ISO 27001:2022 Controls List: Everything You Need to Know

Imagine a world where you can easily protect your company’s important data while ensuring compliance with strict security guidelines. ISO 27001:2022 promises just that.

Because data breaches are becoming more expensive and cyber threats are growing, companies need to strengthen their security posture. Just in 2024, the average cost of a single data breach reached an astonishing $4.88 million. ISO 27001:2022 offers a proven framework to safeguard your organization’s information assets.

Whether a startup or an established enterprise, learning about the ISO 27001:2022 standard’s key controls and implementation methods empowers you to build a robust security posture and protect your organization’s future.

What is ISO 27001?

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ISO 27001 is a global standard for the information security management system (ISMS), developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It offers guidance on securing information technology assets, including the establishment, development, integration, operation, assessment, and maintenance of an ISMS against unauthorized access, data losses, and cyber threats.

Purpose of ISO 27001

The purpose of ISO 27001 is to provide a clear, structured framework for managing and securing an organization’s information assets. ISO 27001 wipes out the chances of exposing confidential information to unauthorized access, data leakage, as well as cyber attacks. It also ensures compliance with regulatory requirements.

Benefits of Implementing ISO 27001

Implementing ISO 27001 improves businesses’ security practices and provides a competitive edge in the market. Here are 3 main benefits you can get from implementing ISO 27001:

• Enhanced Security – Provides a strong framework for identifying vulnerabilities and protecting information assets.
• Improved Compliance – Aids the organization to achieve and comply with policies and legal requirements on information security which helps minimize the chances of fines being imposed.
• Increased Customer Trust – ISO 27001 certification reassures clients that their data is secure, building trust and stronger client relationships.

The Structure of ISO 27001

ISO 27001 consists of 2 main parts: 11 clauses and 93 controls from Annex A.

Mandatory Clauses

The first part of ISO 27001 consists of 11 clauses. Out of them clauses from 4 to 10 are mandatory for ISO 27001 certification. While Clauses 0–3 are not mandatory, they help organizations understand the ISO 27001 process. Here is a complete breakdown of these 11 clauses:

• Clauses 0–3: Introduce the scope, definitions, and background to help organizations understand ISO 27001.
• Clauses 4–10: These are the core requirements for establishing an ISMS.

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Annex A Controls

The second part of ISO 27001 is called Annex A, and it contains 93 security controls under 4 categories:

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The Statement of Applicability (SoA)

The Statement of Applicability (SoA) is a key document within ISO 27001 that lists all Annex A controls and indicates whether each control is “applicable” or “not applicable” based on the organization’s specific needs. For each applicable control, the SoA provides a rationale for its inclusion and an outline of its implementation.

Overview of ISO 27001:2022 and Key Updates

The 2022 version of ISO 27001 brought some key changes to help organizations address new security threats. Here’s a look at the main updates:

• New Control Categories – ISO 27001:2022 organizes its controls into four categories: Organizational, People, Physical, and Technological.
• Updated and New Controls – The updated version has 93 controls including cloud security, threat intelligence, data masking, and secure deletion.
• Stronger Focus on Risk Management – ISO 27001:2022 outlines the policies and processes for managing risks in accordance with their level of threat. It allows organizations to focus and resolve the most critical issues first and enhance their security posture.
• Better Alignment with ISO 27002:2022 – The update aligns closely with ISO 27002:2022, which offers guidance on implementing each control, making it easier to follow best practices.

Detailed Overview of Key Controls in ISO 27001:2022

Since you now have a good understanding of ISO 27001 and its purpose, let’s discuss some of its key controls in detail with purpose, relevance, and real-world examples.

1. Access Control and Authentication

Unauthorized access is a common security issue every organization faces. Proper access control and authentication mechanisms enforce strict access policies, ensuring only authorized individuals access sensitive data.

Implementation Steps:

• Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) through OTPs, biometrics, YubiKey etc.

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• Implement role-based access control (RBAC) using identity management solutions like Okta or Azure AD.
• Automate periodic access audits using scripts or SIEM tools (e.g., Splunk). The results of these audits can help identify inactive accounts and revoke unnecessary access.

2. Information Security Awareness and Training

Employees often make mistakes that can expose systems to phishing, malware, and insider threats. Conducting periodic awareness and training sessions can improve their knowledge of modern attacks and help them easily handle security threats.

Implementation Tips:

• Deploy tools to simulate phishing attacks. You can track click rates to assess vulnerability and conduct targeted training for users who fail.
• Use SCORM-compliant modules for detailed security protocols in areas such as endpoint protection, secure data handling, and password hygiene.
• Provide employees with actionable threat intelligence updates. Focus on new phishing scams, ransomware trends, and social engineering threats.

3. Asset Management

Mismanaged assets like untracked devices, software, or network components can create security gaps. Good asset management prevents this by keeping an updated list of all assets, from servers and laptops to software and IoT devices.

Implementation Tips:

• Use network scanning tools to automatically discover and catalog devices, software, and network assets.

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• Classify assets based on data sensitivity, regulatory needs, or business importance.
• Use CMDB (Configuration Management Database) integrations for real-time asset updates.

4. Risk Assessment and Management

Risk evaluation enables organizations to handle security issues by periodically determining, estimating and ranking threats, or vulnerabilities. This permits them to fix the most important weaknesses first.

Implementation Tips:

• Use scoring metrics for qualitative risk analysis. For example, FAIR metrics measure the scope of the risk.

• Integrate risk assessment into DevOps workflows using tools like Spectral to identify security risks in new codes.
• Update risk treatment plans based on new data or threats.

5. Incident Response

Incident response ensures that security incidents are contained and resolved quickly. Fast action helps minimize data exposure, legal risks, and operational disruptions, and recover quickly from any issue.

Implementation Tips:

• Use SOAR tools to automate response actions, such as isolating compromised devices, blocking malicious IPs, and notifying relevant stakeholders.
• Create detailed response runbooks for scenarios like ransomware, and DDoS.
• Use incident data to generate root cause analysis (RCA) reports and identify weaknesses in controls.

6. Configuration Management

Configuration management makes sure that all systems are properly set up and that there are no hostile settings. Dealing with misconfigurations is critical to the security of an organization as they are one of the major causes of security breaches.

Implementation Tips:

• Use tools like Terraform or Ansible to manage infrastructure configurations programmatically.
• Regularly compare system configurations against baseline configurations. You can use tools like Chef InSpec or AWS Config to detect deviations.
• Implement automatic rollback for unauthorized configuration changes using tools like AWS CloudFormation or Azure Policy.

7. Data Masking

Data masking protects sensitive data in testing, development, and other non-production environments. This process reduces the risk of exposure by ensuring that real data is not accessible where it isn’t needed.

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Implementation Tips:

• Implement dynamic masking solutions (e.g., Microsoft SQL Server’s Dynamic Data Masking) to hide sensitive data during database queries based on user roles.
• Replace sensitive data with tokens when full access isn’t needed.
• Apply data masking policies with DLP tools to secure sensitive data.

8. Information Deletion

Information deletion securely removes data that is no longer needed. This process prevents unneeded data from being accessed or recovered to protect sensitive information.

Implementation Tips:

• Set up data lifecycle management with tools like Suridata.
• Use certified data wiping software (e.g., Blancco Drive Eraser) or physical destruction for hard drives.

9. Securing Code

By using secure code practices, it reduces the risk of attacks like injection and cross-site scripting, strengthening application security.

Implementation Tips:

• Use tools like Jit for for continuous code analysis.

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• Integrate these tools with CI/CD pipelines for real-time vulnerability detection.
• Conduct threat modeling with tools like Spectral to identify and mitigate potential security issues early in the design phase.

10. Data Leakage Prevention (DLP)

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is a strategy for making sure that sensitive information is not sent outside of the organization by unauthorized individuals. DLP solutions enforce secure limits on confidential information to ensure that such information cannot be leaked out either by accident or on purpose.

Implementation:

• Deploy endpoint DLP solutions to monitor file transfers, USB access, and sensitive document printing.
• Use email DLP filters to block emails with sensitive attachments, encrypting or flagging them for further review if necessary.

Empower Your Security Strategy

Organizations can develop a strong security posture and protect their precious assets by putting in place the measures defined in ISO 27001:2022. This widely recognized standard offers a structured approach to information security management that will assist you in mitigating risks, ensuring compliance, and building confidence with stakeholders.

However, conforming to ISO 27001:2022 might be a challenging process. With Spectral’s innovative security solutions, you can simplify and streamline your security processes. Our automatic vulnerability assessment and secure coding solutions assist you in identifying and mitigating potential security threats, guaranteeing compliance with ISO 27001:2022 and other industry standards.Looking to level-up security strategy with Spectral? Contact us today to learn how our platform can help you achieve your security goals.