Why is it important for your hosting partner to be ISO 27001 certified?

With the introduction of GDPR and its complementary regulation NIS 2.0 it is becoming an important issue to pick your hosting provider wisely. There are many niche hosting companies who can provide very customized webservices to small and large organizations. Due to data privacy requrements and increasing demands for reliable cyber security, organizations are adapting their purchasing habits. That is why a growing trend is the demand for ISO 27001 certified hosting companies.

ISO 27001 Certification for Webhosting companies

Achieving an iso 27001 certificate is now important for european hosting companies. Some webhosters also provide cloud services to SaaS Startups. The growing demand of corporations that IT startups are ISO 27001 certified is now passing on to their webhosters. Therefore, a small hosting company needs to make the effort to write a proper ISMS documentation and apply to an accredited certification body so it is audited. Hosters can opt to add ISO 27018 to their ISO 27001 certificate. This requires additional audit time, as the accredited auditors will have to also inspect the ISMS in regards to cloud security.

Why is this important to you?

Most businesses and government organisations are having to increase their efficiency by implementing a digital workflow. This requires them to abandon paperwork and focus on using digital systems to process data. The tax authorities are also pushing businesses of all sizes to provide proof of clean business activities by operating a digital accounting system and holding relevant business transactions as digital evidence. By becoming more efficient, companies can lower their operational costs and increase their ability to scale their revenue. This dependency on digital systems makes them vulnerable to cyber crime and digital fraud. That is why information security is an important aspect of protecting a brand’s reputation.

Hosting is essential to your company’s processes

9 Reasons to use an ISO 27001 certified Hosting Provider

Information security usually has its price as it requires information technology businesses invest more effort into their defenses. Unfortunately, pricing is no real indicator for the reliability of such a hosting business. Here are 9 key reasons for choosing an ISO 27001-certified hosting provider:

  1. Mindfulness
  2. Independent audits
  3. Conforming to guidelines
  4. Competitive advantage
  5. Increase trust
  6. Exhibit obligation
  7. Better incident recovery
  8. Less vacation, less hustle
  9. Think globally

Mindfulness of certified hosting providers

An ISO 27001 Certification hosting provider shows that they make a considerable effort to ensure information security. The organization is committed to be compliant with ISO 27001 standard. Its leadership is providing the necessary resources and has made everyone in the organisation responsible for protecting sensitive data. Management is accountable and leads by example. Other competitors without an ISO 27001 Certificate might not be as mindful in regards to protecting information from being manipulated, stolen or misused. Hence, a business client could be at risk of being liable for negligence, should a data breach occur at the hosting facility. The hoster needs to have policies and procedures in place, that match the scope of a hosting provider. This goes beyond testing programming, backing up frameworks and firewall structures.

Independent audits

By using an ISO 27001 certified hoster you can rely on the existance of an information security management system (ISMS). The ISO 27001:2022 certificate can not be bought. It is necessary that an accredited certification body dispatches an audit team to the hosting company. The auditors will want to make sure that Information Security Management System is set up properly and is activiely used by the webhoster. This audit is conducted by a lead auditor which is independent from the hosting company and only follows the guidance of the certification company.

Conforming to guidelines

Signing a contract with a hosting partner that holds a ISO 27001 Certification is most likely a smart choice. You can hope that this partner has committed all its staff to follow guidelines in accordance with the international standard ISO 27001. The webhosting leadership knows and understands its obligations towards you as a client.

Competitive advantage due to ISO 27001

If your organization desires to eventually become certified in accordance with ISO 27001, then you will gain a competitive advantage over the time. While working on your ISMS documentation, you will eventually have to review your supply chain. That review of suppliers will have to include online software suppliers, web hosters, cloud service provciders and even outsourcing programming companies. By selecting webhosting companies which already have an ISO 27001 Certification, your own organization will be seen as a more reliable supplier to your own clients. Corporate clients buy foremost based on trust and only then consider other characteristcs of the offered deal.

Some large corporations have set guidelines upon which departments are prohibited from signing up with SaaS, hosting and software providers which are not certified by ISO standards. As Saas company that wants to supply a niche solution needs to be using a hosting service with an ISO 27001:2022 certificate. The process towards ISO 27001 Certification is usually requiring 12 to 24 months. Writing an ISMS, implementing it in the organization and then successfully being audited by a certification body does take time.

Increase trust with ISO 27001 certified hosting provider

New potential customers want to be assured that their sensitive data is well protected. Some corporations implement a supplier audit process by which they inspect the ISMS of a potential supplier. If the audit shows that the supplier is using a unreliable hosting solution, it might become a problem for the supplier. The corporate could fear that its’ intellectual property might be at risk. This is an important reason why you shuold sign up with a trustworthy hosting provider. That hosting provider needs a valid ISO 27001 Certification! Otherwise it might become a costly nonconformity. Seasoned pocurement departments now know what to look for when runing a first reliability assessment.

Exhibit obligation

The ISO 27001 Certification standard expects the hosting company to be prepared for a potential data breach. The policies and procedures must be in place. The security staff must know how to handle a scenario where digital or analogue data is in danger. An increasing number of audits show that an ISO 27001 Certificate can only remain valid if the company is making an effort to not only improve its management system but also by increasing its technical and organizational defenses. This gradually leads to the implementation of a SIEM or even a Security Operations Center. This nonstop improvement will lead toward developing not only awareness but also full commitment to information security at all levels of the organization. Not every threat can be anticipated and counteracted. The better the organisation is prepared the lower the risk exposure is to its clients.

Better incident recovery abilities

If an incident does offer, a provider with a ISO 27001 Certification will most likely recover faster. Hence, a system failure or hacking will be overcome at a better rate, than unprepared hosting company. Cerified organization are driven to regularly evaluate the occurrence and avoid potential risks. Consistent improvement ensures that the security efforts are matching the current risk environement. Be careful when hosters claim to be certified but can not show proof of it. Only an ISO 27001 certificate from a certification body with accreditation for ISO 27001 may issue a valid ISO certificate.

Less vacation, less hustle vs. reliability and trust

A ISO 27001 certified hosting partner will design its infrastructure and organizational processes to ensure extraordinary safety efforts are effective. You will notice that a well organized hoster is more productive, when handling any ticket you might have opened with their support. Desorganized hosting companies usually have a lack of properly set up security measures. Having your websites, web applications or data on such a doggy hoster will not allow you to enjoy your vacation.

Think globally with an international recognized certificate

Should need to signup with a foreign hosting company you usually can be on the safe side by picking a hoster with ISO 27001 Certification. The international standards organization (ISO) ensures that all accreditation bodies make an effort to hold their licensed certification providers accountable to the audit standards of ISO. Hence, an ISO 27001 Certification will be valid from which ever country it may have been issued.

An ISO 27001-certified partner brings more benefits

When you use an ISO 27001-certified partner you are less at risk of experiencing an embarrasing fiasco. Nevertheless, you need to do your own homework, too. With NIS 2.0 organisations are driven to only hire certified organisations for handling senstive or critical matters.

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