Standards Comparison

    ISO 27001

    Voluntary
    2022

    International standard for information security management systems

    VS

    ISO 37001

    Voluntary
    2025

    International standard for anti-bribery management systems

    Quick Verdict

    ISO 27001 certifies information security management for all industries, protecting data confidentiality, integrity, and availability. ISO 37001 establishes anti-bribery systems to prevent, detect, and respond to corruption risks. Organizations adopt both for compliance, risk reduction, and market trust.

    Cybersecurity

    ISO 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001:2022

    Cost
    €€€€
    Complexity
    High
    Implementation Time
    6-12 months

    Key Features

    • Risk-based Information Security Management System
    • 93 Annex A controls in four themes
    • Plan-Do-Check-Act continual improvement cycle
    • Internationally recognized certification standard
    • Technology-agnostic across all industries
    Anti-Bribery/Compliance

    ISO 37001

    ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management Systems

    Cost
    €€€€
    Complexity
    High
    Implementation Time
    6-12 months

    Key Features

    • Risk-based bribery risk assessment
    • Third-party due diligence requirements
    • Leadership commitment and policy
    • Financial and non-financial controls
    • PDCA continual improvement cycle

    Detailed Analysis

    A comprehensive look at the specific requirements, scope, and impact of each standard.

    ISO 27001 Details

    What It Is

    ISO/IEC 27001:2022 is an international certification standard for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS). It uses a risk-based approach to manage information assets' confidentiality, integrity, and availability across all industries.

    Key Components

    • **Clauses 4-10Mandatory requirements for context, leadership, planning, support, operation, evaluation, and improvement.
    • **Annex A93 controls in four themes (Organizational: 37, People: 8, Physical: 14, Technological: 34).
    • Built on PDCA cycle for continual improvement.
    • **Certification modelTwo-stage audits, annual surveillance, triennial recertification.

    Why Organizations Use It

    • Enhances cyber resilience and reduces breach costs (avg. $4.45M).
    • Meets regulatory/contractual needs (GDPR, NIS2); voluntary but indispensable.
    • Provides competitive edge via trust signaling and bid wins.
    • Builds stakeholder confidence through audited processes.

    Implementation Overview

    • Phased: Initiation, risk assessment, control deployment, audits (6-18 months).
    • Scalable for SMEs to enterprises; cross-industry.
    • Requires gap analysis, Statement of Applicability, internal audits.

    ISO 37001 Details

    What It Is

    ISO 37001 is the international certifiable standard for Anti-Bribery Management Systems (ABMS). It provides requirements and guidance to prevent, detect, and respond to bribery risks. Applicable to all organization types and sizes, it follows a risk-based approach aligned with the ISO Harmonized Structure and PDCA cycle across clauses 4-10.

    Key Components

    • Core pillars: context/risk assessment, leadership/policy, planning, support/training, operations/controls, performance evaluation, improvement.
    • Focus on third-party due diligence, financial/non-financial controls, reporting/investigations.
    • Built on proportionality; certifiable via accredited third-party audits (3-year cycle with surveillance).

    Why Organizations Use It

    • Mitigates legal risks (e.g., FCPA, UK Bribery Act) via evidentiary "reasonable steps".
    • Builds reputational trust, operational efficiencies (up to 15% compliance cost reduction), ESG alignment.
    • Enables market access, stakeholder confidence in high-risk sectors.

    Implementation Overview

    • Phased: gap analysis, risk assessment, control design, training, audits.
    • Scalable for SMEs to multinationals; global applicability; optional certification by Feb 2027 transition deadline. (178 words)

    Key Differences

    Scope

    ISO 27001
    Information security management (CIA triad)
    ISO 37001
    Anti-bribery management (prevention, detection)

    Industry

    ISO 27001
    All industries, global applicability
    ISO 37001
    All sectors, high-risk corruption areas

    Nature

    ISO 27001
    Voluntary certification standard
    ISO 37001
    Voluntary certification standard

    Testing

    ISO 27001
    Internal audits, Stage 1/2 certification
    ISO 37001
    Internal audits, Stage 1/2 certification

    Penalties

    ISO 27001
    Loss of certification, no legal fines
    ISO 37001
    Loss of certification, no legal fines

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Common questions about ISO 27001 and ISO 37001

    ISO 27001 FAQ

    ISO 37001 FAQ

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