In the world of information security, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. That is essentially the philosophy behind ISO 27001 Annex A 5.6: Contact with Special Interest Groups.
While Annex A 5.5 tells you to keep a list of people who can arrest or fine you (authorities), Annex A 5.6 is about keeping a list of people who can teach you. It requires your organization to establish and maintain connections with professional associations, industry forums, and security groups.
Implementation here isn’t about collecting memberships like Pokémon cards. It’s about creating a flow of intelligence that keeps your organization safe. Here is how to implement this control effectively, satisfy the auditor, and actually get value out of it.
Table of contents
What is Annex A 5.6 Actually Asking For?
The standard requires you to maintain contact with “special interest groups.” But what does that actually mean?
It means you need to be plugged into the wider security community. The goal is to ensure you aren’t operating in a vacuum. By engaging with these groups, you get access to:
- Threat Intelligence: Knowing about a new ransomware strain before it hits you.
- Best Practices: Learning how other companies in your sector solve problems.
- Early Warnings: Getting alerts about vulnerabilities in the software you use (like Log4j or CrowdStrike updates).
Step 1: Curate Your List (Quality Over Quantity)
The first step in implementation is to decide who you are going to listen to. You don’t need to join every group on the internet. You need a mix of general security knowledge and industry-specific intelligence.
Good examples of Special Interest Groups (SIGs) include:
- Professional Bodies: ISACA, ISC2, or ISSA.
- Technical Forums: OWASP (for developers), SANS Institute.
- Government/National Bodies: CERTs (Computer Emergency Response Teams), CISA, or the NCSC.
- Vendor Groups: Security bulletins from Microsoft, AWS, or Cisco.
Step 2: Assign Ownership (The “Who Reads It?” Rule)
This is where most implementations fail. It is not enough for the company to “be a member” of a forum. Someone actually has to read the emails.
For every group you list in your documentation, assign an internal Owner.
- The Network Engineer owns the Cisco Security Alerts.
- The Lead Developer owns the OWASP updates.
- The CISO owns the ISACA membership.
If you don’t assign a name, the newsletter goes into a junk folder, and the control is ineffective.
Step 3: Create the Feedback Loop
To pass the audit, you need to prove that this information doesn’t just sit in an inbox—it needs to result in action. This is the difference between “passive consumption” and “active implementation.”
How to prove it:
Set up a simple process where relevant alerts are pushed to your communication channels.
Example: “The Lead Dev saw a vulnerability alert on the OWASP forum, posted it in the #security-team Slack channel, and we created a Jira ticket to patch it.”
That trail—from Forum to Slack to Jira—is perfect evidence.
Step 4: Documenting the Register
You need a central list. Auditors will ask for your “Annex A 5.6 Register.” It doesn’t need to be complex. A simple table will do:
- Name of Group: (e.g., UK NCSC)
- Type: (Government Body)
- Contact/Website: (URL)
- Internal Owner: (Jane Doe)
- Relevance: (Provides high-level threat intel)
If you want to save time and ensure you are capturing the right data points, Hightable.io provides ISO 27001 toolkits that include a pre-formatted Special Interest Group register. Using a template like this helps you avoid common formatting errors and ensures you have a professional-looking document ready for the auditor.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
1. Confusing Authorities with SIGs
Don’t put the Police or the Information Commissioner in this list. They belong in Annex A 5.5. Keep your “friends” (A 5.6) separate from the “police” (A 5.5).
2. Dead Memberships
Don’t list a forum that hasn’t had a post since 2019. It looks sloppy and shows you aren’t actually checking.
3. Twitter is Not a Strategy
While following security researchers on social media is great, it is hard to audit. If you rely on social media, formalize it. List specific accounts or hashtags you monitor and document who monitors them.
Conclusion
Implementing ISO 27001 Annex A 5.6 is about ensuring your organization learns from the mistakes of others. By establishing these channels, assigning owners, and acting on the intelligence you receive, you turn your security team from reactive to proactive.
Get your list sorted, make sure someone is actually reading the newsletters, and if you need help structuring the documentation, the templates at Hightable.io are a great resource to get you across the finish line.
