According to ISO/IEC 27001:2022, which specifies the requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving an information security management system (ISMS), control A.5.29 requires an organization to establish and maintain a business continuity management process to ensure the continued availability of information and information systems at the required level following disruptive incidents1. The organization should identify and prioritize critical information assets and processes, assess the risks and impacts of disruptive incidents, develop and implement business continuity plans (BCPs), test and review the BCPs, and ensure that relevant parties are aware of their roles and responsibilities1. Therefore, when verifying the information security of the business continuity management process, an ISMS auditor should verify that these aspects are met in accordance with the audit criteria.
Three options that will be in the audit trail for verifying control A.5.29 are:
Collect more evidence on how the organisation manages information security on mobile devices and during teleworking (Relevant to control A.6.7): This option is relevant because it can provide evidence of how the organization has implemented appropriate controls to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information and information systems when staff work from home using mobile devices, such as laptops, tablets or smartphones. This is related to control A.6.7, which requires an organization to establish a policy and procedures for teleworking and use of mobile devices1.
Collect more evidence on how and when the Business Continuity Plan has been tested (Relevant to control A.5.29): This option is relevant because it can provide evidence of how the organization has tested and reviewed the BCPs to ensure their effectiveness and suitability for different scenarios, such as a pandemic. This is related to control A.5.29, which requires an organization to test and review the BCPs at planned intervals or when significant changes occur1.
Collect more evidence on how the organisation makes sure only staff with a negative test result can enter the organisation (Relevant to control A.7.2): This option is relevant because it can provide evidence of how the organization has implemented appropriate controls to prevent or reduce the risk of infection or transmission of diseases among staff or residents, such as requiring regular staff self-testing and using a health status app. This is related to control A.7.2, which requires an organization to ensure that all employees and contractors are aware of information security threats and concerns, their responsibilities and liabilities, and are equipped to support organizational policies and procedures in this respect1.
The other options are not relevant to verifying control A.5.29, as they are not related to the control or its requirements. For example:
Collect more evidence by interviewing more staff about their feeling about working from home (Relevant to clause 4.2): This option is not relevant because it does not provide evidence of how the organization has established and maintained a business continuity management process or ensured the continued availability of information and information systems following disruptive incidents. It may be related to clause 4.2, which requires an organization to understand the needs and expectations of interested parties, but not specifically to control A.5.29.
Collect more evidence on what resources the organisation provides to support the staff working from home (Relevant to clause 7.1): This option is not relevant because it does not provide evidence of how the organization has established and maintained a business continuity management process or ensured the continued availability of information and information systems following disruptive incidents. It may be related to clause 7.1, which requires an organization to determine and provide the resources needed for its ISMS, but not specifically to control A.5.29.
Collect more evidence on how the organisation performs a business risk assessment to evaluate how fast the existing residents can be discharged from the nursing home (Relevant to clause 6): This option is not relevant because it does not provide evidence of how the organization has established and maintained a business continuity management process or ensured the continued availability of information and information systems following disruptive incidents. It may be related to clause 6, which requires an organization to plan actions to address risks and opportunities for its ISMS, but not specifically to control A.5.29.