ISO 27001 Annex A 5.18: Access rights

What auditors look for

Auditors check that 5.18 is either justified as not applicable in your Statement of Applicability or implemented and working. Typical evidence includes:

• Access request and approval tickets
• Quarterly access review records
• Evidence of rights removed after reviews

How to implement 5.18 in practice

1. Have system owners, not IT, sign off reviews
2. Review privileged access more often
3. Keep evidence of the removals that follow each review
4. Name an owner for 5.18, decide how often it runs and file evidence each time, so the control is audit-ready all year.

How 5.18 supports GDPR

This control helps demonstrate GDPR Art. 32. Map it once in your control matrix so the same evidence supports both ISO 27001 and GDPR accountability. See the GDPR compliance checklist.

Recording 5.18 in the Statement of Applicability

List 5.18 with whether it applies, the reason (usually the risks it treats or a legal or contractual requirement), its implementation status and where the evidence lives. If you exclude it, explain why none of your risks or obligations require it.

Free resources

• ISO 27001 and GDPR readiness assessment
• 10 steps to implement ISO 27001
• Remote ISO 27001 consultant

More organizational controls

• 5.14 Information transfer
• 5.15 Access control
• 5.16 Identity management
• 5.17 Authentication information
• 5.19 Information security in supplier relationships
• 5.20 Addressing information security within supplier agreements
• 5.21 Managing information security in the ICT supply chain
• 5.22 Monitoring, review and change management of supplier services