audits, which will also help you to set things in order and manage who’s who responsibilities in the organisation.

While explaining the ISO 27001 standard, the presenter must leave a positive impression on the management team. It depends on the understanding of the presenter, how they showcase their projects. ISO 27001 is a wider project, needs someone’s complex understanding of the clauses and the Annex A controls. If you are not sure how to convince your management, you might want to seek professional help from a Certification body like Citation Certification.