Table of contents
ISO 27001 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
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.
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Watch How To Implement ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 Resources
What is ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 Resources?
ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 Resources is an ISO 27001 control that requires an organisation to provide the resources needed to establish, implement, maintain and continually improve the information security management system.
This clause is all about people.
The ISO 27001 standard for ISO 27001 certification wants you to have the right people available for running ISO 27001.
DO IT YOURSELF
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 clause 7.1 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.
What are the ISO27001:2022 Changes to Clause 7.1?
Great news. There are no changes to ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 in the 2022 update.
ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 Implementation Guide
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.
Using 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.
Using 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
Stop Spanking £10,000s on consultants and ISMS Online tools.
How to pass an audit of ISO27001:22 Clause 7.1 Resource
Time needed: 1 day
How to pass and audit of ISO27001:22 Clause 7.1 Resource
- 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.
What the auditor will check
The audit is going to check a number of areas for compliance with Clause 7.2. 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 Templates
ISO 27001 templates are a great way to implement your information security management system. Whilst an ISO 27001 Toolkit can save you up to 30x in consulting fees and allow you to deliver up to 10x faster these individual templates help meet the specific requirements of ISO 27001 clause 7.1
ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 FAQ
The ISO 27001 standard requires an organisation to provide the resources needed to establish, implement, maintain and continually improve the information security management system
You can download ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 templates in the ISO 27001 Toolkit.
An example of ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 can be found in the ISO 27001 Toolkit.
Yes. Many companies seek the help of qualified, experienced third party suppliers to help with ISO 27001
Yes, there are many reputable training courses for ISO 27001 Lead Auditor and ISO 27001 Lead Implementor.
The best way is to record the skills of your resources in a Competency Matrix.
Senior management are responsible for ensuring that ISO 27001 Clause 7.1 is implemented and maintained.
In any organisation there are competing priorities for resources. An information security management system (ISMS) can take considerable resources at all stages from implementation to operation. Without having the required resources allocated to it the project will fail and the information security management will not be effective and will not meet it’s stated information security objectives.
