A detailed comparison between ISO 9001 and 27001
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Why Contract Manufacturers Should Get an ISO 27001 Certification
Contract manufacturers know that customers expect top-quality products on time and within the agreed-upon budget. Over the last few years, some new expectations have also arisen. Increasingly, customers want to know that you take data protection seriously, whether it is their proprietary designs or customer-specific data. The ISO 27001 standard offers this assurance, but because ISO 27001 is not just a security standard, it is also a business enabler.
Beyond Compliance: ISO 27001 and Building Trust
ISO 27001 helps contract manufacturers align with data privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA. For contract manufacturers in the defense and aerospace industries, ISO 27001 certification can also be worked on in parallel with federal regulations like the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). Beyond legal compliance, the certification also acts as a seal of trust.
ISO 27001 provides a formal structure for access control, incident response, and risk management. It also brings employee training and policy enforcement into sharper focus—areas often overlooked in security planning.
What Needs to be Protected?
Not all data requires the same amount of cybersecurity protection. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) should receive more protection than other facets of data. How will you prioritize your customer’s data as well as that of your employees?
Working towards compliance to the ISO 27001 standard can also help a company challenge previous modes of thought. Many manufacturers consider themselves risk-averse until they dig into an assessment and discover there are many gaps in their cybersecurity stance. Compliance with ISO 27001 requires strengthening information security from the top of the organization to the bottom.
The Cost of Doing Nothing
According to IBM’s 2024 data breach report, the average cost of a U.S. data breach is $4.88 million. That is the highest amount ever cited by the report. It is important to remember that a data breach cost is not limited to the ransom. Breaches can shut down entire plants. It can stop productivity. This might lead to unacceptable delivery delays and a domino effect of serious reputational damages.
Certification as a Competitive Advantage
In today’s global supply chain, ISO 27001 is about more than accomplishing compliance with an international standard. Many large OEMs and international buyers are starting to demand a strong cybersecurity stance as a cost of business. ISO 27001 is an effective way to show that your business is dedicated to ongoing cybersecurity surveillance and protection of your customers’ data.
And like all ISO standards, it isn’t one-and-done. Ongoing surveillance audits and continual improvement keep your system sharp and evolving alongside your business. Compliance to ISO 27001 positions you as a partner who understands that in manufacturing, security is part of the quality equation.