ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy
In this guide, you will learn what an ISO 27001 asset management policy is, how to write it yourself and I give you a template you can download and use right away.
Table of contents
- ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy
- What is an ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy?
- How to write an ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy
- ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy Template
- ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy Example
- ISO 27001 Asset Management Templates
- Watch the tutorial
- The Asset Management Lifecycle
- What is the Purpose of the ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy?
- What is the ISO 27001 Asset Management Principle?
- How does the ISO 27001 asset management policy work?
- Does the policy include people’s personal devices?
- What should ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy Contain?
- Relevant ISO 27001 Controls
- ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy FAQ
What is an ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy?
The ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy sets out the guidelines and framework for how identify, protect and manage assets. It covers the entire lifecycle from acquiring the asset, using the asset to ultimately destroying the asst. It ensures the correct assets are identified and protected. We cannot protect what we do not know.
Asset management is one of the most time consuming activities that you will undertake. The asset management policy sets out what the company does when it comes to asset management. It is your blue print for the asset management life cycle.
How to write an ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy
Time needed: 1 hour and 30 minutes
How to write an ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy
- Write the ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy Contents Page
The contents of the risk management policy should include:
Document Version Control
Document Contents Page
Purpose
Scope
Asset Management Policy
Principle
Inventory of Asset
Ownership of Assets
Acceptable use of assets
Return of Assets
Policy Compliance
Compliance Measurement
Exceptions
Non-Compliance
Continual Improvement - Write the ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy Purpose
The purpose of this policy is the identification and management of assets.
- Write the ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy Scope
All employees and third-party users.
All company information and physical assets. - Write the ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy Principle
Company assets are known, identified, and managed with appropriate protection in place.
- Describe the Inventory of Physical and Virtual Assets
Information and information processing, storing, and transmitting devices, both physical and virtual, are identified and an inventory of these assets is drawn up and maintained.
For each asset, at least the following, is recorded
• The asset name.
• The asset owner
• The importance of the asset
• The classification of the asset
For physical assets additionally, at least the following is recorded
• Asset number
• Serial number
• Whether in use
• Last checked by and date
• What the asset does
• A description of the information process, stored or transmitted - Describe the Inventory of Data Assets
Data and information assets are identified, and an inventory of these assets is drawn up and maintained.
For each asset, at least the following, is recorded
• The asset name.
• The asset owner
• The importance of the asset
• The classification of the asset
For data and information assets additionally, the following may be recorded
• Business Function using the asset
• Where the information is / the name of the application processing it
• Why we have the information
• Name of the controller
• Categories of data subjects
• How long we keep information / data retention
• Data Classification
• Categories of personal data
• Categories of recipients
• If international transfers take place and additional security measures
• Description of technical and organisational controls
• Lawful basis for processing
• Volume of data
• Risks to Data Subjects
• Risk Rating
• Actions to reduce or mitigate risks
• Date Last assessed
• Date of next assessment - Define the Inventory of Software Licence Assets
Software and software licenses are identified, and an inventory of these assets is drawn up and maintained.
For each asset, at least the following, is recorded
• The asset name
• The asset version
• The asset owner
• Whether free or paid
• Number of licenses purchased
• Number of licenses used
• Location of the actual licenses
• Where the software is deployed
• Date Last assessed
• Date of next assessment - Set out the ownership of assets
Individuals, roles, or teams are assigned ownership of assets
Asset owners ensure assets are inventoried
Asset owners ensure assets are appropriately classified and protected
Asset owners ensure the proper handling when the asset is deleted or destroyed in line with the Information Classification and Handling Policy.
The asset owner may delegate routine tasks - Define the acceptable use of assets
Acceptable use of assets is in line with the Acceptable Use Policy.
- Set out your approach to the return of assets
All employees and external party users return all organisational assets in their possession upon termination of their employment, contract, or agreement.
Where an employee or external party users purchases organization equipment or uses their own personal equipment procedures are in place to ensure all relevant information is transferred to the organization and securely erased from the equipment.
During notice periods of termination, the company controls unauthorised copying of company information by terminated employees or external party users.
ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy Template
The ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy Template is pre written and ready to go. It will fast track your implementation saving you hours of research and writing. ISO 27001 templates are an absolute time and life saver.
ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy Example
If you want to have a look at an example ISO 27001 asset management policy PDF click the link. It is redacted in places but gives you a good idea of what good looks like.
Here is an extract.
ISO 27001 Asset Management Templates
The following individual asset management templates will help you with asset management. They form part of the Ultimate ISO 27001 Toolkit.
Watch the tutorial
Watch the tutorial How to create an Asset Management Policy in under 5 minutes
The Asset Management Lifecycle
The asset management lifecycle is concerned with how you acquire, or purchase, assets. Then how you deploy them. It covers how you transport them, how you record them, how you allocate them, how you return them, how you reissue them and ultimately how you destroy them. The policy should cover all of these steps.
It seems simple. Just write down all the devices that you have. It is that simple but I am never surprised when even companies of less than 10 people struggle to know what they actually have.
Your asset management policy will cover every device that can store, process and transmit data. We are looking at the easy things like laptops, tablet, phones but we are also looking at switches and routers. Perhaps printers with memory. Perhaps removable storage. Can it store, process or transmit data? If the answer is yes, it is covered by the policy.
What is the Purpose of the ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy?
The purpose of the ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy is to ensure the integrity of operational systems and prevent exploitation of technical vulnerabilities.
What is the ISO 27001 Asset Management Principle?
All assets are identified, classified and protected throughout their lifecycle from creation / acquisition through to destruction. The principle is that we cannot protect what we do not know.
How does the ISO 27001 asset management policy work?
When it comes to cyber security, you cannot protect what you do not know. Having an understanding of what you have, what computers, what data, what mobiles is fundamental in ensuring you have the right protection in place to protect them.
An ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy will set out what you do for managing those assets.
Does the policy include people’s personal devices?
Yes. Yes it does. If they want to use it to access our systems and our data.
What should ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy Contain?
Information and information processing, storing and transmitting devices are identified and an inventory of these assets is drawn up and maintained. Ownership of assets is identified, agreed and documented along with roles and responsibilities. The acceptable use of assets is covered as is the return of assets. The use of asset registers is included. The following is the content structure for the policy which you can see in the example ISO 27001 asset management policy pdf.
- Document Contents Page
- Document Version Control
- Document Contents Page
- Asset Management Policy
- Purpose
- Scope
- Principle
- Inventory of Physical and Virtual Assets
- Inventory of Data Assets
- Inventory of Software Licence Assets
- Ownership of Assets
- Acceptable use of assets
- Return of Assets
- Policy Compliance
- Compliance Measurement
- Exceptions
- Non-Compliance
- Continual Improvement
- Areas of the ISO 27001 Standard Addressed
Asset management fits as part of a comprehensive information security management system that we explore on our ISO 27001 Templates Documents Ultimate Guide.
Relevant ISO 27001 Controls
The following are ISO 27001 controls relevant to asset management to consider for further reading:
ISO 27001 Annex A 5.9 Inventory of information and other associated assets
ISO 27001 Annex A 5.10 Acceptable use of information and other associated assets
ISO 27001 Annex A 5.11 Return of assets
ISO 27001 Annex A 7.9 Security of assets off-premises
ISO 27001 Asset Management Policy FAQ
The ISO 27001 asset management policy template can be found at High Table. It covers the requirements of ISO 27001 and other standards and is an important document for knowing what to protect as well as controlling assets.
An asset management policy is a document that lays out what you do for the management of physical and data assets. It is a statement of what you do not how you do it. How you do it is located in your process, procedure and operating documents.
An asset management policy contains as a minimum:
Document Version Control
Document Contents Page
Purpose
Scope
Asset Management Policy
Principle
Inventory of Asset
Ownership of Assets
Acceptable use of assets
Return of Assets
Policy Compliance
Compliance Measurement
Exceptions
Non-Compliance
Continual Improvement
The purpose of the asset management policy is the identification and management of assets.
The scope of the asset management policy is all company employees and external party users. The scope covers all company information and physical assets.
The asset management principle is that company assets are known, identified and managed with appropriate protection in place.
For recording and managing assets you need and Inventory of Assets. Information and information processing, storing and transmitting devices are identified and an inventory of these assets is drawn up and maintained.
For each asset, at least the following, is recorded
• The asset name
• The asset owner
• The importance of the asset
• The classification of the asset
For physical assets additionally, at least the following is recorded
• Asset number
• Serial number
• Whether in use
• Last checked by and date
• What the asset does
Individuals, roles or teams are assigned ownership of assets.
Asset owners ensure assets are inventoried.
Asset owners ensure assets are appropriately classified and protected.
Asset owners ensure the proper handling when the asset is deleted or destroyed in line with the Information Classification and Handling Policy.
The asset owner may delegate routine tasks.
Yes. The asset management policy is required for ISO 27001 certification.
IT asset management is important because you can control what you do not know. If we do not know what we have, how can we control it? Having an effective asset management life cycle that covers the asset from purchase to disposal with the appropriate IT technical controls on the asset will allow us secure our business and the information on which the business relies.
An asset management policy is important because it helps you to protect your assets from unauthorised access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction. It also helps you to comply with relevant regulations and standards.
The ISO 27001 asset management policy must be documented, approved, communicated and reviewed at least annually. It should cover the topics of the entire asset management lifecycle that includes the Identification and classification of assets and the entire process from acquisition to destruction.
The benefits of the ISO 27001 asset management policy include:
Reduced risk of data breaches and cyberattacks
Improved protection of intellectual property and other valuable assets
Enhanced compliance with regulations and standards
Increased visibility into and control over organizational assets
Improved decision-making
The head of IT is responsible for the ISO 27001 asset management policy.
The IT department are responsible for implementing and managing the requirements of the ISO 27001 asset management policy.
The ISO 27001 asset management policy is reviewed after any significant change that affects the asset management lifecycle and at least annually.
You can get more information and free resources including training and videos on the ISO 27001 asset management policy at the High Table website.