As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly embedded in business operations, organizations must ensure that innovation is supported by strong, practical governance. ISO/IEC 27001:2022 provides a proven framework for managing information security risks, and when applied thoughtfully, it can also serve as a strong foundation for the secure and responsible use of AI.
Rather than treating AI as a separate or isolated risk, organizations can leverage AI to strengthen their Information Security Management System (ISMS), improve risk visibility, and enhance ongoing compliance with ISO 27001 requirements.
Below are key ways organizations can practically leverage AI within an ISO/IEC 27001:2022–aligned ISMS.
1. Enhancing Risk Identification and Assessment
Risk assessment is central to ISO 27001. Traditionally, this process relies on periodic workshops and manual reviews. AI can enhance this activity by enabling continuous analysis of security data, system activity, and threat intelligence.
AI-driven tools can help identify emerging risks, detect patterns that may not be visible through manual analysis, and support more dynamic risk scoring. This allows organizations to move away from static, point-in-time risk assessments and toward a more adaptive, risk-based approach aligned with ISO 27001’s emphasis on continual improvement.
2. Strengthening Incident Detection and Response
ISO 27001 requires organizations to establish effective processes for detecting, responding to, and learning from information security incidents. AI can support these objectives by monitoring user behavior and system activity in real time, identifying anomalies, and reducing false positives.
When integrated into incident response workflows, AI can support faster triage and more informed decision-making, helping organizations respond efficiently while maintaining alignment with Annex A controls related to monitoring, logging, and incident management.
3. Supporting Continuous Control Monitoring
The 2022 revision of ISO 27001 places increased emphasis on the ongoing effectiveness of controls. AI can help organizations continuously monitor key security controls and identify control gaps or degradation as they occur.
This proactive approach improves visibility into the organization’s security posture and enables teams to address issues before they result in incidents, audit findings, or compliance gaps.
4. Enhancing Third-Party and Supplier Risk Management
Third-party risk management is a critical component of an effective ISMS. AI can help organizations scale this effort by analyzing supplier questionnaires, security documentation, and assessment responses more efficiently.
AI can also support continuous monitoring of supplier risk indicators, enabling organizations to identify elevated risk earlier and make more informed decisions while maintaining audit-ready documentation.
5. Supporting Responsible and Secure Use of AI
As organizations deploy AI internally or within customer-facing solutions, ISO 27001 provides a structured framework for governing AI-related risks. This includes applying appropriate access controls, protecting training data and model outputs, and maintaining logging and traceability.
Aligning AI governance with ISO 27001 ensures that the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information remain protected while supporting transparency and accountability.
6. Improving Audit Readiness and Evidence Collection
Audit preparation is often resource-intensive. AI can help streamline this process by automatically collecting and organizing evidence, mapping artifacts to ISO 27001 controls, and identifying gaps ahead of internal or external audits.
This allows organizations to reduce manual effort and focus on improving security maturity rather than documentation alone.
7. Enabling Better Risk-Based Decision-Making
AI enables organizations to turn large volumes of security and compliance data into actionable insights. Within an ISO 27001 framework, this supports risk-informed decision-making, better prioritization of remediation efforts, and clearer reporting to leadership.
This aligns directly with ISO 27001’s requirement for leadership involvement and oversight of the ISMS.
Conclusion
ISO/IEC 27001:2022 provides the structure required to manage information security effectively. AI enhances that structure by improving visibility, efficiency, and adaptability across the ISMS.
When implemented responsibly, AI does not replace governance—it strengthens it. Organizations that integrate AI into their ISO 27001 programs are better positioned to manage risk, support compliance, and build lasting trust with customers, partners, and regulators.
if your organization is considering the use of AI within its ISMS, we’re happy to discuss how ISO 27001:2022 can support that journey.
Written by Simms Boateng – IT Security Consultant
sboateng@penonpartners.com
