ISO 27001 A.5.28: collecting evidence, explained for startups
What A.5.28 asks of a small company, and what an auditor samples.
Capture and preserve evidence about incidents in a way that stays trustworthy. Handle it carefully in case it is needed for investigation or legal follow-up.
Why it exists: to keep incident records that would hold up if they are needed later.
A.5.28 Collection of evidence
You keep records of incidents in a way that would hold up if needed. What proves it: how evidence is collected and protected during an incident, and where it is kept.
A certification auditor samples evidence handling procedure and preserved logs. A file that usually does the job: the evidence section of your incident plan, and log retention settings that keep logs from being changed.
How to put it in place
Each step leaves a record, and the record is what the auditor samples rather than the step itself. Inside Polara, the control card for A.5.28 walks you through it in this order.
- Add an evidence step to the incident plan: preserve logs, take snapshots and record who handled what.
- Store evidence where it cannot be edited.
- Name who decides when to involve legal counsel or law enforcement.
The free ISO 27001 readiness assessment asks one question that evidences it:
- Do you have an incident response procedure and a log of incidents?
Policies, connectors and the SOC 2 overlap
In the ISO 27001 policy pack, the Information Security Incident Management Policy covers A.5.28. An auditor reads the policy for the rule, then samples the records to see the rule was followed.
The same evidence counts toward SOC 2. The Trust Services criterion that cover this ground: CC7.4, incident response.
Organizational controls
A.5.28 is one of the 37 organizational controls in Annex A. How the company runs security: policies, roles, suppliers, incidents, continuity and legal duties. Most of these are written decisions and the records that show you follow them.
Nearby controls in the same theme:
- A.5.25, triaging security events
- A.5.26, responding to incidents
- A.5.27, learning from incidents
- A.5.29, security during a disruption
- A.5.30, technology continuity
- A.5.31, legal and contract duties
Before it: A.5.27, learning from incidents. After it: A.5.29, security during a disruption. Every control, by theme, is on the Annex A controls page.
Questions
What does ISO 27001 A.5.28 require?
What evidence does an auditor want for A.5.28?
Get ready for ISO 27001 certification.
The readiness assessment is free, with no payment and no card. ISO 27001 is part of Constellation, at $10,800 a year: everything in Orbit plus the management system, the policies, the evidence and the management review for ISO 27001, and your SOC 2 Type 2 audit is included in every contract year. You contract the certification body directly.
The internal audit is priced separately: Polara arranges it with an independent internal auditor from our partner network who works in the platform, and quotes it for your company.
Take the free assessmentPolara Labs is not a certification body. Certification audits are performed by independent accredited certification bodies.