Cross-industry applicability of ISO 27001
Jessica Doering

March 19, 2024

-

3

 min reading time

Which Industries are most often certified to ISO 27001?

It's the season of coziness.... and people are especially now looking for something suitable with whom to be even cozier. Or because they just can't be alone, but we won't discuss that here now. 

Businesses also have a soul and a heart, so let us check if at least your company matches with ISO 27001. ❤️

In this blog, we take a closer look at which industries are particularly ISO 27001 certified, so let's start!

First, we don't need to explain ISO 27001 in detail here, you can find enough blogs about it on Secfix.com.

But there is nothing wrong with describing the standard again in three sentences:

What is ISO 27001?

ISO 27001 is an internationally recognized standard for information security management and is used globally to demonstrate dedication to information security best practices. This queen is a framework that helps organizations establish, implement, operate, monitor, audit, maintain, and continuously improve an information security management system to best manage information security. 

Employees, processes and technology are all taken into account.

And also this is often mentioned in one breath:

People often think that ISO 27001 is a standard that only applies to the IT industry. When people think of ISO, they quickly think of ...., oh yes, the TÜV for the tech industry.  But that's not true at all. Companies in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, the energy sector, or the service sector are now getting ISO 27001 certified as well. ISO 27001 is worth at least one consideration for every company.

ISO 27001 is about protecting information, not protecting IT from a raccoon attack! 

From this perspective, any organization that has sensitive information, whether it is a small business or a corporation, a government or an individual, can benefit from implementing ISO 27001.

Startups or SMEs tend to think that they are not necessarily on the hacker menu.  

But in fact, many hackers prefer to launch attacks on smaller companies. Especially when they are growing and their head is somewhere else, they simply have not yet dealt with sufficient measures, for information security. First of all, money has to come in, right? No, think twice and download our ISO 27001 Guide for startups!

However, ISO 27001 certification is of greater benefit to some industries than others, as it is with cars. In a 1 square mile village, you don't really need one. A bike will do just as well. Are we going for GDPR? Not in this blog...

Okay, more than three sentences… hm. 

But now let's take a look at which industries are most likely to implement this standard. 

TOP Industries certified with ISO 27001 

Information Technology and ISO 27001

Needless to say, right at the front of the pack: the information technology industry.

IT support companies, software development companies and cloud companies are the biggest ISO 27001 fans! :)  

It's not always sooo voluntary, as certification costs money of course! However, these companies need to be able to prove to their customers that they are protecting all the sensitive information that flourishes between them. In addition, contractual security requirements of their customers must also be met. After all, almost everyone now requires proof of information security in order to conclude a contract!

Telecommunications and ISO 27001

Internet providers and telecommunications companies deal with massive amounts of customer data! This industry is literally screaming for it!

ISO 27001 serves as an important certification here! These companies therefore see ISO 27001 as a framework that helps them to process these enormous volumes of data securely, to reduce outages in the event of attacks as far as possible and, above all, to protect sensitive data in the event of such "breakdowns"! 

On top of that, there are numerous laws and regulations coming out of the woodwork! To comply with these, ISO 27001 helps!

Financial Industry and ISO 27001

And as already mentioned for telecommunication companies, laws and regulations play an equally special role in financial institutions! Maybe even more as in the Telecoms Industry! The reason for this is that data protection laws are mainly based on this standard.

Another major reason for ISO 27001 certification is to mitigate the fiduciary risk that financial organizations may face.

Financial institutions include, for example, insurance companies, and with such sensitive data, there is no need to quibble over whether ISO 27001 should serve as a compliance barrier! 

The second most popular motivation for implementing ISO 27001 is cost! Incidents in this industry should be as close to never happening as possible. Yes, one can understand that... ISO certification and, of course, its maintenance are far less painful in terms of cost than the consequences of a single incident. Small personal side blow to DKB and Bank of America at this point! ;)

Risk management is therefore also the most advanced in the financial sector! Therefore, the approach to strive for an ISO 27001 certification is also typical for this industry! Another small side blow ... Of course, if it is about a lot of money, then one is just "somehow" also "differently" motivated.

Government Bodies and ISO 27001

 

And finally, of course, everyone's favorite: government agencies.

It's not really surprising that very sensitive data is handled here. In some agencies, data is almost declared "more than confidential"! But in essence, the confidentiality, integrity and availability of this data are paramount!  The fact that ISO 27001 was created to meet these three concepts (the famous C-I-A triad) makes it a perfect tool to keep any incidents to a minimum. Well, what a lovely coincidence.... CIA. 

Another wonderful fluke is that it is an international standard, recognized by the standardization bodies of each country. This makes ISO 27001 a perfect framework with official government approval.

 

Why should my company consider ISO 27001?

 

You don't practice in these industries, so what? Basically, ISO 27001 can benefit any company that has sensitive information.  

ISO 27001 is not just an IT project! There are quite real business benefits to be gained from this standard, as it can be applied much more comprehensively than one might initially think!

 

So why should any company consider ISO 27001?

Because, the risk of cyber threats has not just been known since the "remote work and life balance" and therefore a company that handles sensitive data should already be securely prepared for these risks. 

 

Just book a consultation with us and find out, if your company matches with ISO 27001! Swipe to the right!

Focus on building Security with Compliance in the background

Secfix has the largest EU auditors network and minimizes time, effort and cost through its platform.

non-binding and free of charge

Jessica Doering

Jess is the marketing mind at Secfix. She loves every dog on this planet!

ISO 27001

ISO 27001
ISO 27001