ISO 27002:2022, Control 5.22 – Monitoring, Review and Change Management of Supplier Services

General Guidance on Control 5.22

Control 5.22 contains 13 main areas that organisations need to consider when managing supplier relationships, and the effect they have on their own information security standards.

Organisations need to take steps to ensure that employees who are responsible for managing SLAs and supplier relationships have the requisite levels of skill and technical resources to be able to adequately assess supplier performance, and information security standards are not being breached.

Organisations should draft policies and procedures which:

1. Constantly monitor service levels in accordance with published SLAs, and any shortfalls are addressed.
2. Monitor any changes made by the supplier to their own operation, including (but not limited to):
   
   a) Service enhancements
   b) The introduction of new applications, systems or software processes
   c) Relevant and meaningful revisions to the suppliers internal governance documents
   d) Any incident management procedural changes, or efforts intended to increase levels of information security
3. Monitor any service-specific changes, including (but not limited to):
   
   a) Infrastructure amendments
   b) The application of emerging technologies
   c) The roll-out of product updates or version upgrades
   d) Changes in the development environment
   e) Logistical and physical changes to supplier facilities, including new locations
   f) Any changes to outsourcing partners or subcontractors
   g) The intention to subcontract, where the practice wasn’t previously in place
4. Ask for regular service reports, analyse data and attend review meetings in accordance with agreed levels of service delivery.
5. Audit outsourcing partners and subcontractors and pursue any areas for concern.
6. Review security incidents in accordance with agreed Incident Management standards and practices, and the supplier agreement.
7. Maintain a thorough record of information security events, tangible operational problems, fault logs and general barriers to the service delivery standards that have been agreed.
8. Proactively respond to and take remedial action towards information security-related events.
9. Highlight any information security vulnerabilities and mitigate them to the fullest extent.
10. Analyse any relevant information security factors inherent within the suppliers relationship with its own suppliers and subcontractors.
11. Ensure that service delivery is delivered to acceptable levels following significant supplier-side disruption, including disaster recovery.
12. Outline key personnel in the supplier’s operation who are responsible for maintaining compliance and adhering to the terms of an agreement.
13. Regularly audit a supplier’s ability to maintain a baseline information security standard.

Supporting Controls

• 5.29
• 5.30
• 5.35
• 5.36
• 8.14

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