ISO 27001:2022

ISO 27001 Organisation Controls

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.1: Policies for information security

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.2: Information Security Roles and Responsibilities

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.3: Segregation of duties

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.4: Management responsibilities

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.5: Contact with authorities

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.6: Contact with special interest groups

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.7: Threat intelligence

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.8: Information security in project management

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 5.12: Classification of information

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.13: Labelling of information

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.14: Information transfer

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.15: Access control

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.16: Identity management

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.17: Authentication information

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.18: Access rights

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.19: Information security in supplier relationships

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.20: Addressing information security within supplier agreements

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.21: Managing information security in the ICT supply chain

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.22: Monitoring, review and change management of supplier services

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.23: Information security for use of cloud services

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.24: Information security incident management planning and preparation

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.25: Assessment and decision on information security events

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.26: Response to information security incidents

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.27: Learning from information security incidents

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.28: Collection of evidence

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.29: Information security during disruption

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.30: ICT readiness for business continuity

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.31: Identification of legal, statutory, regulatory and contractual requirements

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.32: Intellectual property rights

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.33: Protection of records

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.34: Privacy and protection of PII

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.35: Independent review of information security

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.36: Compliance with policies and standards for information security

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.37: Documented operating procedures

ISO 27001 Technical Controls

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.1: User Endpoint Devices

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.2: Privileged Access Rights

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.3: Information Access Restriction

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.4: Access To Source Code

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.5: Secure Authentication

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.6: Capacity Management

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.7: Protection Against Malware

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.8: Management of Technical Vulnerabilities

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.9: Configuration Management 

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.10: Information Deletion

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.11: Data Masking

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.12: Data Leakage Prevention

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.13: Information Backup

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.14: Redundancy of Information Processing Facilities

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.15: Logging

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.16: Monitoring Activities

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.17: Clock Synchronisation

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.18: Use of Privileged Utility Programs

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.19: Installation of Software on Operational Systems

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.20: Network Security

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.21: Security of Network Services

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.22: Segregation of Networks

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.23: Web Filtering

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.24: Use of Cryptography

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.25: Secure Development Life Cycle

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.26: Application Security Requirements

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.27: Secure Systems Architecture and Engineering Principles

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.28: Secure Coding

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.29: Security Testing in Development and Acceptance

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.30: Outsourced Development

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.31: Separation of Development, Test and Production Environments

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.32: Change Management

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.33: Test Information

ISO 27001 Annex A 8.34: Protection of information systems during audit testing

Home / ISO 27001 Annex A Controls / The Ultimate Guide to ISO 27001 Annex A 7.4: Physical Security Monitoring

The Ultimate Guide to ISO 27001 Annex A 7.4: Physical Security Monitoring

Last updated Sep 12, 2025

Author: Stuart Barker | ISO 27001 Expert and Thought Leader

ISO 27001 Physical Security Monitoring

ISO 27001 Annex A 7.4 Physical Security Monitoring is an ISO 27001 control that requires an organisation to have a physical security perimeter to protect offices and processing facilities.

The focus for this ISO 27001 Control is monitoring for unauthorised physical access. As one of the ISO 27001 controls this is about catching people that you don’t want to gain entry when and if they gain entry.

Purpose

ISO 27001 Annex A 7.4 is a preventive control and a detective control that ensures you detect and deter unauthorised physical access.

Definition

ISO 27001 defines ISO 27001 Annex A 7.4 as:

Premises should be continuously monitored for unauthorised physical access.

ISO27001:2022 Annex A 7.4 Physical Security Monitoring
ISO 27001 Toolkit

Physical Security Monitoring Checklist

You are going to have to

  • define your physical security requirements based on business need and risk
  • implement a topic specific Physical and Environmental Security Policy
  • have a physical security perimeter for any physical location that processes information
  • have alarms and monitors
  • have an intruder response process
  • meet all laws and regulations including those for fire and health and safety

ISO 27001 Physical Security Policy

To communicate to people what you do and what is expected you are going to write, sign off, implement and communicate your topic specific Physical and Environmental Security Policy.

ISO 27001 Physical and Environmental Security Policy Template

Health and Safety

Your number one priority is to meet the requirements of law and regulation. Be sure to engage with a legal professional to understand what you can and cannot do and to check that you are not breaking any laws. The most significant laws are those around health and safety as the protection of human life and wellbeing is always our number priority. There are common things that should be considered such as fire suppression, fire doors, fire alarms, doors that fail open. Whilst we want to protect buildings and information our absolute priority is to protect people.

Alarms and Monitors

When looking at alarms and monitors you are looking at a preventive control to alert you when something has occurred. We all know what alarms are and getting alarms fitted is a very good idea. You want to define your response process and make sure that contacts of who is informed is up to date. Who is getting that call at 2am in the morning and what are they going to do when they get it?

CCTV

You can consider the use of CCTV but be aware that comes with some additional overheads with laws on data protection and the likes of GDPR. You should seek some legal advice before installing CCTV and be sure to do it in a way that is compliant if it is something that you do want to do. There are considerations such as how, how long, where, in what format you store the recordings. Then how do you get access to it, who can get access to it and how do you destroy it. It is not as simple as just banging up a Ring camera.

Watch the Tutorial

In the video ISO 27001 Physical Security Monitoring Explained – ISO27001:2022 Annex A 7.4 I show you how to implement it and how to pass the audit.

How to pass the audit

To implement ISO 27001 Annex A 7.4 you are going to:

  • Define your external physical perimeter requirements
  • Define your monitoring requirements
  • Define your internal sub zone physical perimeter requirements
  • Consult with a legal professional to ensure you are meeting legal and regulatory requirements
  • Implement your physical security perimeters
  • Implement your monitors
  • Write, sign off, implement and communicate your topic specific Physical and Environmental Security Policy
  • Write, sign off, implement and communicate your perimeter incident response procedures
  • Implement a process of internal audit that checks that the appropriate controls are in place and effective and where they are not follow the continual improvement process to address the risks

What the auditor will check

The audit is going to check a number of areas. Lets go through them

1. That you have a physical security perimeter

One of the easier things for an auditor to check is the physical security perimeter as it is usually the first thing they will encounter when they come to audit you if you have a physical location. For all the physical locations in scope they are going to visit and check.

2. The physical security monitors that you have in place

They have been doing this a long time and done many audits so they know what to look for. They will test the controls and see what happens. They will try to open doors, open cupboards, gain access to areas they should not. Your monitors should be such that they can respond to this. They will also look to see that you have tested the monitors in the last 12 months.

3. Documentation

They are going to look at audit trails and all your documentation. They will look at appropriate access reviews, logs of monitors and reports, incidents and how you managed them.

Top 3 Mistakes People Make

The top 3 mistakes people make for ISO 27001 Annex A 7.4 are

1. Your physical security monitoring is turned off

What do I mean by turned off? In simple terms it means that you have a camera that works on a battery and the battery is dead. Or you have just turned the camera off. Perhaps someone has disconnected an alarm because it goes off all the time and annoys them.

2. One or more members of your team haven’t done what they should have done

Prior to the audit check that all members of the team have done what they should have. Have you tested the security monitoring? Who gets informed about the alarm and do they still work here?

3. Your document and version control is wrong

Keeping your document version control up to date, making sure that version numbers match where used, having a review evidenced in the last 12 months, having documents that have no comments in are all good practices.

ISO 27001 Annex A 7.4 FAQ

What policies do I need for ISO 27001 Annex A 7.4 Physical Security Monitoring

You will need the ISO 27001 Physical and Environmental Security Policy. You also want to consider your data protection polices at this point.

Why is a Physical Security Monitoring Important?

A physical security monitor is important because it is always watching. As a detective control you can personally, physically watch everything all the time. Having monitors in place that work continuously allow you to detect unauthorised activity and respond to it. Without it, you would not know if something had happened until it was too late.

What is an example of Physical Security Monitors?

Examples include:
audible alarms
CCTV
remote cameras
contact detectors
sound detectors
motion detectors
heat detectors
breaking glass detectors

Are there free templates for ISO 27001 Annex A 7.4 Physical Security Monitoring?

There are templates that support ISO 27001 Annex A 7.4 located in the ISO 27001 toolkit

Do I have to satisfy ISO 27001 Physical Security Monitoring for ISO 27001 Certification?

If you have a physical location, office or processing facility, then yes.

Can I write polices for ISO 27001 Physical Security Monitoring myself?

Yes. You can write the policies for ISO 27001 Annex A 7.4 yourself. You will need a copy of the standard and approximately 8 hours to do it. It would be advantageous to have a background in information security management systems. Alternatively you can download them the ISO 27001 Physical and Environmental Security Policy

Where can I get templates for ISO 27001 Annex A 7.4 Physical Security Monitoring?

The main template you need is the Physical and Environmental Security Policy

How hard is ISO 27001 Annex A 7.4 Physical Security Monitoring?

ISO 27001 Annex A 7.4 is not particularly hard as it is mainly common sense. As long as you consult with a legal professional on what you are doing to ensure you are not break any laws or regulations you will be fine. Physical security has been around a long time.

How long will ISO 27001 Annex A 7.4 Physical Security Monitoring take me?

To write the Physical and Environmental Security Policy will take about 8 hours. To implement the controls will depend on what you re doing and what you are implementing. It can take from a few hours to a few months depending on how many locations you have and the level of security that you are implementing.

How much will ISO 27001 Annex A 7.4 Physical Security Monitoring cost me?

The Physical and Environmental Security Policy will cost you 8 hours to write yourself or less than £10 to buy. The cost to the controls will depend on what controls you implement and where you buy them.

ISO 27001 Annex A 7.1: Physical Security Perimeters

ISO 27001 Annex A 7.5: Protecting Against Physical and Environmental Threats

Further Reading

ISO 27001 Physical Asset Register Beginner’s Guide

ISO 27001 Physical and Virtual Asset Register Template

ISO 27001 Annex A 7.4 Attribute Table

Control typeInformation
security properties
Cybersecurity
concepts
Operational
capabilities
Security domains
PreventiveConfidentialityProtectPhysical_securityProtection
DetectiveIntegrityDetectDefence
Availability

About the author

Stuart Barker is an information security practitioner of over 30 years. He holds an MSc in Software and Systems Security and an undergraduate degree in Software Engineering. He is an ISO 27001 expert and thought leader holding both ISO 27001 Lead Implementer and ISO 27001 Lead Auditor qualifications. In 2010 he started his first cyber security consulting business that he sold in 2018. He worked for over a decade for GE, leading a data governance team across Europe and since then has gone on to deliver hundreds of client engagements and audits.

He regularly mentors and trains professionals on information security and runs a successful ISO 27001 YouTube channel where he shows people how they can implement ISO 27001 themselves. He is passionate that knowledge should not be hoarded and brought to market the first of its kind online ISO 27001 store for all the tools and templates people need when they want to do it themselves.

In his personal life he is an active and a hobbyist kickboxer.

His specialisms are ISO 27001 and SOC 2 and his niche is start up and early stage business.