ISO 27001 Annex A 5.8 is an ISO 27001 control that requires information security to be integrated into project management.
In this guide you will learn how to implement ISO 27001 Annex A 5.8 Security in Project Management and pass your audit from ISO 27001 Lead Auditor Stuart Barker – author of the ultimate ISO 27001 Toolkit.
Table of contents
- Purpose & Definition
- ISO 27001 Annex A 5.8 Video Tutorial
- Implementation Guide
- What to consider when determining requirements
- How to determine information security requirements
- How to implement ISO 27001 Annex A 5.8
- How to comply
- How to pass the audit
- What will an audit check?
- Top 3 mistakes people make
- ISO 27001 Annex A 5.8 FAQ
- ISO 27001 Controls and Attribute Values
Purpose & Definition
ISO 27001 Annex A 5.8 is a preventive control that ensures information security risks related to projects and deliverables are effectively addressed in project management throughout the project life cycle.
The ISO 27001 Standard defines ISO 27001 Annex A 5.8 as:
ISO 27001 Annex A 5.8 Information security in project management ensures organisations integrate security into all project phases from start to finish. Embedding clear security rules into project lifecycles protects company data, manages operational risks, and delivers secure project outcomes.
ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A 5.8 Information Security In Project Management
ISO 27001 Annex A 5.8 Video Tutorial
In this training video you will learn How to implement ISO 27001 Information Security In Project Management Annex A 5.8) & Pass Your Audit.
Implementation Guide
You are going to be doing some level of project management following your approach and methodology. This is fine. There are many approaches and methodologies, but what ever you do, you will integrate information security ensuring information security risks are addressed as part of the process. You can consider ISO 21502 for guidance on concepts and processes for project management.
You are going to have to ensure that
- you have identified, assessed and treated information security risks at an early stage
- you continue to identify, assess and treat risks at points in the project lifecycle
- requirements for information security and intellectual property are addressed early in projects
- risks associated with the execution of projects are considered and treated
- progress on risk treatment is reviewed and its effectiveness evaluated and treated
Your project steering committee or oversight structure is going to check the appropriateness of the information security considerations and activities. The project is going to have roles and responsibilities for information security defined and allocated.
What to consider when determining requirements
- The information that is involved and the information security needs for that information. This would include considering the negative impacts of not having the security controls
- The protection requirements for information and the assets that process, store and transmit it
- Authentication requirements for access to information and the assets that process, store and transmit it
- The processes for providing the access for both customers and business users
- Informing users of their duties and responsibilities
- Compliance to the legal, regulatory and client requirements for information security
How to determine information security requirements
You can determine the requirements for information security in a project using a variety of methods. Some examples would be:
- What are the compliance requirements set in our policies
- What do regulations say about information security
- What laws apply and what requirements do they set
- Considering threat modelling, threat intelligence and actual incidents that have been experienced
How to implement ISO 27001 Annex A 5.8
Implementing security in project management is not a tick-box exercise. It is a fundamental requirement to ensure that every new initiative reduces risk rather than creating it. As a Lead Auditor, I want to see that security is baked into your project lifecycle from initiation to closure.
1. Embed Security into the Project Initiation Document
Define clear information security objectives at the very start of every project. I expect to see these objectives documented in your Project Initiation Document (PID) or project charter. If security isn’t mentioned at the start, you have already failed the audit.
- Identify and document all regulatory and statutory compliance requirements.
- Define the security profile and sensitivity of the data the project will handle.
- Assign a specific budget and resource allocation for security controls.
2. Formalise Project-Specific Risk Assessments
Conduct a structured information security risk assessment for every project milestone. You must move beyond generic organisational risks and focus on the specific threats introduced by the project’s unique scope and technology stack.
- Identify project-specific threats, vulnerabilities, and potential impacts.
- Produce a formal Risk Treatment Plan (RTP) signed off by the project board.
- Integrate all identified risk mitigations directly into the main project plan.
3. Enforce Strict Separation of Environments
Maintain total logical or physical segregation between development, testing, and production environments. This is a non-negotiable requirement to prevent accidental data leaks or unauthorised changes to live systems.
- Provision isolated cloud VPCs or subnets for each environment.
- Implement strict firewall rules and Access Control Lists (ACLs) between stages.
- Ensure that developer access to production is restricted to emergency “break-glass” scenarios only.
4. Provision Identity and Access Management Roles
Apply the principle of least privilege to every project member from day one. I will look for evidence that access is granted based on the specific requirements of the project role rather than broad, “one-size-fits-all” permissions.
- Implement mandatory Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for all project tools.
- Review and update IAM roles at every major project phase transition.
- Log and monitor all administrative actions within the project environment.
5. Maintain a Comprehensive Project Asset Register
Track every information asset created or utilised during the project lifecycle. You cannot protect what you have not identified: this includes source code repositories, cloud instances, and sensitive project documentation.
- Document asset ownership and classification for all project deliverables.
- Update the organisational Asset Register as project assets transition to production.
- Ensure all project storage, such as S3 buckets, is tagged for accountability.
6. Implement Secure Coding and Configuration Standards
Standardise your approach to security by mandating specific coding and configuration benchmarks. I expect to see that your developers are following industry-standard frameworks like OWASP or CIS Benchmarks throughout the build.
- Formalise a peer-review process for all code changes with a focus on security.
- Utilise Static Analysis Security Testing (SAST) tools in the build pipeline.
- Apply hardened configuration templates to all project infrastructure.
7. Use Anonymised or Masked Data for Testing
Protect live customer data by ensuring it is never used in development or test environments. If you must use production data for realistic testing, you must prove that it has been formally anonymised or masked.
- Implement automated data masking scripts for database refreshes.
- Obtain formal authorisation before any production data is used for testing.
- Audit the test environment to ensure no PII or sensitive data remains plaintext.
- Validate that masked data cannot be reverse-engineered to identify individuals.
8. Define Rules of Engagement for Security Testing
Authorise and control all security testing activities through a formal Rules of Engagement (ROE) document. This ensures that penetration tests and vulnerability scans are conducted safely and within a defined scope.
- Document the specific timing, tools, and IP ranges permitted for testing.
- Obtain written sign-off from asset owners before testing begins.
- Ensure a clear communication plan is in place for critical vulnerability findings.
9. Establish Security Communication and Escalation Paths
Formalise how security issues and incidents are reported within the project team. There must be no ambiguity: every team member should know exactly how to escalate a security concern to the Project Manager or CISO.
- Include “Security” as a standing agenda item in all project board meetings.
- Define a clear incident reporting workflow specific to the project environment.
- Ensure the project team is aware of the central organisational SOC contacts.
10. Revoke Access and Archive Securely at Project Closure
Complete a formal security review before the project is officially closed. This “housekeeping” step is critical to ensure that temporary access does not become a permanent vulnerability for your organisation.
- Revoke all project-specific access rights for staff and third-party contractors.
- Ensure all final project documentation is archived according to your retention policy.
- Conduct a “Lessons Learned” session to improve future project security.
How to comply
To comply with ISO 27001 Annex A 5.8 you are going to implement the ‘how’ to the ‘what’ the control is expecting. In short measure you are going to:
- Establish and document your project methodology
- Include steps to identify, assess and treat information security risks at an early stage
- Continue to identify, assess and treat risks at points in the project lifecycle
- Demonstrate the requirements for information security and intellectual property are addressed early in projects
- Document that risks associated with the execution of projects are considered and treated
- Monitor progress on risk treatment and review its effectiveness, that is evaluated and treated
How to pass the audit
To pass an audit of ISO 27001 Annex 5.8 Information security in project management you are going to make sure that you have followed the steps above in how to comply.
What will an audit check?
The audit is going to check a number of areas. Lets go through the main ones
1. That you have a documented project management process
What ever your approach to projects the process is going to be written down.
2. That you have followed and can evidence you project management process
You have the process, you have included the requirements of the standard and you can evidence that you have followed it at least once or consistently since implementing it, which ever is the greater.
3. That risks are managed
That you have evidence of managing risks which includes for the project that you have identified, assessed and treated them.
Top 3 mistakes people make
The top 3 Mistakes People Make For ISO 27001 Annex A 5.8 Information security in project management are
1. You haven’t got a written project process and / or you are not following it
Make sure your process is documented and that you have evidence that you follow it.
2. You didn’t manage risks
Do not overlook risk management in your project management process. Evidence that you have identified, assessed and treated the appropriate project risks for information security.
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 5.8 FAQ
Information security is important in project management to make sure that any information security risks are identified, assessed and treated as early as possible. The sooner we manage risk the less problems we will have. It will reduce costs and rework and ensure that we are meeting the information security requirements of clients, customers, the law and regulators.
The purpose of this control is to implement information security by design and default. It can be easy to overlook information security in the rush to release products and services especially if there is a commercial cost to doing so. Getting it right early in the process will vastly reduce rework and vastly reduce the risk of data or legal breach.
Information security in project management is ensuring the project management methodology has key steps for the identification, assessment and management of information security risks.
The project plan should include the identification of information security requirements early in the process. It should include the identification, assessment and management of information security risks. It will include the allocation of information security roles to the team. Testing and security testing will form part of the project plan.
ISO 27001 annex A 5.8 covers information security in project management.
Nothing, they are the same thing. ISO 27002 is a standard in its own right and is included as an Annex to the ISO 27001 standard. As such it is often referred to as Annex A but it is a different name for the same thing.
It will take you up to a week to define and write your project management methodology. The amount of time per project is going to be dependant on the size and complexity of the project.
The costs can be substation but are clearly related directly to the actual project you are delivering, the risks identified and the treatments that you put in place.
Yes, Annex A 5.8 applies to all organisational projects that could impact information security, regardless of whether they are technical in nature.
Includes office relocations and physical security changes.
Applies to marketing campaigns involving personal data collection.
Covers business process outsourcing or supply chain transitions.
Includes mergers, acquisitions, and corporate restructures.
Security is integrated by establishing mandatory security checkpoints and deliverables within every phase of your existing project management framework (e.g., Agile, Prince2, or Waterfall).
Include security requirements in the initial project charter or brief.
Conduct a formalised Information Security Risk Assessment during the design phase.
Assign a security lead or Subject Matter Expert (SME) to the project team.
Execute a final security sign-off before moving to a “live” or production environment.
A security risk assessment should be performed during the project initiation phase and repeated whenever there is a significant change to the project scope, technology, or environment.
Initial feasibility and requirements gathering stage.
Following major design or architectural changes.
Prior to the commencement of user acceptance testing (UAT).
Immediately before the final project “Go-Live” decision.
The Project Manager is ultimately responsible for ensuring security tasks are integrated into the plan, though they work in collaboration with the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) or security SMEs.
Project Manager: Ensures security milestones are met and resources are allocated.
Security Officer: Provides guidance on technical controls and risk mitigation.
Information Owner: Defines the sensitivity and classification of the data involved.
Project Board: Approves the final risk posture before project closure.
ISO 27001 Controls and Attribute Values
| Control type | Information security properties | Cybersecurity concepts | Operational capabilities | Security domains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preventive | Confidentiality | Identify | Governance | Governance and Ecosystem |
| Integrity | Protect | Protection | ||
| Availability |
Stuart Barker
Stuart Barker is qualified ISO 27001 Lead Auditor and a veteran practitioner with over 30 years of experience in systems security and risk management. Holding an MSc in Software and Systems Security, he combines academic rigour with extensive operational experience, including a decade leading Data Governance for General Electric (GE).
Now he is founder and Lead ISO 27001 Consultant at High Table, the worlds number 1 dedicated ISO 27001 Consultancy.
