ISO 27001 · Annex A controls · 2 min read

ISO 27001 A.8.27: secure architecture, explained for startups

What A.8.27 asks of a small company, and what an auditor samples.

Apply solid, secure design principles when architecting and building systems. Good foundations make everything built on top safer.

Why it exists: to design its systems on agreed security principles.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles

Systems are designed using agreed security principles. What proves it: the security principles your designs follow, and a design or threat model that applied them.

A certification auditor samples architecture principles and a threat model. A file that usually does the job: a short list of principles, such as least privilege and encryption by default, and a recent threat model.

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.8.27 walks you through it in this order.

Write five to ten principles, such as least privilege, encryption by default and no secrets in code.
Review new designs against them.
Keep a short threat model for major features.

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

Which of these run on your code: dependency scanning, secret scanning, static analysis, written security requirements?

Policies, connectors and the SOC 2 overlap

In the ISO 27001 policy pack, the Secure Development and Change Management Policy covers A.8.27. 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: CC8.1, change management.

Technological controls

A.8.27 is one of the 34 technological controls in Annex A. The controls built into your systems: access, devices, malware, vulnerabilities, backups, logging, networks, encryption and secure development. Exports and settings screenshots prove most of them.

Nearby controls in the same theme:

Before it: A.8.26, application security needs. After it: A.8.28, secure coding. Every control, by theme, is on the Annex A controls page.

Questions

What does ISO 27001 A.8.27 require?

Apply solid, secure design principles when architecting and building systems. Good foundations make everything built on top safer.

What evidence does an auditor want for A.8.27?

The security principles your designs follow, and a design or threat model that applied them. A certification auditor samples architecture principles and a threat model.

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 assessment

Polara Labs is not a certification body. Certification audits are performed by independent accredited certification bodies.