Like a shadow of pixels, your digital presence is an extension of you. Unfortunately, data breaches are rampant. 2023 set the record for reported data compromises at 3,205. 2024 came close to this number, but that year saw instances of victim notices go up exponentially, with 1.3 billion notices in total. To combat the vulnerabilities associated with personal data, numerous international standards like ISO/IEC 27701:2025 offer support.
What Is ISO/IEC 27701:2025?
ISO/IEC 27701:2025 – Information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection – Privacy information management systems – Requirements and guidance deals with personally identifiable information (PII), or “any representation of information that permits the identity of an individual to whom the information applies to be reasonably inferred by either direct or indirect means.”
Applicable to organizations of all types and sizes, ISO/IEC 27701:2025 specifies requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving a Privacy Information Management System (PIMS).
Covering guidance for PII controllers and PII processors, ISO/IEC 27701:2025 includes mapping to the privacy framework and principles defined in ISO/IEC 29100, ISO/IEC 27018, ISO/IEC 29151, and the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Changes to ISO/IEC 27701:2025
ISO/IEC 27701:2025 is the second edition of the international standard for Privacy Information Management System requirements, revising the first edition that was published in 2019.
Like your digital presence, the first edition of this international standard was an extension. Its requirements for implementing a Privacy Information Management System were in the form of an extension to ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 27002. Its title was “Security techniques – Extension to ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 27002 for privacy information management – Requirements and guidelines.”
The 2025 edition of the standard was redrafted into a standalone management system standard under the new title. “Information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection – Privacy information management systems – Requirements and guidance.” This further strengthens PIMS for organizations worldwide and increases accessibility to a wider set of organizations.
ISO/IEC 27701:2025 – Information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection – Privacy information management systems – Requirements and guidance is available on the ANSI Webstore.
There have been many name drops of international standards here, so, for the remainder of this post, we will provide a brief overview for each.
ISO/IEC 27001
One of the better known information security standards, ISO/IEC 27001:2022 is intended to preserve the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of an organization’s data by specifying state-of-the-art practices for an information security management system (ISMS). A strategic decision for the organization, an ISMS is fully compatible with other ISO management system standards, as it contains similar concepts and the shared Annex SL.
ISO/IEC 27002
Building off the ISMS specified in part one, ISO/IEC 27002:2022 offers a code of practice for information security controls, including the selection, implementation, and management of controls. This considers the organization’s information security risk environment.
In addition to selecting processes, this international standard can be used by organizations to implement commonly accepted security controls and develop their own information security management guidelines. In all, the standard contains 14 security control clauses, collectively comprising a total of 35 main security categories and 114 controls. Areas covered include asset management, operations security, and cryptography, among others.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect May 25, 2018, replacing the European Union Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC, and it has waged a substantial effect on the way companies can process data. GDPR was enacted to protect EU citizens from privacy and data breaches.
GDPR applies to all companies processing the personal data of data subjects residing in the EU, and it is crucial to stress that it applies to the processing of personal data of all data subjects in the EU, even if the controller or processor is not based in the EU.
Since it was first approved by the EU Parliament on April 14, 2016, a multitude of organizations worldwide have tweaked their digital presence in a unified manner. Their incentive to adhere to the regulation: severe penalties. In fact, organizations in breach of GDPR can be fined up to 4% of their annual global turnover or €20 Million, whichever value is greater.
If you want to learn more about GDPR, check out gdpr.eu or the official EU commission website on EU data protection rules.
As for its association with international standards, while the ISO/IEC 27000 series predated GDPR, the massive legislation has placed newfound value on the standards for information security management systems, since their guidance can aid organizations in the compliance process.
Similar laws have been enacted in various US states, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA), the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA), and the Connecticut Data Privacy Act (CTDPA). In other countries, there are Canada’s Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA), the Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGPD), South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), and many other examples.
ISO/IEC 29100
Hopping back to standards in the ISMS area, there’s ISO/IEC 29100:2024, which deals with an information technology privacy framework. The framework outlined in this standard meets a few primary goals, including specifying a common privacy terminology, defining the actors and their roles in processing PII, describing privacy safeguarding considerations, and providing references to known privacy principles for information technology.
ISO/IEC 27018
Another entry in the 27000 series, ISO/IEC 27018:2025 deals with PII—specifically, it sets commonly accepted objectives, controls, and guidelines for implementing measures meant to protect PII. When a public cloud service provider processes PII for and according to the instructions of a cloud service customer, it is a “PII processor.” For these users, the standard offers comprehensive guidelines for physical and environmental security, operations security, communications security, and other pertinent subjects.
You can read more about this standard in our post on ISO/IEC 27018:2025 – Code Of Practice For Protecting Personally Identifiable Information (PII) In Public Clouds.
ISO/IEC 29151
Published as both international standard ISO/IEC 29151:2017 and International Telecommunication Union Recommendation Rec. ITU-T X.1058, this document establishes control objectives, controls, and guidelines for implementing controls to meet a risk and impact assessment associated with protecting PII.
Standards Packages Make Information Security Easier
It can be daunting for organizations who need to sufficiently process personally identifiable information to gather and follow all requirements stipulated in international standards. Fortunately, ANSI has bundled ISO/IEC 27701:2025 – Information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection – Privacy information management systems – Requirements and guidance together with most of the standards detailed throughout this post. The following standards packages, which come at a discount, are available on the ANSI Webstore:
Privacy Information in Public Clouds Package
IT Privacy Information System Package
IT Security Techniques Privacy Information Package
ANAB ISO/IEC 27701 Accreditation
As this standard has become the benchmark for privacy management systems, organizations, to demonstrate compliance with its requirements, will seek out certification to the standard. To demonstrate credibility, these and other management systems certification bodies benefit greatly from ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) accreditation.
You can learn more about Accreditation for ISO/IEC 27701 Privacy Information Management Systems Certification Bodies here.