Let’s imagine that you are the owner of a bank in the 80s or 90s, when cash was commonly found in physical form. Customers would come to the bank, deposit their savings, and trust that your bank would keep their money safe. Your bank would be free to use these deposits to generate income, however, it remained your responsibility to ensure that the cash remained safe.
To ensure safety at your bank, you would have used vaults and engaged security personnel. Even though you had tens or hundreds of employees, you wouldn’t allow most of them to enter the vault or other sensitive areas for no reason.
Let’s fast forward to 2021, and data is the new cash, or rather, the new gold. This can be data on your customers, competitors, the market, or even your staff. You can use this data to make the right decisions and generate profit for your business. However, just like with cash in the bank, you need to safeguard your data.
Data security in the digital age
To protect the valuable data that you have on your servers and systems, you need a robust and proven defence mechanism. ISO 27001 is an industry-standard way to implement and manage the necessary measures that protect your data.
The need for increased cyber security is evident in the sheer number of successful attacks that take place around the world. In the best of cases, a successful attack is a reputational embarrassment for a business. More often, however, such an attack leads to loss of revenue, fines, and the loss of clients.
By implementing ISO 27001 you are taking back control of your business’ information security. You can rest assured that your enterprise has a risk management process in place that is proven to safeguard businesses from external threats.
Today almost every business handles some amount of data. Enterprises that offer SaaS, hosting services, data centres and recruitment services are especially vulnerable to data breaches.
An ideal method of managing your data
Beyond just helping to prevent data breaches, ISO 27001 assists you in preserving the integrity, availability and confidentiality of your information. Just like with our bank example, this international standard helps you define which of your employees can get access to certain data and under which conditions.
Being ISO 27001-certified brings another key advantage, customer retention and growth. Individuals and organisations are increasingly aware of how their data is handled by their suppliers. By proving that you adhere to this high standard you are putting their mind at rest that you’ve got a clear set of controls that govern different aspects of your information security.
Don’t leave your data security to chance
Gone are the days where a simple antivirus and firewall is enough to protect your data. Through its up to 114 separate controls, ISO 27001 will help you create a management system whereby both digital and physical assets, including data storage devices, are properly managed and tracked.
Get in touch with STEP to better understand whether implementing ISO 27001 is best for your organisation.
