ISO 27001 Reference Guide for Indian Companies
What is ISO 27001:2022?
ISO/IEC 27001:2022 is the international standard for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS), published by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). It specifies requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an ISMS. The 2022 version introduced 11 new controls and reorganised Annex A into 4 themes (previously 14 clauses, now 4 themes with 93 controls).
ISO 27001 vs. SOC 2 β Key Differences
| Dimension | ISO 27001 | SOC 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | International (ISO/IEC) | US-based (AICPA) |
| Certification | Certificate issued by accredited CB | Report issued by CPA firm |
| Audience | Global β India, Europe, Middle East, Asia | Primarily US enterprise customers |
| Scope | Entire ISMS β all information assets | Systems in scope for a specific service |
| Duration | 3-year certificate + annual surveillance | Type I (point in time) or Type II (6β12 months) |
| Cost (India) | βΉ3β8 lakhs total | βΉ8β20 lakhs total |
| Timeline | 90β120 days | 3 months (Type I), 9β12 months (Type II) |
| DPDP Act alignment | High β covers ~70% of DPDP security requirements | Moderate β covers security controls only |
ISO 27001 vs. DPDP Act Alignment
Implementing ISO 27001:2022 addresses approximately 60β70% of the security safeguard obligations under Section 8 of the DPDP Act 2023. Key overlapping areas: access control, encryption, incident management, vulnerability management, supplier security, and business continuity.
ISO 27001 Annex A Controls (2022)
| Theme | Controls | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Organisational | 37 | Threat intelligence, cloud security policy, information security policies, access control policy |
| People | 8 | Remote working, information security awareness, screening, confidentiality agreements |
| Physical | 14 | Physical security perimeters, clear desk/screen policy, equipment security |
| Technological | 34 | Data masking, secure coding, DLP, SIEM, web filtering, vulnerability management |