In this episode of InfoSec Insider, George Ryan and Jack Woods, both Consultants at URM, discuss some of the most common nonconformities they encounter when auditing organisations against the management system requirements of ISO 27001, focusing on Clauses 4, 5 and 6. Drawing upon their auditing and consultancy experience, they provide practical guidance on common mistakes and how organisations can strengthen their approach. George Ryan and Jack Woods discuss:

• Common issues relating to Clause 4, including keeping internal and external issues up to date, considering climate change, correctly identifying the needs and expectations of interested parties, and understanding how ISMS processes interact.
• Why leadership involvement and commitment are critical to meeting Clause 5 requirements, from aligning information security objectives with wider business objectives to ensuring information security policies are appropriately approved and endorsed by top management.
• Common pitfalls under Clause 6, including risk assessments without a clearly defined methodology, objectives that are not measurable or time-bound, and the importance of producing valid, comparable and repeatable risk assessment results.
• How organisations can avoid problems with their Statement of Applicability, including weak justifications for excluding Annex A controls and assumptions that physical or development-related controls do not apply to their organisation.
• Why changes to the ISMS need to be properly planned and recorded, and how overlooking business and organisational changes, rather than simply technical changes, can lead to nonconformities.
• And more.

If there's a GRC or cyber security related issue you'd like us to explore, share it with us here here: https://urmconsulting.com/podcasts/common-nonconformities-in-clauses-4-5-and-6-of-iso-27001 We use listener questions to guide future discussions and ensure our episodes tackle the challenges that matter most to organisations like yours.

You can find more episodes of InfoSec Insider here: https://urmconsulting.com/podcasts          

Brought to you by URM, the UK’s leading information and cyber security specialists.       

In this episode of InfoSec Insider Wayne Armstrong, Senior Information Security Consultant at URM, and Lisa Dargan, CEO at URM, discuss how organisations can gain greater value from their ISO 27001 risk management processes. Moving beyond compliance and certification, Wayne and Lisa explore how effective risk management can become a genuine business enabler, supporting informed decision-making, business growth, and continual improvement. They discuss:

• The mandatory ISO 27001 risk management requirements, including risk assessment, risk treatment, risk acceptance criteria, and documented information requirements.
• How to align information security risk management with business objectives, helping organisations support growth opportunities while managing risk effectively.
• Practical approaches to identifying and prioritising critical information assets based on confidentiality, integrity, and availability requirements.
• Why transparency, inclusivity, and organisation-wide participation are essential for accurate risk assessments and successful risk ownership.
• The growing importance of threat intelligence, third-party risk management, and maintaining a dynamic risk management process that adapts to a changing threat landscape.
• Common risk management pitfalls, including risk aggregation, control-driven risk creation, and static assumptions about organisational context, together with practical advice on how to avoid them.

Whether you are implementing ISO 27001 for the first time or looking to mature an existing ISMS, this episode provides practical guidance on transforming risk management from a compliance exercise into a valuable tool for improving business resilience and information security performance. This episode was based on our webinar, Getting More from ISO 27001 Risk Management. If you'd like to watch more of our webinars or find out about upcoming events, please visit  https://urmconsulting.com/events

You can find more episodes of InfoSec Insider here: https://urmconsulting.com/podcasts       

Brought to you by URM, the UK’s leading information and cyber security specialists.       

In this episode of InfoSec Insider – Talk DP, Rachael Salter and Aimee Brown, both Consultants at URM, share their insights on how to effectively manage the immediate aftermath of a personal data breach. Aimee and Racheal draw on over 20 years’ combined data protection experience to discuss: 

• What actually counts as a data breach and when it needs to be reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
• How organisations can assess risk and decide whether affected individuals need to be told
• The biggest mistakes organisations make in the first few days following a data breach
• How ransomware attacks, supplier incidents, and modern technology are changing breach management
• The practical steps organisations can take now to prepare for a breach and demonstrate accountability afterwards.

Ask Rachael and Aimee a question:  https://urmconsulting.com/podcasts/the-first-72-hours-managing-data-breaches     

You can find more episodes of InfoSec Insider here: https://urmconsulting.com/podcasts  

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Brought to you by URM, the UK’s leading information and cyber security specialists.      

In this episode of InfoSec Insider, Alastair Stewart and Tibor Laczko, both Senior Consultants and Qualified Security Assessors (QSAs) with URM, examine one of the most frequently misunderstood areas of PCI DSS: the difference between compensating controls and the customised approach. Drawing on their extensive PCI DSS assessment experience, they discuss:

• The key differences between compensating controls and customised approaches, and the specific scenarios where each can be used
• Why compensating controls are not a “get out of jail free” card for non-compliance and the strict conditions that must be met before they can be applied
• The legal, regulatory, technical, and financial constraints that may justify the use of compensating controls
• How customised approaches were introduced in PCI DSS v4.0 to support innovative and non-traditional methods of meeting security objectives
• Why customised validations require significant planning, documentation, evidence collection, and assessor involvement before they can be approved
• And more.

If there's a PCI DSS related issue you'd like us to explore, share it with us here here: https://urmconsulting.com/podcasts/pci-dss-compensating-controls-vs-customized-approach

We use listener questions to guide future discussions and ensure our episodes tackle the challenges that matter most to organisations like yours. You can find more episodes of InfoSec Insider here: https://urmconsulting.com/podcasts          Brought to you by URM, the UK’s leading information and cyber security specialists.       

In this episode of InfoSec Insider, George Ryan and Jack Woods, both Consultants at URM, provide practical advice on how organisations can improve cyber security training and awareness, and why tailoring training to specific roles, responsibilities and risks can help build a stronger security culture. George Ryan and Jack Woods draw upon their experience of helping organisations strengthen their information security to discuss:

• The difference between cyber security training, awareness and competence, and why organisations should understand the distinction
• Why a one-size-fits-all approach to cyber security training may provide a useful baseline, but often fails to address the different risks faced by specific roles, teams and sectors
• How tailored training can make cyber security more relevant to employees, encourage behavioural change and help organisations develop a stronger security culture
• How the growing use of AI is creating new security risks and training requirements, as well as new opportunities to make cyber security awareness more effective
• And more.

If there's a GRC or cyber security related issue you'd like us to explore, share it with us here here: https://urmconsulting.com/podcasts/cyber-security-training-awareness-and-benefits-of-tailored-training We use listener questions to guide future discussions and ensure our episodes tackle the challenges that matter most to organisations like yours.

You can find more episodes of InfoSec Insider here: https://urmconsulting.com/podcasts        

Brought to you by URM, the UK’s leading information and cyber security specialists.       

In this episode of InfoSec Insider – Talk DP, Aimee Brown and Rachael Salter, both Consultants at URM, explore lawful basis under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), why choosing the right basis is fundamental to compliant processing, and some of the common mistakes organisations make in practice. Aimee and Rachael discuss:

• Why identifying the correct lawful basis is fundamental to GDPR compliance
• Why organisations so often misuse consent and how to determine whether it is appropriate
• How legitimate interests, legal obligation, public task and vital interests apply in practice
• What changes when processing special category personal data
• The most common lawful basis mistakes and how organisations can avoid them.

Your questions matter

If there’s a data protection or GDPR issue you’d like us to explore, share it with us: https://urmconsulting.com/podcasts/the-lawful-basis-minefield-why-getting-it-wrong-undermines-everything

We’ll use listener questions to guide future discussions and ensure our episodes tackle the challenges that matter most to businesses like yours.

You can find more episodes of InfoSec Insider here: https://urmconsulting.com/podcasts           

Brought to you by URM, the UK’s leading information and cyber security specialists.       

In this episode of InfoSec Insider – Talk BC, Phil Knight, Senior Consultant at URM, explores the different types of business continuity exercises organisations can undertake and what makes an exercise genuinely effective. Drawing on his extensive experience supporting organisations with business continuity and resilience, Phil discusses:

• The different types of business continuity exercises, from walkthroughs and tabletop exercises to simulations and full-scale exercises
• How to choose the right type of exercise based on your organisation’s needs, objectives and available resources
• The importance of realistic scenarios, careful planning and securing stakeholder buy-in
• The role of effective facilitation in keeping participants engaged and ensuring exercises deliver meaningful results
• How to capture lessons learned and turn the outcomes of an exercise into practical improvements to business continuity arrangements

Phil also shares real-world examples of business continuity exercises, demonstrating how realistic testing can uncover gaps that may otherwise remain hidden until a genuine disruption occurs.

Have a question about business continuity? Submit your question using the link below or leave it in the comments, and we may answer it in a future episode of InfoSec Insider – Talk BC. Please use the form here: https://urmconsulting.com/podcasts/successful-business-continuity-exercises-from-planning-to-practice

You can find more episodes of InfoSec Insider here: https://urmconsulting.com/podcasts

Brought to you by URM, the UK’s leading information and cyber security specialists.       

In this episode of InfoSec Insider – Talk Cyber, Wayne Armstrong, Senior Consultant at URM, and Mike Emery, Senior Security Consultant at URM, explore how organisations can build greater cyber resilience in the face of an increasingly sophisticated threat landscape. Drawing on practical experience, they examine where organisations are most vulnerable and discuss the steps businesses can take to strengthen their defences and prepare for cyber incidents.

The episode explores:

• Today’s cyber threat landscape and common organisational weaknesses, including phishing, impersonation and spoofing, malware and ransomware, as well as the risks created by human error, poor access management, unpatched systems and third-party suppliers.
• Practical approaches to strengthening cyber resilience, from understanding and assessing information assets and cyber risks to improving security awareness, access controls, supplier management, vulnerability management and layered technical protection.
• How to prepare for and respond effectively to cyber incidents, including developing and testing incident response plans, maintaining effective communications, protecting business continuity and considering the often-overlooked human impact of a cyber breach.

You can find more episodes of InfoSec Insider here: https://urmconsulting.com/podcasts

Brought to you by URM, the UK’s leading information and cyber security specialists.