ISO 27001: The International Standard for Information Security Management
ISO 27001 is the international certification framework for information security management systems, requiring risk assessment, 93 security controls, and continuous improvement.
ISO 27001 is the international standard for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS), published by ISO/IEC. Organizations implement a structured framework and seek third-party certification to demonstrate security due diligence. ## Core Requirements - **Risk assessment**: Identify information assets, threats, vulnerabilities, and impacts - **Security controls**: Annex A lists 93 controls across 4 domains (organizational, people, physical, technological) - **Continuous improvement**: Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle with regular internal audits and management reviews ## Why It Matters ISO 27001 certification is increasingly required in enterprise procurement and supply chain contracts — particularly after incidents like LiteLLM Supply Chain Attack: 97 Million Monthly Downloads Compromised via GitHub Account Takeover demonstrated the cascading risk of insecure vendors. Certification provides an independently verified baseline of security practices. ## Related Standards - **ISO 27002**: Detailed implementation guidance for each control - **SOC 2**: The US-market functional equivalent (audit report rather than certification) - **ISO 27701**: Privacy extension mapping to GDPR requirements Certification requires an accredited third-party audit and typically takes 6–12 months to achieve from scratch.