BUSINESS DRIVER FOR ISO 27001

There were several business drivers for NITS to certify for ISO 27001. The major factor was, improvising on their information management system. This would enable their customers and business contacts to acknowledge the legitimacy of their risk assessment expertise, information handling and data responsibility.

Not only would certification to an internationally recognized standard, like ISO 27001, assist to show compliance with best practices, but it would also highlight the continued commitment of NITS towards information security.

KEY STAGES

Partnering with CertPro

NITS realized that it would be advantageous to work with a partner who has a track record of successfully implementing and certifying the ISO 27001 system across geographies.

Given that NITS was recognized as an established brand seeking business expansion, CertPro was chosen as the consulting and auditing body due to its cultural fit. Additionally, it generated a flexible plan that increased the audit timetable without sacrificing the comprehensive coverage of NITS’s business operations. Clubbing both their operations quarters under the gamut of a single audit made CertPro the optimal fit as their ISO 27001 auditing partner.

Gap Assessment

Before deciding on the scope of its certification, NITS took advantage of CertPro’s experience and gap assessment methodology to undertake an initial evaluation of the information systems. By gathering and combining a sizable amount of data and facilitating its quick and simple interpretation, CertPro assisted NITS in making strategic implementation and risk treatment decisions within the flexible timeframe necessary.

Defining the Scope

NITS intended to pursue the scope that delivered the greatest benefit to its client base, focusing on the business needs to assure customers of its ability to safeguard information across its network. NITS made the decision to certify all its facilities in light of this, regardless of the product, service line, or location. Although the geographical reach spanning India and the USA was difficult, NITS’s multiple standardization projects and its capacity to centrally administer a sizable amount of its controls, thereby maximizing its return on investment, made it easier to deploy information security controls.

ISMS Implementation

A crucial first step in the certification process was to document the NITS information security management system (ISMS) framework, which was extremely helpful in explaining the management system’s operation both internally and externally. CertPro provided advice on formalizing and integrating management system activities by considering the context, stakeholder concerns, governance structures, and key management system procedures.

Maximizing the use of current business processes and procedures by utilizing and modifying them in the most practical way was one of the main goals of implementing the ISMS. NITS had already created several information security policies before starting its Information Security certification endeavour. The existing policies were rationalized and made compliant with the ISO 27001:2013 standard by CertPro’s experts and ensured the policies were more accessible to all the interested parties of NITS.

Competency

NITS implemented a more systematic approach to information security awareness training as well as developing and monitoring information security competency standards as part of its ISO 27001 implementation project. NITS discovered the need for a more formalized and consistent general information security induction process, ongoing refresher training, and the management of information security competencies for several key information security roles identified within the business through this more structured approach.

ISMS Procedure Review

It was crucial to get the ISMS governance structure correct if NITS was to have effective ISMS monitoring and performance measurement. A specialized team was formed to handle the ISMS at an operational level, with a feed into top management for strategic review, at CertPro’s recommendation. The Information Security Operational Team’s creation allowed for the immediate integration and adoption of ISMS activities inside routine business processes because it had representation from every department of the company. With the arrival of the new compliance team, there has been a higher emphasis placed on significant measures that directly impact NITS’s business success and the accomplishment of their business goals.

SUCCESS FACTORS

Certification Timeline

It was always going to be time-consuming for NITS to implement ISO 27001 in the face of such unique and demanding business conditions. Although obtaining accreditation would give them new avenues and support business expansion, it was important to strike a careful balance between the time needed to establish an ISMS’s maturity, the short window of time available to take advantage of business opportunities, and the necessity to keep things moving forward. CertPro assisted NITS in implementing its strategy in a way that struck the ideal balance.

Effective Communication and Commitment

Regular project communication across the entire organization was especially crucial during implementation given the geographic dispersion of NITS. The top management designated the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) to oversee and carry out every step of the certification procedure. The NITS Top Management was dedicated to establishing a sustainable ISMS and received regular reports from the CISO.

CertPro

NITS’s culture, environment, and priorities were thoroughly understood by CertPro experts, who then tailored their implementation strategy to fit that organization’s risk tolerance, resources, and constraints. CertPro was able to provide excellent resource flexibility throughout the project in response to NITS’s shifting resource levels, business obligations, objectives and geographical time zones.

THE AFTERMATH OF CERTIFICATION

Process Improvement

Product development and servicing operations were at the heart of NITS business activities. Certification to ISO 27001 created an opportunity to reprioritize and accelerate many planned activities, as well as make several process improvements as a by-product of the ISMS implementation.

Supplier Management

NITS made the most of the chance to enhance its supplier management. NITS also enhanced its general supplier management policy by putting in place measures to oversee supplier information security controls.

Business Growth

NITS now has a solid information security management foundation built on ISO 27001 that it can use to create new goods and services, show and measure compliance with good practices, and provide customers peace of mind that their information is secure with NITS.

When reacting to and managing the information security requirements of its clients, NITS has gained efficiency and consistency after establishing the policies, and procedures as required by the ISO 27001 standard.