ISO 27001 A.6.6: confidentiality agreements, explained for startups

A.6.6 Confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements

Staff and contractors sign agreements to keep information confidential. What proves it: signed confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements for staff and contractors.

A certification auditor samples signed non-disclosure agreements. A file that usually does the job: a signed non-disclosure agreement for a recent hire or contractor.

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.6.6 walks you through it in this order.

1. Use a confidentiality agreement for every employee and contractor.
2. Have it signed before access is granted.
3. Review the template once a year.

The free ISO 27001 readiness assessment asks one question that evidences it:

• Do employees and contractors sign confidentiality and security terms?

Policies, connectors and the SOC 2 overlap

In the ISO 27001 policy pack, the People and Human Resources Security Policy covers A.6.6. 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: CC1.1, integrity and ethics.

People controls

A.6.6 is one of the 8 people controls in Annex A. What happens before, during and after someone works for you: screening, terms, training, discipline, remote work and reporting. Small teams meet these with a handful of signed records.

Nearby controls in the same theme:

• A.6.3, security training
• A.6.4, disciplinary process
• A.6.5, duties after leaving
• A.6.7, remote work
• A.6.8, reporting security events

Before it: A.6.5, duties after leaving. After it: A.6.7, remote work. Every control, by theme, is on the Annex A controls page.