ISO 27002:2022, Control 7.11 – Supporting Utilities

ISO 27002:2022 Revised Controls

Book a demo

close,up,of,african,child,browsing,internet,on,laptop.,hands

Failure or disruptions of utilities such as electricity, gas, water, or cooling needed for proper and continuous functioning of information processing facilities may result in compromise of information assets or may intercept business continuity.

For example, the failure of air conditioning equipment in a data centre may lead to a sudden rise in temperature when the data centre is hit by a heatwave. This may cause servers hosting website and/or customer data to shut down, and thus result in loss of availability of data and disruptions to business operations.

Control 7.11 addresses how organisations can eliminate risks to the availability and integrity of information assets due to the failure of supporting utilities such as gas, cooling, telecommunications, water, and electricity.

Purpose of Control 7.11

Control 7.11 enables organisations to eliminate and mitigate risks to the availability and integrity of information assets and to the business continuity by putting in place appropriate measures that protect supporting utilities against failures and disruptions such as power outages.

Attributes Table

Control 7.11 is both detective and preventive in nature as it requires organisations to take a proactive approach and implement precautionary measures against the risks to the proper and continuous functioning of utilities required for information processing facilities such as data centres, network systems, and computing equipment.

Control TypeInformation Security PropertiesCybersecurity ConceptsOperational CapabilitiesSecurity Domains
#Preventive
#Detective
#Integrity
#Availability
#Protect
#Detect
#Physical Security#Protection

Ownership of Control 7.11

Control 7.11 entails identifying risks to the continuous operations of supporting utilities and implementation of appropriate measures and controls to ensure that availability and integrity of information assets are not affected by failures of these utilities.

While the facilities management team’s role and efforts are critical, the information security manager should bear the responsibility for compliance with Control 7.11.

Updated for ISO 27001 2022
  • 81% of the work done for you
  • Assured Results Method for certification success
  • Save time, money and hassle
Book your demo
img

General Guidance on Compliance

After highlighting that supporting utilities such as water supply, electricity, communications, sewage, and air conditioning is vital to the operations carried out in information processing facilities.

General Guidance lists seven key recommendations organisations should take into account to comply with Control 7.11:

  1. Organisations should conform to the manufacturer’s instructions when configuring, using, and maintaining the devices used to control the utilities.
  2. Utilities should be audited to ensure that they are fit to fulfil business growth objectives and they operate with other utilities without any issue.
  3. All equipment supporting the utilities should go through regular inspections and testing so that there is no disruption or failure of their proper functioning.
  4. Depending on the level of risk to the information assets and business continuity, an alarm system can be established for malfunctioning equipment supporting the utilities.
  5. To minimise the risk, utilities should have multiple feeds with separate physical routing.
  6. The network connected to the equipment supporting utilities should be segregated from the network connected to IT facilities.
  7. Equipment supporting the utilities should be allowed to connect to the internet only if it is strictly necessary and this connection should be established in a secure manner.

Supplementary Guidance

Apart from the General Guidance, Control 7.11 entails recommendations on two specific issues:

  • Emergency procedures

Organisations should determine an emergency contact person and record his/her contact details. These details should be provided to all personnel in the event a failure or disruption occurs.

Emergency switches and valves to halt utilities such as water, gas, and electricity should be placed near the emergency exits.

Emergency lighting and communications should be ready to be used in case an emergency arises.

  • Network connectivity

Organisations can consider having additional routes from alternative service providers to increase network connectivity so that failures or disruptions of supporting utilities are prevented.

Get a Headstart
on ISO 27002

The only compliance
solution you need
Book your demo

Get a Headstart on ISO 27001
  • All updated with the 2022 control set
  • Make 81% progress from the minute you log in
  • Simple and easy to use
Book your demo
img

Changes and Differences from ISO 27002:2013

27002:2022/7.11 replaces 27002:2013/(11.2.2)

While the 2022 version is similar to the 2013 version to great extent, there is one key difference.

The ISO 27002:2022 version introduces the following two requirements in its General Guidance:

  • The network connected to the equipment supporting utilities should be segregated from the network connected to IT facilities.
  • Equipment supporting the utilities should be allowed to connect to the internet only if it is strictly necessary and this connection should be established in a secure manner.

How ISMS.online Helps

Companies can use ISMS.Online to help them with their ISO 27002 compliance efforts by providing them with a platform that makes it easy to manage their security policies and procedures, update them as needed, test them and monitor their effectiveness.

Our cloud-based platform allows you to quickly and easily manage all the aspects of your ISMS, including risk management, policies, plans, procedures and more, in one central location. The platform is easy to use and has an intuitive interface that makes it simple to learn how to use.

Get in touch today to book a demo.

Are you ready for
the new ISO 27002

We’ll give you an 81% headstart
from the moment you log in
Book your demo

New Controls

ISO/IEC 27002:2022 Control IdentifierISO/IEC 27002:2013 Control IdentifierControl Name
5.7NewThreat intelligence
5.23NewInformation security for use of cloud services
5.30NewICT readiness for business continuity
7.4NewPhysical security monitoring
8.9NewConfiguration management
8.10NewInformation deletion
8.11NewData masking
8.12NewData leakage prevention
8.16NewMonitoring activities
8.23NewWeb filtering
8.28NewSecure coding

Organisational Controls

ISO/IEC 27002:2022 Control IdentifierISO/IEC 27002:2013 Control IdentifierControl Name
5.105.1.1, 05.1.2Policies for information security
5.206.1.1Information security roles and responsibilities
5.306.1.2Segregation of duties
5.407.2.1Management responsibilities
5.506.1.3Contact with authorities
5.606.1.4Contact with special interest groups
5.7NewThreat intelligence
5.806.1.5, 14.1.1Information security in project management
5.908.1.1, 08.1.2Inventory of information and other associated assets
5.1008.1.3, 08.2.3Acceptable use of information and other associated assets
5.1108.1.4Return of assets
5.12 08.2.1Classification of information
5.1308.2.2Labelling of information
5.1413.2.1, 13.2.2, 13.2.3Information transfer
5.1509.1.1, 09.1.2Access control
5.1609.2.1Identity management
5.17 09.2.4, 09.3.1, 09.4.3Authentication information
5.1809.2.2, 09.2.5, 09.2.6Access rights
5.1915.1.1Information security in supplier relationships
5.2015.1.2Addressing information security within supplier agreements
5.2115.1.3Managing information security in the ICT supply chain
5.2215.2.1, 15.2.2Monitoring, review and change management of supplier services
5.23NewInformation security for use of cloud services
5.2416.1.1Information security incident management planning and preparation
5.2516.1.4Assessment and decision on information security events
5.2616.1.5Response to information security incidents
5.2716.1.6Learning from information security incidents
5.2816.1.7Collection of evidence
5.2917.1.1, 17.1.2, 17.1.3Information security during disruption
5.30NewICT readiness for business continuity
5.3118.1.1, 18.1.5Legal, statutory, regulatory and contractual requirements
5.3218.1.2Intellectual property rights
5.3318.1.3Protection of records
5.3418.1.4Privacy and protection of PII
5.3518.2.1Independent review of information security
5.3618.2.2, 18.2.3Compliance with policies, rules and standards for information security
5.3712.1.1Documented operating procedures

People Controls

ISO/IEC 27002:2022 Control IdentifierISO/IEC 27002:2013 Control IdentifierControl Name
6.107.1.1Screening
6.207.1.2Terms and conditions of employment
6.307.2.2Information security awareness, education and training
6.407.2.3Disciplinary process
6.507.3.1Responsibilities after termination or change of employment
6.613.2.4Confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements
6.706.2.2Remote working
6.816.1.2, 16.1.3Information security event reporting

Physical Controls

ISO/IEC 27002:2022 Control IdentifierISO/IEC 27002:2013 Control IdentifierControl Name
7.111.1.1Physical security perimeters
7.211.1.2, 11.1.6Physical entry
7.311.1.3Securing offices, rooms and facilities
7.4NewPhysical security monitoring
7.511.1.4Protecting against physical and environmental threats
7.611.1.5Working in secure areas
7.711.2.9Clear desk and clear screen
7.811.2.1Equipment siting and protection
7.911.2.6Security of assets off-premises
7.1008.3.1, 08.3.2, 08.3.3, 11.2.5Storage media
7.1111.2.2Supporting utilities
7.1211.2.3Cabling security
7.1311.2.4Equipment maintenance
7.1411.2.7Secure disposal or re-use of equipment

Technological Controls

ISO/IEC 27002:2022 Control IdentifierISO/IEC 27002:2013 Control IdentifierControl Name
8.106.2.1, 11.2.8User endpoint devices
8.209.2.3Privileged access rights
8.309.4.1Information access restriction
8.409.4.5Access to source code
8.509.4.2Secure authentication
8.612.1.3Capacity management
8.712.2.1Protection against malware
8.812.6.1, 18.2.3Management of technical vulnerabilities
8.9NewConfiguration management
8.10NewInformation deletion
8.11NewData masking
8.12NewData leakage prevention
8.1312.3.1Information backup
8.1417.2.1Redundancy of information processing facilities
8.1512.4.1, 12.4.2, 12.4.3Logging
8.16NewMonitoring activities
8.1712.4.4Clock synchronization
8.1809.4.4Use of privileged utility programs
8.1912.5.1, 12.6.2Installation of software on operational systems
8.2013.1.1Networks security
8.2113.1.2Security of network services
8.2213.1.3Segregation of networks
8.23NewWeb filtering
8.2410.1.1, 10.1.2Use of cryptography
8.2514.2.1Secure development life cycle
8.2614.1.2, 14.1.3Application security requirements
8.2714.2.5Secure system architecture and engineering principles
8.28NewSecure coding
8.2914.2.8, 14.2.9Security testing in development and acceptance
8.3014.2.7Outsourced development
8.3112.1.4, 14.2.6Separation of development, test and production environments
8.3212.1.2, 14.2.2, 14.2.3, 14.2.4Change management
8.3314.3.1Test information
8.3412.7.1Protection of information systems during audit testing

We’re cost-effective and quick

Discover how that will boost your ROI
Get your quote

Explore ISMS.online's platform with a self-guided tour - Start Now