Document Control Software: Q-Pulse for ISO 27001 Compliance

ISO 27001 Compliance

Is your organization’s information secure?

Information is the lifeblood of business: Many businesses hold highly confidential information and most would suffer serious disruption if information within their systems was corrupted. In addition, the penalties for failing to implement effective systems and controls to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information are increasing: there have been numerous cases in the recent past where businesses received hefty fines (and damage to their credibility) for exposing customers to an increased risk of financial crime, following the theft of a laptop containing confidential customer information.

The importance of keeping information secure has also been highlighted by the recent case where hackers stole information from at least 45.7 million payment cards used by customers of US retailer TJX, which owns TJ Maxx, and UK outlet TKMaxx. There are sure to be serious repercussions for the retailer.

What benefits does certifying to ISO 27001 offer?

Organizations worldwide are now turning to ISO 27001 which offers a structured approach for an information security management system around a framework of international best practice. This enables businesses to demonstrate effective systems and controls to certification bodies and regulatory authorities, as well as to assure customers and suppliers that their information is secure and protected.

ISO 27001 also significantly enhances your corporate governance efforts, with 87 percent of companies reporting that certification to ISO 27001 has improved their business continuity and 85 percent reporting that it has minimized damage to their business from security incidents

What challenges does certifying to ISO 27001 present?

A great deal of preparation is required to achieve compliance with ISO 27001 including studying ISO 27001:2005 as it is against these standards that compliance will be measured. Thereafter, defining and documenting your policies, procedures and controls is a complex, costly and arduous process, with a significant amount of time, effort and resource, either internal or external, required to complete this task.

Certification itself is not the goal, with a massive amount of work required to maintain and police your management system. Potentially bureaucratic activities include Document Control, Internal Audit and Corrective Action tracking. One proven way to remove much of this effort is to implement an electronic information security management framework which facilitates all of the hard work for you.

What’s the solution?

Q-Pulse for ISO 27001 integrates Gael’s market-leading compliance management solution and IT Governance’s document and process management toolkit and enables businesses to implement effective systems and controls. The system is unique as it harnesses the experience of both industry leaders to create an electronic management system developed from information security principles that radically simplifies the management of such systems. See Integrating ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 White Paper