What is ISO 27001:2022 Annex A 8.34 – Protection of Information Systems During Audit Testing in ISO 27001?
ISO 27001 Annex A 8.34 ensures audit activities do not disrupt operational systems. Organisations manage this via documented schedules in SharePoint. It requires restricted access to production data during tests. This control integrates security checks into business-as-usual project management tools. It maintains system availability and data integrity.
Auditor’s Eye: The Shortcut Trap
Reliance on automated SaaS compliance platforms often leads to surface-level compliance. These “Black Box” tools rarely capture the human oversight required for production system protection. As an auditor, I want to see your internal Jira tickets. I check SharePoint version history for actual test planning documents. Relying on an external dashboard tick without internal evidence indicates a lack of management ownership. Protect your systems by keeping audit evidence within your native document repositories.
| ISO 27001:2013 Control | ISO 27001:2022 Control | Key Requirement Change |
|---|---|---|
| A.12.7.1 Information systems audit controls | A.8.34 Protection of info systems during audit testing | Broadens focus to include all testing types. Emphasises protecting operational availability. |
How to Implement ISO 27001:2022 Annex A 8.34 – Protection of Information Systems During Audit Testing (Step-by-Step)
Implement this control by integrating audit planning into your existing organisational tools. This ensures security is a cultural habit rather than a software installation. Focus on protecting production environments through the following steps.
- Draft audit test plans within Confluence to identify potential system impacts.
- Initialise a Jira workflow for all temporary audit access requests to production environments.
- Apply SharePoint document library restrictions to prevent unauthorised copying of production data sets.
- Record the removal of temporary audit accounts in a centralised SharePoint maintenance log.
- Assign an internal system owner to monitor all external audit testing activities.
ISO 27001:2022 Annex A 8.34 – Protection of Information Systems During Audit Testing Audit Evidence Checklist
Auditors look for manual records and internal document versions. These prove human oversight and intent. Maintain the following items in your organisational tools.
- Documented audit test plans stored in SharePoint.
- Jira approval history for temporary production access.
- SharePoint logs showing removal of audit credentials.
- Meeting minutes reviewing audit test impacts in Confluence.
- Access logs from the period of the audit test.
Relational Mapping
Annex A 8.34 links to several core ISO 27001 clauses and controls:
- Clause 9.2: Internal audit requirements.
- Annex A 5.15: Access control policies.
- Annex A 8.2: Privileged access rights.
Auditor Interview
Auditor: How do you protect production systems during an external penetration test?
Manager: We create a formal test plan in SharePoint. This document defines specific time windows for testing.
Auditor: How is access granted to the testers?
Manager: We use a Jira workflow for all access approvals. The system owner must sign off before access is provisioned.
Common Non-Conformities
| Failure Type | Observed Issue | Required Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Automated Complacency | Relying on a SaaS platform tick without internal test plans. | Move test planning into SharePoint version control. |
| Orphaned Accounts | Audit accounts remain active weeks after testing completes. | Automate account expiry in Jira workflows. |
| Uncontrolled Data | Production data sets copied to auditor laptops without encryption. | Enforce SharePoint data loss prevention rules. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main goal of Annex A 8.34?
The core objective is protecting operational systems from disruption during security audits. You must manage audit tests through formalised procedures integrated into your internal document management systems. This prevents accidental system crashes during compliance checks.
How should organisations handle production access for auditors?
Grant auditors read-only access where possible. Use Jira tickets to track every approval. This ensures you maintain a verifiable audit trail within your native organisational tools. Always remove these rights immediately after the test.
Why avoid SaaS compliance tools for this control?
SaaS platforms often separate evidence from daily site operations. Auditors prefer seeing internal logs in SharePoint or Jira. This prove genuine management ownership of system security. It also keeps sensitive audit plans within your own environment.