How Zero Trust and Remote PAM Fast-Track ISO/IEC 27001 Compliance

ISO/IEC 27001 certification is quickly becoming a requirement -- not just for compliance, but for credibility. Whether you're securing customer data or managing third-party risk, having the right controls in place matters. However, meeting the ISO/IEC 27001 requirements can be time-consuming and complicated, especially with the deadline for transitioning to the revised standard approaching.

The good news is that Zero Trust and Remote Privileged Access Management (RPAM) can help you move faster and stay secure while doing it. Read on to learn how these solutions align with ISO/IEC 27001 requirements and how Safous can simplify the path to certification.

What Is ISO/IEC 27001?

ISO/IEC 27001 is the international standard for managing information security. It provides a framework for building and maintaining an Information Security Management System (ISMS), intending to protect sensitive data and meet regulatory requirements.

Annex A was updated in the 2022 revision to address modern risks like targeted ransomware attacks and insider threats. Businesses that don’t meet the updated requirements by October 31, 2025 (IAF MD 26:2023) risk losing certification -- and may face higher cyber insurance premiums or longer sales cycles as a result.

Why ISO/IEC 27001 Certification Takes Time

A recent Deloitte survey found that 60% of organizations still struggle with lengthy, manual compliance processes.¹ Many organizations have invested six to 12 months to complete ISO 27001 certification, with small to mid-sized businesses needing around four months to prepare and another six to complete the audit.² That’s nearly a year of overhead and effort.

Here's what makes the process so demanding:

• Complex Requirements: ISO 27001 includes 93 security controls in Annex A. Plus, certifications only last three years, and you must also complete regular surveillance audits to stay compliant.³
•  Resource-Intensive: Certification isn’t just a checklist; it requires real people. Many organizations need dedicated compliance, IT, and operations teams to document policies, implement controls, and monitor security continuously. 
• Lengthy Processes: Depending on your company's size, the ISO 27001 audit process can take anywhere from six to 14 days and involves multiple stages, external auditors, and thorough evidence reviews.⁴ 
• Risks Introduced by Delays: Postponing ISO 27001 certification can also be a security and cost risk. Poor access control remains one of the top causes of breaches, according to the 2024 Verizon DBIR.⁵ And if your organization isn't certified, you could be paying up to 20% more for cyber insurance.⁶

Implementing advanced security solutions like Zero Trust and RPAM can reduce friction and help your teams work toward certification, all while improving your organization's overall security.

How Do Zero Trust and RPAM Simplify Compliance?

Traditional ISO 27001 implementations focus on documentation and checklists. These reactive processes can satisfy the requirements on paper, but they fall short in real-world risk mitigation efforts, especially when it comes to identity-based threats.

Zero Trust Architecture takes a more proactive approach. It enforces least privilege access, continuous authentication, and micro-segmentation -- practices that map directly to several ISO 27001 controls. According to Gartner, over 60% of organizations will adopt Zero Trust as the foundation of their cybersecurity strategy by 2025.⁷

Remote Privileged Access Management (RPAM) adds another layer of proactive protection. It secures high-risk accounts and systems by monitoring access in real time, enforcing MFA, and logging privileged activity. RPAM solutions like Safous Privileged Remote Access support ISO 27001 controls around authentication, session tracking, and vendor access, while also reducing the complexity of manual evidence collection.

Together, Zero Trust and RPAM shift compliance efforts from reactive checkboxes to real-time, risk-aware enforcement.

4 Steps to Start Fast Tracking Before Q4 2025

With Q4 around the corner, now’s the time to accelerate your ISO/IEC 27001 readiness. Here are some steps you can take to align with ISO 27001 and Zero Trust principles while securing privileged access and reducing audit overhead.

1. Conduct a Zero Trust Gap Analysis

Start by identifying where your organization's security stands today. Free resources like the CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model v2.0 or our ISO 27001 Compliance Checklist can help you pinpoint access control gaps, prioritize actions, and align your roadmap with your compliance and risk mitigation goals.

2. Prioritize High-Impact Controls

Focus your efforts on ISO/IEC 27001 requirements that deliver the strongest compliance and security outcomes. For example, the Safous platform combines Zero Trust and Remote Privileged Access Management principles to help organizations meet these high-impact requirements:

• 8.2 - Privileged Access Rights: Limit privileged access through policy-based controls and authentication measures.
• 8.5 - Secure Authentication: Enforce strong authentication with MFA, SSO, and IdP integrations.
• 8.15 - Logging: Log every session in detail with user actions and time stamps.
• 8.16 - Monitoring Activities: Gain real-time activity monitoring and alerting for suspicious behavior.
• 5.19–5.21 - Supplier Relationships/ICT Supply Chain: Ensure secure, auditable access for vendors and third parties with session monitoring, access policies, approval workflows, and remote access tracking and controls.

While these controls are often the most difficult to manage manually, they're the most impactful when automated.

3. Implement RPAM for Privileged Session Control

Privileged accounts introduce some of the highest risks in any technology environment.  RPAM tools like Safous Privileged Remote Access help organizations control and monitor remote privileged access, enforce MFA and just-in-time access, record sessions, and more to make it easier to meet ISO controls.

4. Automate Evidence Collection With Safous

Manual evidence gathering slows everything down. Watch our on-demand webinar to see how the Safous platform automatically generates ISO 27001-ready logs mapped directly to your Zero Trust policies for fast, simplified compliance audits.

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Sources:

1. https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/risk/articles/compliance-survey.html
2. https://www.dataguard.com/iso-27001/certification
3. https://www.isms.online/iso-27001/certification/how-long-does-certificaiton-last
4. https://www.pivotpointsecurity.com/iso-27001-certification-audits-the-answers-to-who-how-long-and-how-much
5. https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir
6. https://www.marsh.com/en/services/cyber-risk/insights/cyber-insurance-market-update.html
7. https://www.gartner.com/en/publications/zero-trust-principles-to-improve-security-playbook