ISO 27001 integration

Overview

ISO/IEC 27001 is the leading international standard for information security management systems (ISMS). While not AI-specific, it provides essential security foundations that AI governance builds upon. Organizations with existing ISO 27001 certification can extend their ISMS to cover AI-specific security concerns.

AI systems introduce unique security challenges that traditional information security may not fully address. Training data can be poisoned, models can be stolen or reverse-engineered, and adversarial attacks can manipulate AI outputs. Integrating AI governance with ISO 27001 ensures these risks receive appropriate attention within your security framework.

Why integrate AI governance with ISO 27001?

• Leverage existing investment: Build on your ISMS rather than creating parallel governance structures
• Unified security approach: Manage AI security alongside other information security risks
• Regulatory alignment: Both EU AI Act and ISO 42001 reference information security requirements
• Audit efficiency: Combined audits reduce effort and demonstrate integrated governance
• Consistent risk treatment: Apply proven security controls to AI-specific threats

AI-specific security risks

AI systems introduce security considerations that should be addressed within your ISMS:

Relevant ISO 27001 controls

Several ISO 27001 Annex A controls are particularly relevant to AI security:

• A.5 - Organizational controls for AI governance policies
• A.6 - People controls for AI training and awareness
• A.7 - Physical controls for AI infrastructure protection
• A.8 - Technology controls for AI system security

Extending controls for AI

Consider how existing controls apply to AI-specific scenarios:

• Access control: Extend to cover access to AI models, training pipelines, and inference APIs
• Cryptography: Apply to model encryption, secure model serving, and federated learning
• Supplier management: Include AI vendors, model providers, and training data suppliers
• Change management: Cover model updates, retraining, and version management
• Incident management: Address AI-specific incidents like model failures or adversarial attacks

How VerifyWise supports integration

VerifyWise helps you extend your ISO 27001 ISMS to cover AI systems:

• Control mapping: Map AI governance controls to ISO 27001 requirements
• Risk register integration: Track AI security risks alongside other information security risks
• Evidence collection: Gather AI-specific security evidence for integrated audits
• Vendor assessment: Evaluate AI vendors against security requirements
• Incident tracking: Document AI security incidents within your ISMS incident process

Implementation approach

To integrate AI governance with your ISO 27001 ISMS:

1. Review your current ISMS scope and determine how AI systems fit
2. Identify AI-specific assets (models, training data, inference systems)
3. Conduct AI-specific risk assessment within your ISMS framework
4. Extend existing controls or add new controls for AI-specific risks
5. Update documentation to reflect AI considerations
6. Train security personnel on AI-specific threats and controls
7. Include AI systems in internal audits and surveillance activities