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Independent review of information security

13/09/2025

Author: Stuart Barker | ISO 27001 Expert and Thought Leader

ISO 27001 Independent review of information security focuses on making sure your security measures are looked at by someone who isn’t involved in their day-to-day use. Think of it like getting a second opinion from a doctor.

Examples

  • A small business that has its IT department handle security might hire an outside expert to check their systems once a year. This check would ensure their data is protected.
  • A big company might have a dedicated team for internal audits. This team doesn’t manage the company’s daily IT, so they can give an honest, unbiased review of how well the security is working.
  • A security professional may be asked to review the logs of a company’s firewall to check if the security measures are effective.

Context

The main point of this control is to have a neutral person or team check your information security. This review helps find weaknesses you might have missed. It ensures that the security rules you’ve set up are actually working well and that they follow your company’s policy. The goal is to make sure your information is safe from harm, like being lost or stolen.

Relevant ISO 27001 Controls

The following controls from the ISO/IEC 27001:2022 standard are related to independent review of information security:

Further Reading

ISO 27001 Independent Review Of Information Security: Your Complete FAQ Guide

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.