ISO 27001:2022 monitoring requirements
Annex A 8.15 (Logging) requires event logs that record user activities, exceptions, faults, and security events. 8.16 (Monitoring activities) requires monitoring of networks, systems, and applications to detect anomalous behaviour. These two controls together describe the telemetry collection and detection programme.
A.5.24 (Planning and preparation for information security incident management) requires defined roles, responsibilities, and procedures for incident management. A.5.25 (Assessment and decision on information security events) requires events to be assessed and a decision made on whether they constitute incidents. A.5.28 (Collection of evidence) requires evidence collection procedures for use in disciplinary or legal proceedings.
Mapping controls to ManySignal capabilities
A 8.15 is satisfied by ManySignal's connector infrastructure — every source produces an append-only event log, retained per the configured policy. The log configuration is documented and version-controlled. A 8.16 is satisfied by the active detection catalogue plus the entity graph's continuous behavioural monitoring.
A 5.25 is satisfied by the triage agent: every security event that reaches a finding is assessed against the configured question set and receives a documented decision (true positive / false positive / informational). The decision is time-stamped, evidence-linked, and auditor-readable on the case timeline.
A 5.28 is satisfied by the case timeline's immutability: every piece of evidence captured during investigation is hash-chained and exportable as a signed package. The export is suitable for use in disciplinary proceedings, legal holds, or regulatory investigations.
Certification audit preparation
ISO 27001 certification auditors sample — they will not review every alert or incident. They will review a representative sample of security events and ask to see: the event log (that it exists and is retained), the assessment decision (that it was documented), the evidence (that it supports the decision), and the incident management procedure (that it was followed).
Prepare an evidence index: for each Annex A control relevant to monitoring, a pointer to the ManySignal capability that satisfies it, a sample of the operating evidence (three recent cases, the current detection catalogue, a sample metrics report), and the policy document that defines the control. This index is what you hand to the auditor at the start of the monitoring controls review.
- Evidence index mapping each Annex A monitoring control to ManySignal capability
- Three sample cases selected: one true positive, one false positive, one informational
- Current detection catalogue exported and annotated with Annex A mapping
- Security Monitoring Policy and Incident Response Procedure documents current
- Log retention policy confirmed against 27001 and local legal requirements
Continuous improvement for ISO 27001
ISO 27001 clause 10.1 requires continual improvement of the ISMS. For the monitoring programme, this means a documented improvement cycle: monthly detection coverage review, quarterly incident management procedure review, and annual risk assessment update that feeds new detection priorities.
Document each improvement with a before/after metric. 'MTTV improved from 12 minutes to 3 minutes after triage agent deployment' or 'ATT&CK coverage increased from 42% to 67% in Q2' are the kinds of improvements that demonstrate a maturing ISMS to a certification auditor.
Key takeaways
- ISO 27001:2022 A 8.15–8.16 require telemetry collection and anomaly monitoring — both satisfied by ManySignal's connector and detection infrastructure.
- A 5.25 requires documented assessment decisions for every security event — the triage agent provides this at scale.
- A 5.28 requires evidence collection procedures — the hash-chained case timeline is the evidence artefact.
- Prepare an evidence index mapping each monitoring control to capability, operating evidence, and policy.
- Clause 10.1 requires continual improvement — document improvements with before/after metrics.
- Auditors sample; prepare three representative cases (TP, FP, informational) for the monitoring controls review.