In financial services, information security is key

A Guide to ISO 27001 for Fintech Companies

As systems and data management processes increasingly move online, so too does the need for information security – and the potential for cyber-attacks. The fintech industry can often be the target of such attacks, so it’s crucial to take steps to mitigate risk and ensure sensitive customer data is fully secure.

This is where ISO 27001 can add real value for fintech firms and banks. The standard provides a framework for securing and protecting confidential data, which can help your business avoid costly breaches that may result in reputational damage.

In this article, we explain how ISO 27001 for fintech companies can ensure your business keeps your security, and ultimately your customers’ data, secure.

What is ISO 27001?

ISO 27001 is an information security standard developed by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). Achieving certification ensures that your business’s data and information assets are protected.

ISO 27001 for fintech companies displays to partners and customers that your company is serious about keeping your data private and secure. This builds confidence in both customers and partners looking to work with a fintech business.

This certification also ensures that your business mitigates the risk of a cyber-attack or a breach effectively, especially in an industry such as fintech where threats are much more common than other industries. ISO 27001 for fintech businesses will also ensure that your company complies with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

ISO 27001 for fintech companies builds customer trust.

Fintech organisations often invest a huge number of resources into ensuring the protection of customer data. ISO 27001 for fintech companies allows you to demonstrate to your existing and potential customers that you take cybersecurity seriously by adopting the globally recognised gold ‘InfoSec’ standard.

By seeking ISO 27001 for fintech companies, you’re also able to offer a USP against competing financial technology vendors, as earning the trust of your customers and their users is essential. Being ISO 27001 certified assures customers that your business has the necessary procedures and processes in place to mitigate risk across the organisation.

Additionally, ISO 27001 certification can only be achieved by being successfully audited by independent accredited third-party auditors such as Lloyds Register. Surveillance audits are required annually, with re-audits required every three years. As such, your customers can be safe in the knowledge that your business is putting ongoing effort into maintaining high-security standards.

ISO 27001 offers information security for fintech businesses.

The finance sector is one of the most highly regulated in the world, so fintech cybersecurity is key. It’s crucial that you take steps to prevent downtime, address cybersecurity challenges, and prevent data breaches. This is where ISO 27001 for fintech SMB comes in.

ISO 27001 compliance may initially seem daunting, and ensuring compliance with various global laws and standards, such as GDPR, can be extremely complex to boot. It’s easy to find yourself facing a suite of different information security requirements and regulations for different countries! ISO 27001 for fintech companies, on the other hand, provides a framework that can bring together different laws and regulations into one centralised location – your ISMS.

Although it may feel like a long process initially, long-term, ISO 27001 for fintech companies provides real efficiencies and ensures compliance. Once independently certified, ISO 27001 and your associated ISMS will provide a centralised system for information governance across IT security and information security throughout your company.

Reduce the risk of a breach with ISO 27001 for fintech companies.

Providing evidence that you are adhering to ISO 27001 for fintech companies is time-consuming, so Hicomply’s ISMS solution automatically records the evidence that you are adhering to the standard, as well as version control and activity logs, so you don’t have to.

As well as providing a centralised location for your policies and documentation, implementing ISO 27001 for fintech companies with Hicomply software means that all your data will be contained securely, mitigating the risk of cyber-attacks.

The software also holds policies, procedures, and tasks required for your staff in one area, and alerts your colleagues when necessary. This means that the whole company can be held accountable, enabling you to ensure ISO 27001 compliance company wide.

ISO 27001 for Fintech SMB in half the time

We know that achieving (and keeping) ISO 27001 for fintech SMB is a laborious process, and often presents a logistical challenge. A digital ISMS solution can reduce your internal management time and reduce the amount of time it takes to achieve certification. It’s possible to reduce the timeframe between starting the process to auditing and certification down to 4-6 months, rather than a full year of preparation and implementation.

Digital solutions can also house your entire ISMS setup and give you a transparent view of your documents, current policies, and therefore progress towards certification. The Hicomply software solution, for instance, provides auto-populating templates and generates a log of evidence of tasks that have been completed to ensure transparency, which means your auditor can quickly and easily view information.

ISO 27001 for fintech companies, made easy.

ISO 27001 for fintech companies may be daunting initially and can seem like an impossible task when it comes to updating documentation and ensuring company-wide compliance. But it doesn’t have to be.

Software solutions such as Hicomply can halve the time frame and cost it takes to achieve compliance, and continually add value with automated admin tasks, ongoing risk management, and more. Interested in seeing how Hicomply can work for you? Book a demo.