ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 Resources

In this ultimate guide to ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 Resources you will learn

• What is ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 
• How to implement ISO 27001 Clause 7.1
• What resources you actually need
• Which resources to use and when to use them

I am Stuart Barker, the ISO 27001 Ninja and author of the Ultimate ISO 27001 Toolkit.

With over 30 years industry experience I will show you what’s new, give you ISO 27001 templates, show you examples, do a walkthrough and show you how to implement it for ISO 27001 certification.

What is ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 Resources?

To build and implement an Information Security Management System (ISMS) will require resources. We are going to look at exactly what resources you need.

ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 is Resources and it requires an organisation to provide the resources needed to establish, implement, maintain and continually improve the information security management system.

The ISO 27001 standard for ISO 27001 certification wants you to have the right people available for running ISO 27001.

ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 Purpose

The purpose of ISO 27001 clause 7.1 is to make sure you have the resources you need for an effective information security management system (ISMS).

ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 Definition

The ISO 27001 Standard defines ISO 2700 Clause 7.1 Resources as:

The organisation shall determine and provide the resources needed for the establishment, implementation, maintenance and continual improvement of the information security management system.

ISO27001:2022 Clause 7.1 Resources

ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 Requirement

Building on ISO 27001 Clause 5.3 Organisational Roles, Responsibilities and Authorities this clause requires you to have the resources in place for an effective information security management system. This is about having the resources for the entire lifecycle of the information security management system (ISMS) not just the project to get the first ISO 27001 certification.

How to implement ISO 27001 Clause 7.1

Decide which resources to use and when

There are distinct phases in the process of ISO 27001 certification.

Each of those phases potentially requires a different level of skill, knowledge and experience.

It is possible that this is one person but the likelihood is you are going to get specialist help for the establishment and implementation phase.

It can make sense to reduce the reliance on that specialist help when it comes to maintenance and continual improvement. Only using that knowledge and expertise for training and sense checking.

Our guide would be

• ISO 27001 Establishment: use specialist resource

• ISO 27001 Implementation: use specialist resource

• ISO 27001 Certification: use specialist resource in combination with your own staff

• ISO 27001 Maintenance: use your own staff with training and sense checking by specialist resource

• ISO 27001 Continual Improvement: use your own staff with training and sense checking by specialist resource

Of course you can do ALL of it with the ISO 27001 Toolkit which includes all of the resources, step by step guides and video walkthroughs you will need with the ability to by specialist help by the hour.

But this is not a post about selling.

Outside of the specifics of ISO 27001 resources there is an expectation that your business will have appropriate departmental expertise. What do we mean by that? Well, for example, you will have a HR function with appropriate HR controls and appropriately skilled and trained HR professionals.

Use Internal Resources

If you are looking at gaining the skills and experience in house you have the option to consider ISO 27001 training.

There are many reputable ISO 27001 lead auditor training, ISO 27001 lead implementor training and associated courses to choose from.

It is our experience that these can provide excellent book knowledge to the standard but are very light on how to implement it in the real world, don’t come with templates and don’t provide specific, tailored advice and templates.

If you want training then of course, consider the book training but also companies like High Table provide low cost, structured, 1 to 1 real world implementation training that runs alongside your actual implementation and trains your team.

There is a wealth of training and guidance provided as part of the ISO 27001 Toolkit for free.

There are also free resources on the Internet such as this excellent YouTube Channel dedicated to ISO 27001 and showing you how to do it yourself.

If we were going to start anywhere we would start with this Essential Step By Step Guide to Implementing ISO 27001.

Use External Resources

If you are using external resources then be sure to conduct your due diligence and research. There is a guide – The Top 10 ISO 27001 Companies and Top 10 ISO 27001 Certification Bodies

Engage with trained ISO 27001 resources

Whether you look to engage a professional such as a High Table ISO 27001 Consultant, hire someone full-time or train up internal staff on ISO 27001 lead auditor or ISO 27001 lead implementor courses you need to engage with trained and experienced resource for your ISO 27001 certification.

Complete an accountability matrix

For each of the ISO 27001 clauses AND the ISO 27001 Annex A / ISO 27002 clauses you need to allocate and record who is responsible for that clause and control.

Complete a competency matrix

For each person involved in the operation of the Information Security Management System be sure to record them in them in the competency matrix. The competency matrix allows you to identify and demonstrate that you have the required competencies to run the information security management system. It also identifies gaps that you can plan to address.

Implement training and awareness

Implement and effective process of training and awareness that directly meets the needs of the organisation and the risk the organisation faces.

Use ISO 27001 Templates

ISO 27001 templates are a great way to fast track your implementation and leverage industry best practice.

Available as individual downloads they are also part of the internationally best selling and award winning ISO 27001 Toolkit.

ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 YouTube Tutorial

Watch the ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 YouTube tutorial How To Implement ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 Resources

How to pass an audit of ISO 27001 Clause 7.1

To pass an audit of ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 you are going to

• Understand the requirements of ISO 27001 Clause 7.1
• Identify the resources that you need
• Aquire People Resources
• Get an Information Security Management System (ISMS)
• Assess the competency of people
• Address competency gaps through training or bringing in specialist help

What the auditor will check

The audit is going to check a number of areas for compliance with Clause 7.1. Lets go through them

1. That you have someone that knows ISO 27001

This should go without saying but to run an effective information security management system (ISMS) that meets the requirements of ISO 27001 requires someone with knowledge and experience of ISO 27001. This is not always obvious and we see many audits fail as people do not invest in this most basic of resource requirement.

2. The competence of staff

What ever the role that you have identified for your management system the auditor is going to make sure that the people and resources allocated to that role are competent to perform it. The competency matrix is a great tool here to demonstrate competence.

3. All controls have resources allocated

For the information security management system (ISMS) and the ISO 27001 Annex A controls that you have chosen that are on your Statement of Applicability (SOA) the auditor will check that resources are allocated. It is not enough to say that you do something, you must actually do it and have resources allocated to make sure that it gets done.

ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 FAQ