Applicability of the ISO 27001 Standard
Week 6 Research Paper
The required article readings this week give a good discussion and look at some of the frameworks that are used to manage risk within organizations and enterprises. One of the readings this week provided an introduction and comparison of different frameworks. As with anything, there are going to be strengths and weaknesses to all approaches. (Articles attached)
For your week 6 research paper, please address the following in a properly formatted research paper:
Do you think that ISO 27001 standard would work well in the organization that you currently or previously have worked for? If you are currently using ISO 27001 as an ISMS framework, analyze its effectiveness as you perceive in the organization.
Are there other frameworks mentioned has been discussed in the article that might be more effective?
Has any other research you uncover suggest there are better frameworks to use for addressing risks?
Your paper should meet the following requirements:
Be approximately four to six pages in length, not including the required cover page and reference page.
Follow APA 7 guidelines. Your paper should include an introduction, a body with fully developed content, and a conclusion.
Support your answers with the readings from the course and at least two scholarly journal articles to support your positions, claims, and observations, in addition to your textbook. The University Library is a great place to find resources.
Be clearly and well-written, concise, and logical, using excellent grammar and style techniques. You are being graded in part on the quality of your writing.
Sample Paper
Introduction
As technology has permeated most aspects of life, organizations that rely on technology have moved to enhance more security in their information systems. There has therefore been a significant need for organizations to identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the information systems and to limit the damaging impact of any form of breaches in such information systems. This paper considers different information security management systems standards.
Applicability of the ISO 27001 Standard in My Current Organization
Yes, I believe that the ISO 27001 standard would work effectively in my current organization. This is because the ISO 27001 standard provides specific requirements for the establishment implementation, operationalization monitoring, reviewing, maintaining, and also improving an information security management system (ISMS) in an organization (Culot et al., 2021). The ISO 27001 standard would help organizational leaders in my health care facility to be able to select the most effective and proportionate security controls to effectively protect information assets in an organization. The ISO 27001 standard would assist the leadership of my organization to save both time and money in the selection of the right security controls that can effectively protect the information assets of the organization. By providing a structured methodology for information security management, ISO 27001 standard would also be easy for organizational members to follow and implement through the plan do check act model (PDCA). By implementing the PDCA model, my current organization would be able to establish the right information security management system and to be able to roll out the implementation of such a system (Ahler, 2021). The ISO 27001 standard would also allow my organization to budget for the various resources that would be required in implementing the right ISMS. The budget consideration would therefore include finances set aside for hiring specialists to aid in the implementation of the information security management system in the organization. The ISO 27001 standard would also help significantly in monitoring the performance of an information security management system after its implementation in the organization. After adequate implementation of ISMS, effective monitoring would have to be conducted so as to rate the performance of the system and to provide recommendations for any future improvements. The ISO 27001 standard would also provide the guidelines related to the improvement of an ISMS after implementation in an organization (Ahler, 2021).
The ISO 27001 standard would also work well in my current organization because it would mainly be utilized as an ISMS framework at the high level, which would help to guide the selection criteria for the most ideal security risk assessment approach which the organization would take by the use of the controls which the standard proposes (Culot et al., 2021).
Effectiveness of the ISO 27001 Standard in My Current Organization
My current organization utilizes the ISO 27001 standard as an ISMS framework which is quite effective and has contributed to four main benefits in the organization, including enhancing patient retention and boosting referrals, prevention of fines and loss of reputation, improving organizational processes and strategies, and enhancing legal compliance (Al-Ahmad & Mohammad, 2016). Through the utilization of the ISO 27001 standard as an ISMS framework, my current organization, which is a healthcare facility, has been able to benefit significantly through the retention of patients and winning numerous referrals. In the healthcare industry, there has therefore been a growing number of stakeholders who are much interested in how their private information is handled and protected. The protection of patient private information and health records has therefore become paramount in healthcare facilities. There are significant risks that are involved in data breaches of any kind in a healthcare facility. In contemporary times stakeholders in Healthcare organizations, including patients, are more suspicious of how the privacy and security of their data are being handled across organizations. Utilizing the ISO 27001 standard as an ISMS framework has therefore ensured that my current organization, which is a healthcare facility, has a competitive edge that makes it a more attractive prospect for patients. The ISO 27001 standard demonstrates robust security practices in a healthcare facility which helps to boost patient retention and improve client relationships (Al-Dhahri et al., 2017).
The ISO 27001 standard is also effective in my current organization in that it helps to prevent loss of reputation and fines (Al-Ahmad & Mohammad, 2016). In contemporary times organizations, including healthcare facilities, are liable for significant fines as a result of a breach of patient data. For instance, in the US, the health insurance portability and accountability act of 1996(HIPAA) protects the security and privacy of certain health information. HIPAA establishes a national standard for the protection of health information and specific security standards that guarantee the protection of electronically protected health information. Through regulations such as HIPAA, healthcare facilities that are found to have not implemented security measures to protect any data breaches among patients and the address of private patient health information by that parties are liable for fines and other more strict sanctions (OCR, 2021). Healthcare facilities rely on the ISO 27001 standard as an ISMS framework that helps such organizations to strengthen the information security posture and avoid any forms of sanctions and fines. The ISO 27001 standard also helps organizations such as healthcare facilities to avoid any incidents such as data breaches that can contribute to negative publicity and which can significantly affect the operations of healthcare facilities (Al-Ahmad & Mohammad, 2016).
The ISO 27001 standard is also effective in improving processes and strategies in an organization when utilized as an ISMS framework. In addition to improving the perception of an organization by all stakeholders, ISO 27001 certification plays a significant role in enhancing the internal systems of an organization, such as a healthcare facility and the day-to-day procedures and processes (Ahler, 2021). The ISO 27001 standard provides clear and documented operational guidelines capacity management guidelines and also enhances testing and operational environments while also controlling malware and providing information back up. All these processes help to improve the day-to-day management of data and assure the privacy of data during organizational processes. The ISO 27001 standard also encourages better documentation and the provision of more clear guidelines that staff needs to follow in keeping an organization free from any cyber-attacks and secure. Such processes might include guidelines related to safe internet browsing, the use of external hard drives, and strong passwords. The ISO 27001 standard allows organizations such as health care facilities to evaluate the risks related to data breaches before such breaches happen and to come up with different ways of mitigating such risks and avoiding significant losses being incurred (Ahler, 2021).
Using ISO 27001 as an ISMS framework also enhances the effectiveness of an organization by promoting legal compliance’s 27001 standard highlights to organizations how they can comply with contractual and legal requirements. The objective of ISO 27001 standard is to avoid any forms of failures in regulatory statutory, legal or contractual obligations related to any security requirements or information security. Using ISO 27001 as an ISMS framework makes the compliance side of information security to be considerably easier for organizations. For healthcare organizations, the benefits of using ISO 27001 as an ISMS framework far outweigh the cost of implementing such a professional information management system. The return on investment for healthcare facilities will therefore be quite attractive for organizations, especially organizations such as healthcare facilities whose survival may be dependent on having a robust information security management system that different stakeholders can trust to meet certain regulations (Al-Dhahri et al., 2017).
Other Frameworks
ISO 27002 is more effective than ISO 27001 because the framework provides an implementation roadmap which is seen as an extension to ISO 27001.ISO 27002 is a code of practice that provides the necessary controls that various organizations, including healthcare facilities, can adopt to adequately address any information security risks. ISO 27002 provides the general principles and guidelines that organizations can rely on to initiate, implement, maintain and improve information security management (Al-Ahmad & Mohammad, 2016).
On the other hand, ISO 27005 is more effective than ISO 27001 and ISO 27002 in that the framework seeks to fill any gaps that might exist between the previous framework in terms of information security management. As a more effective framework, ISO 27005 therefore identifies and elaborates the actions inputs, outputs, and implementation guidelines for information security management systems in organizations (Al-Ahmad & Mohammad, 2016).
According to Al-Ahmad & Mohammad (2016), there are other frameworks that can be utilized for addressing risks related to information Security Including the Basel II, PCI DSS, and OCTAVE Set. However, Basel III is mainly applied in financial institutions that cover all types of information risks. On the other hand, the PCI DSS is used by the payment card industry to secure data-related two different payments across multiple frameworks. Finally, the OCTAVE Set is a form of framework that is used for information security risk assessment. The framework is therefore ideal for conducting risk assessments. The framework also helps to ensure that the risk that might be identified are properly analyzed (Al-Ahmad & Mohammad, 2016).
Conclusion
In summary, the ISO 27001 standard is effective in organizations in that it helps to prevent loss of reputation and fines with benefits in the organization, including enhancing patient retention and boosting referrals, prevention of fines and loss of reputation, improving organizational processes, and strategies, and enhancing legal compliance.
References
Ahler, E. (2021). The ISO/IEC 27001 standard provides a systematic approach to information security management. Upravlenie Kachestvom (Quality Management), 1, 36–38. https://doi.org/10.33920/pro-1-2101-07
Al-Ahmad, W., & Mohammad, B. (2016). Addressing Information Security Risks by Adopting Standards. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INFORMATION SECURITY SCIENCE, 2(2), 28–43.
Al-Dhahri, S., Al-Sarti, M., & Abdul, A. (2017). Information Security Management System. International Journal of Computer Applications, 158(7), 29–33. https://doi.org/10.5120/ijca2017912851
Culot, G., Nassimbeni, G., Podrecca, M., & Sartor, M. (2021). The ISO/IEC 27001 information security management standard: literature review and theory-based research agenda. The TQM Journal, 33(7), 76–105. https://doi.org/10.1108/tqm-09-2020-0202
Office for Civil Rights (OCR). (2021, June 28). Summary of the HIPAA Security Rule. HHS.Gov. Retrieved February 8, 2022, from https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/security/laws-regulations/index.html
