The UK arm of the multi-national Securitas reports that it has been awarded the ISO 27001: 2013 Information Security management standard. ISO 27001 is an internationally-recognised certification developed as a best practice standard which enables organisations to formalise and verify that risks are properly identified and managed. It also shows customers that their information is taken seriously; and 27001 can be pivotal to winning tenders where information security is vital, the firm suggests.
David Barlow, Business Standards and Risk Manager at Securitas, said: “In 2014 we completed an internal review of the whole of our UK security operations and realised we needed to concentrate on improving our data protection policies if we were to seriously advance in the security solutions aspect of the industry.”
Securitas sought the services of UKAS, quality and compliance audit body, ALCUMUS, and soon realised that accreditation to ISO 27001:2013 Information Security would be required to satisfy the needs of the security services and security solutions sectors. In June 2014 a member of the business standards team was appointed as project manager to concentrate on key areas which included the communications centre, human resources, environmental health and safety, standards department, screening, finance, alarm response centre and help desk.
After internal and external audits and the creation of the Information Security Management System, all information – printed or written on paper, stored electronically, transmitted by post or using electronic means, shown on films or spoken in conversation – is now handled and stored in a secure manner. All assets, either physical or electronic, are also risk assessed and suitable control measures taken to ensure the security of these assets.
The ISO 27001:2013 accreditation has now been awarded for Securitas’ sites in Birmingham, Wellingborough, Milton Keynes and Uxbridge head office in north-west London. David Barlow added: “This accreditation demonstrates to our customers that we take all aspects of IT and data security very seriously. I believe that, not only will it be of great benefit in winning new clients but will also help to retain our existing ones. I’m confident Securitas will be reaping the rewards of all the hard work in the months to come.”
