ISO 27001 A.7.1: physical perimeters, explained for startups

A.7.1 Physical security perimeters

Your offices have a secure boundary. What proves it: how the boundary of each office is secured, and a recent check that it works.

A certification auditor samples office perimeter controls. A file that usually does the job: a floor plan marking entrances and how each is secured, or the building security terms in your lease.

This control applies only where you have an office or other premises. A fully remote company can exclude it in its Statement of Applicability, with the reason written down.

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.7.1 walks you through it in this order.

1. Mark every way into the office and how it is secured.
2. Close any gaps, such as propped doors or shared entrances without control.
3. Walk the perimeter once a year and record it.

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

• How is entry to your offices controlled?

Policies, connectors and the SOC 2 overlap

In the ISO 27001 policy pack, the Physical and Environmental Security Policy covers A.7.1. 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: CC6.4, physical access.

Physical controls

A.7.1 is one of the 14 physical controls in Annex A. Buildings, rooms, equipment and media. A remote company with no office can exclude several of these in its Statement of Applicability, with the reason written down, and covers the rest through laptop rules and its cloud provider.

Nearby controls in the same theme:

• A.7.2, getting into the building
• A.7.3, securing offices and rooms
• A.7.4, physical monitoring

Before it: A.6.8, reporting security events. After it: A.7.2, getting into the building. Every control, by theme, is on the Annex A controls page.