ISO 27001 Requirements Overview: Clauses 4-10 Summary

Understanding the Standard Structure

ISO 27001:2022 follows the Harmonized Structure (HS), which means it shares the same high-level structure as other ISO management system standards like ISO 9001 (Quality) and ISO 14001 (Environmental). This makes it easier to integrate multiple management systems.

Clauses 1-3 cover scope, normative references, and terms - they're informational rather than auditable requirements. The auditable requirements begin at Clause 4.

Clause 4: Context of the Organization

Understanding your environment and defining your ISMS boundaries

4.1 Understanding the Organization and Its Context

What it means: Know your organization's environment - what external factors (market, regulations, technology trends) and internal factors (culture, resources, capabilities) affect your ability to achieve information security objectives.

What you need: Documented analysis of internal and external issues relevant to information security.

4.2 Understanding Stakeholder Needs and Expectations

What it means: Identify who cares about your information security (customers, regulators, employees, partners) and what they require from you.

What you need: List of interested parties and their requirements (contractual, regulatory, organizational).

4.3 Determining the Scope

What it means: Define what's included in your ISMS - which locations, systems, processes, and information are covered.

What you need: Documented scope statement that's specific and defensible. The scope must be available to interested parties.

4.4 Information Security Management System

What it means: Establish, implement, maintain, and continually improve an ISMS according to the standard's requirements.

What you need: A functioning ISMS with defined processes and their interactions.

Clause 5: Leadership

Top management involvement and direction

5.1 Leadership and Commitment

What it means: Top management must actively support the ISMS - not just sign a policy and disappear. They must demonstrate involvement through resource allocation, promoting improvement, and supporting ISMS managers.

What you need: Evidence of management involvement (meeting attendance, resource decisions, communications).

5.2 Information Security Policy

What it means: A top-level policy that sets direction for information security, commits to meeting requirements and continual improvement, and provides a framework for objectives.

What you need: Documented policy that's approved, communicated internally, and available to interested parties.

5.3 Organizational Roles, Responsibilities, and Authorities

What it means: Clear assignment of who's responsible for what regarding information security. Someone must be accountable for ISMS conformity and reporting to top management.

What you need: Documented roles and responsibilities, communicated to relevant parties.

Clause 6: Planning

Risk-based thinking and objective setting

6.1 Actions to Address Risks and Opportunities

This is the heart of ISO 27001 - the risk-based approach.

6.1.1 General: Consider context and stakeholder requirements to identify risks and opportunities that need addressing.

6.1.2 Information Security Risk Assessment:

• Define a risk assessment methodology
• Identify information security risks
• Analyze and evaluate those risks
• Document the process and results

6.1.3 Information Security Risk Treatment:

• Select risk treatment options (modify, avoid, transfer, accept)
• Determine necessary controls (compare with Annex A)
• Produce a Statement of Applicability
• Formulate a risk treatment plan
• Obtain risk owner approval

What you need: Risk assessment methodology, risk register, Statement of Applicability, risk treatment plan.

6.2 Information Security Objectives and Planning

What it means: Set measurable objectives for information security that are consistent with policy, monitored, communicated, and updated as needed.

What you need: Documented objectives with plans showing what, resources, responsibility, timing, and evaluation criteria.

6.3 Planning of Changes

What it means: When you need to change the ISMS, plan the changes in an organized way.

What you need: Evidence that changes are planned, not ad hoc.

Clause 7: Support

Resources, competence, awareness, and communication

7.1 Resources

What it means: Provide the people, budget, and tools needed to establish, implement, maintain, and improve the ISMS.

What you need: Evidence that adequate resources are allocated.

7.2 Competence

What it means: People doing ISMS-related work must be competent based on education, training, or experience.

What you need: Competence requirements defined, evidence of competence, training records.

7.3 Awareness

What it means: Everyone in the organization should be aware of the security policy, their role in the ISMS, and implications of not conforming.

What you need: Security awareness program, training records, evidence of communication.

7.4 Communication

What it means: Determine what, when, with whom, and how to communicate about information security.

What you need: Communication plan or procedure covering internal and external communication.

7.5 Documented Information

What it means: Control your documentation - create, update, and manage documents and records required by the standard and those you determine are necessary.

What you need: Document control procedures, version control, access controls, retention requirements.

Clause 8: Operation

Implementing and operating your ISMS

8.1 Operational Planning and Control

What it means: Plan, implement, and control the processes needed to meet requirements and implement risk treatment actions. Control outsourced processes.

What you need: Operational procedures, process documentation, evidence of control.

8.2 Information Security Risk Assessment

What it means: Perform risk assessments at planned intervals or when significant changes occur.

What you need: Evidence of regular risk assessments and documented results.

8.3 Information Security Risk Treatment

What it means: Implement the risk treatment plan.

What you need: Evidence that risk treatments are being implemented as planned.

Clause 9: Performance Evaluation

Measuring and reviewing ISMS effectiveness

9.1 Monitoring, Measurement, Analysis, and Evaluation

What it means: Determine what to monitor and measure, methods, timing, and who's responsible. Evaluate ISMS performance and effectiveness.

What you need: Metrics/KPIs, monitoring procedures, performance reports.

9.2 Internal Audit

What it means: Conduct planned internal audits to verify the ISMS conforms to requirements and is effectively implemented.

What you need: Internal audit program, audit plans, audit reports, auditor independence.

9.3 Management Review

What it means: Top management must review the ISMS at planned intervals to ensure it remains suitable, adequate, and effective.

What you need: Management review meetings covering required inputs, documented outputs/decisions.

Clause 10: Improvement

Getting better over time

10.1 Continual Improvement

What it means: Continuously improve ISMS suitability, adequacy, and effectiveness.

What you need: Evidence of improvement activities, trends showing progress.

10.2 Nonconformity and Corrective Action

What it means: When things go wrong, react to control it, address consequences, eliminate root causes, and verify effectiveness.

What you need: Nonconformity records, root cause analysis, corrective actions, effectiveness verification.

Remember: ISO 27001 tells you what to do, not how to do it. The standard provides requirements, but the implementation approach is flexible to fit your organization's size, culture, and context.