ISO 27001 Annex A 5.33: Protection of records

What auditors look for

Auditors check that 5.33 is either justified as not applicable in your Statement of Applicability or implemented and working. Typical evidence includes:

• Records retention schedule
• Storage and backup controls for records
• Disposal records

How to implement 5.33 in practice

1. Base retention on legal requirements
2. Apply immutability to critical records
3. Delete records when retention ends
4. Name an owner for 5.33, decide how often it runs and file evidence each time, so the control is audit-ready all year.

How 5.33 supports GDPR

This control helps demonstrate GDPR Art. 5(1)(e). Map it once in your control matrix so the same evidence supports both ISO 27001 and GDPR accountability. See the GDPR compliance checklist.

Recording 5.33 in the Statement of Applicability

List 5.33 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

• 5.29 Information security during disruption
• 5.30 ICT readiness for business continuity
• 5.31 Legal, statutory, regulatory and contractual requirements
• 5.32 Intellectual property rights
• 5.34 Privacy and protection of PII
• 5.35 Independent review of information security
• 5.36 Compliance with policies, rules and standards for information security
• 5.37 Documented operating procedures