ISO 42001
What is ISO 42001
ISO 42001 is a standard published in 2023 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to address security concerns of artificial intelligence (AI). It is the first certifiable standard to provide requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an AI Management System (AIMS).
Getting ISO 42001 Certified
ISO 42001 certification is achieved by demonstrating compliance with the framework’s requirements. The ISO/IEC 42001 certification process works the same as other ISO standards. An accredited third-party certification body will execute an audit to determine if your AIMS meets the standard’s requirements. Certification is valid for three years. To maintain accreditation for the three-year period, a certification body must perform annual supervision audits.
ISO 42001 Clauses 4-10 are mandatory and detail what is required of an AIMS to achieve certification.
4. Context of the organization
4.1 Understanding the organization and its context
4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties
4.3 Determining the scope of the AI management system
4.4 AI management system
5. Leadership
5.1 Leadership and commitment
5.2 AI policy
5.3 Roles, responsibilities, and authorities
6. Planning
6.1 Actions to address risks and opportunities
6.2 AI objectives and planning to achieve them
6.3 Planning of changes
7. Support
7.1 Resources
7.2 Competence
7.3 Awareness
7.4 Communication
7.5 Documented information
8. Operation
8.1 Operational planning and control
8.2 AI risk assessment
8.3 AI risk treatment
8.4 AI system impact assessment
9. Performance evaluation
9.1 Monitoring, measurement, analysis, and evaluation
9.2 Internal audit
9.3 Management review
10. Improvement
10.1 Continual improvement
10.2 Nonconformity and corrective action
ISO/IEC 42001 contains four annexes that provide detailed guidance on how organizations can comply with the standard.
Annex A: Provides a comprehensive list of the standard’s controls and their objectives.
Annex B: Provides guidance for the implementation of the controls and data management processes.
Annex C: Addresses AI objectives and risk sources.
Annex D: Addresses the use of AI systems across different domains and sectors.
Benefits of ISO 42001 Certification
ISO 42001 certification will demonstrate to the market that your business is an early adopter of AI best practices and that you are committed to using the technology securely and ethically. Certification will separate your company from the competition and potentially serve as a business driver.
Putting in the work to secure ISO 42001 certification will give your organization confidence that your AI systems operate safely, fairly, and with quality data, while still being able to realize the benefits of AI technology. The controls you put in place will allow you to identify and remediate risks more effectively.
How we can Help
At CompliancePoint, we have a team of former ISO auditors and experienced practitioners that can prepare your organization for a successful ISO 42001 audit. We will put you on the path to certification by helping you identify and remediate gaps in your existing AIMS and implement the necessary policies, procedures, and technical controls.
CompliancePoint has a partnership with Mastermind, the world's first certification body for ISO 42001. We work with Mastermind to streamline the entire certification process for our customers, from initial readiness assessments and policy development to the resulting certification audit.
The experts at CompliancePoint are here to help you avoid breach of data, loss of ability to process or handle 3rd party data, loss of business customers or partners or regulatory fines. Find out how.
Frequently Asked Questions
ISO 27001 is an Information Security Standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that is recognized across the globe. It is a certifiable framework consisting of security policies and procedures for data protection through an Information Security Management System (ISMS).
ISO 27001 certification is an effective way for organizations to demonstrate to customers and prospects that they have effective procedures and policies in place to protect data.
ISO 27001 is a certifiable framework consisting of security policies and procedures for data protection through an Information Security Management System (ISMS).
ISO 9001 is a quality management standard. It helps organizations of all sizes and sectors to improve their performance, meet customer expectations and demonstrate their commitment to quality.
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The answer depends on the organization’s operations, requirements from third parties, and security goals.
From a high-level perspective, ISO 27001 could make the most sense because it is an internationally recognized and certifiable standard. It's a full-on information security management system with security controls. Many of the ISO 27001 controls will also satisfy SOC 2 and NIST requirements. If you decide to pursue one of those standards later, you can fill in any gaps, but your ISO certification will have you already well on the way to compliance with the other frameworks.
Yes, ISO 27001 certification will result in better security for your organization’s sensitive data, but it's not an end all be all. Implementing ISO 27001-compliant processes and procedures needs to be accompanied by a security-focused mindset from the organization's personnel.
If you're getting a lot of privacy-related inquiries, building a framework around privacy makes sense to address concerns from your customers. It depends on the information that you're protecting and who you're trying to demonstrate that you have it secured.
A privacy information management system is not going to cover the broader range of ISO 27001.
It shouldn’t be too heavy of a lift. The keys will be understanding the new controls and getting personnel ready to move forward with a new framework. You need to educate staff on the new controls and the timing for when they need to be implemented.
Set your organization’s goals and objectives and determine what new controls need to be prioritized.
The real impact is the changes in focus. ISO 27001: 2022 focus more on items like the use of cloud resources and continual improvement. The new controls are getting up to speed with how businesses are managing their data in the current environment. The 2022 version is a modernization of the framework that addresses the new security challenges organizations are facing.
Think of working backward as broadening what you already have. You're already meeting the SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria, so you have predictable, repeatable processes implemented. You have a great deal of the ISO 27001: 2022 requirements in place with the assignment of controls, control owners, and management.
ISO 27001 will have requirements that are not part of SOC 2, so you’ll need to identify those gaps. Map all the Annex A controls and make sure you cover the ISO requirements for an ISMS.
Yes, we have a customer that reduced their compliance or audit overall work effort by 40% for the next year by overlapping the evidence, using the same personnel, etc. There are privacy-related controls that need to be implemented in addition to Annex A of ISO 27001.
