ISO 27001 2022 - Automating the New Annex A Controls
The release of ISO 27001:2022 marked one of the most important updates in the global information security landscape in nearly a decade. Organizations that once operated around the classic 114 controls have now transitioned into a refreshed structure – 93 controls organized into four modern themes aligned with today’s security threats. This shift has pushed companies to revisit their security programs, reassess control ownership, and upgrade their compliance strategies.
But as businesses begin to align with the new ISO 27001:2022 framework, one reality has become clear: manual compliance methods simply cannot keep up.
The expanding responsibilities of modern security teams – cloud security, privacy, vendor management, identity governance, AI/ML risk, and zero-trust practices – have made traditional spreadsheets and ad-hoc documentation obsolete. The complexity of the new Annex A controls demands a new approach: automation-first compliance.
Platforms such as Paracomply, built to handle automated ISO 27001 governance, are now central to helping teams align with the 2022 updates while minimizing manual effort. With capabilities like risk and compliance automation, Annex A automation, continuous control monitoring, and compliance workflow automation, organizations can achieve audit readiness with far less friction – and far greater accuracy.
This article explores how companies can automate the new Annex A controls, the pain points of manual compliance, and why ISO 27001 automation software is becoming the backbone of modern security governance.
Why ISO 27001:2022 Changed the Game
The launch of ISO 27001:2022 fundamentally transformed how organizations approach information security and compliance. Unlike earlier versions, this update was designed for cloud-native environments, remote workforces, and identity-centric security models that dominate today’s digital ecosystem.
With threats evolving across APIs, SaaS platforms, supply chains, and distributed systems, businesses must now rely on stronger, more adaptive controls. The framework’s shift from 114 controls to 93 controls, reorganized into Organizational, People, Physical, and Technological categories, reflects the modern need for broader governance and deeper technical validation. New controls covering threat intelligence, data leakage prevention, configuration management, cloud service security, identity governance, BYOD, secure coding, and logging/SIEM bring ISO 27001 into alignment with real-world cyber risks.
As organizations attempt to implement these enhanced Annex A controls, it becomes clear that manual processes cannot keep up. Updating policies, remapping controls, realigning risks, and validating fast-changing technical configurations requires a modern approach powered by ISO 27001 automation software and intelligent compliance tools like Paracomply’s IT GRC Platform.
The Problem with Manual ISO 27001 Alignment
Manual ISO 27001 compliance becomes unmanageable under the 2022 framework, especially as organizations still rely on scattered spreadsheets, shared drives, inconsistent document versions, email-based evidence collection, and screenshot-driven audits. These outdated workflows cannot meet the demands of the new Annex A controls, which require real-time technical validation across cloud, identity, and endpoint systems. Controls such as threat intelligence, monitoring activities, configuration management, and secure coding now require continuous oversight – not periodic checklists – making manual evidence capture slow, error-prone, and impossible to scale.
The complexity increases as each ISO 27001 control must now align with frameworks like SOC 2, GDPR, PCI DSS, NIST CSF, and PCI DSS, turning manual mapping into a high-risk process with guaranteed inconsistencies. With cloud services and IAM platforms such as AWS, Azure, and Entra ID changing daily – new accounts, MFA changes, logging issues – teams need immediate visibility rather than waiting until audit season.
Auditors expect ongoing, verifiable, automatically collected evidence of control operation, and without an ISO 27001 automation tool like Paracomply, teams end up chasing evidence, missing configurations, and falling behind on compliance obligations. In today’s environment, ISO 27001 software and automated Annex A control workflows are the only scalable way to maintain continuous compliance, reduce manual workload, and ensure audit readiness year-round.
Why Automation Is a Necessity for ISO 27001:2022
Automating the New Annex A Controls – Deep Dive Into the 93 Controls
Below is a high-level automation-centric breakdown of the four control categories introduced in ISO 27001:2022.
1. Organizational Controls (37 Controls)
Focus: Governance, risk management, roles, operational processes
These controls include:
- Information security policies
- Roles and responsibilities
- Risk assessments
- Business continuity planning
- Threat intelligence
- Project security
- Supplier management
How automation helps
- Automated policy lifecycle management: reviews, updates, approvals, and employee acknowledgment
- AI-driven risk scoring: automates risk identification and prioritization
- Cross-framework mapping: avoids duplicate efforts across SOC 2, GDPR, and PCI DSS
- Automated vendor risk workflows for supplier onboarding
- Audit-ready documentation generated instantly
Automating organizational controls ensures governance activities do not rely on individual memory or manual reminders.
2. People Controls (8 Controls)
Focus: HR, training, background checks, disciplinary processes
These controls include:
Screening
- Security awareness
- Access rights for new hires, transfers, and exits
- Responsibilities for employees and contractors
How automation helps
- Integrates with HRMS platforms like BambooHR, Zoho People, or Workday
- Automates onboarding/offboarding access reviews
- Tracks security awareness training completion
- Ensures every employee signs policies digitally
- Generates reports demonstrating compliance for auditors
In a remote-first world, people controls must be automated to avoid oversight and unauthorized access.
3. Physical Controls (14 Controls)
Focus: Secure areas, monitoring, equipment handling, physical environments
These include:
- Physical entry control
- Surveillance
- Asset tracking
- Clear desk policies
- Equipment relocation
- Preventing unauthorized physical access
How automation helps
- Centralized asset inventory synced with ITAM/MDM systems
- Automated logs of hardware allocation and return
- Integrated access control logs from physical security systems
- Real-time alerts for physical anomalies (e.g., tailgating detection)
While physical controls are not traditionally automated, modern ITAM integrations make compliance measurable and traceable.
4. Technological Controls (34 Controls)
Focus: Security hardening, identity management, logging, cryptography, cloud security
These include some of the most automation-dependent controls:
- Configuration management
- Monitoring activities
- Identity authentication
- Logging and SIEM
- Malware protection
- Secure coding
- Data masking
- DLP (Data Leakage Prevention)
- Cloud services management
How automation helps
Technological controls represent the largest automation opportunity:
- Automated evidence collected from AWS, Azure, GCP
- Continuous monitoring of IAM settings (MFA, SSO, privileged roles)
- Endpoint security compliance synced with tools like SentinelOne, Defender, Sophos
- Cloud misconfiguration alerts
- CI/CD integration for secure coding compliance
- Auto-validating encryption and backup settings
Manual validation is impossible at scale – automation is the only sustainable way to comply.
Step-by-Step: Automating ISO 27001:2022 Controls with Paracomply
Paracomply IT GRC Platform offers end-to-end automation for aligning with the new ISO 27001 controls. Here’s how organizations implement automation through the platform:
Step 1: Import ISO 27001:2022 Framework Automatically
Paracomply includes ISO 27001:2022 pre-mapped with control descriptions, tasks, evidence requirements, and auditor notes.
Step 2: Map Controls Across Multiple Frameworks
One control in ISO 27001 may align with:
- SOC 2 CC series
- NIST CSF
- PCI DSS v4
- GDPR Art. 32
- DPDPA 2023
- RBI/SEBI/IRDAI guidelines
Paracomply eliminates duplicate work with AI-powered control mapping.
Step 3: Automate Evidence Collection
Integrations connect with:
- AWS, Azure, GCP
- Entra ID, Okta, Google Workspace
- CrowdStrike, Sophos, Defender
- Jira, GitHub, GitLab
- HRMS platforms
Evidence (logs, screenshots, settings, reports) is captured automatically with timestamps.
Step 4: Assign Tasks with Compliance Workflow Automation
Each Annex A control is broken into:
- tasks
- responsible owners
- due dates
- recurring cycles
All managed through automated reminders and approval workflows.
Step 5: Enable Continuous Control Monitoring (CCM)
CCM checks:
- MFA enforcement
- privileged access
- cloud configurations
- logging and monitoring
- filesystem encryption
- backup policies
- endpoint antivirus status
This ensures real-time compliance, not static documentation.
Step 6: Generate Audit-Ready Reports
With one click, Paracomply produces:
- Statement of Applicability (SoA)
- Risk assessment reports
- Evidence logs
- Policy acknowledgment reports
- Internal audit summaries
- CAPA (Corrective Action Plans)
Auditors gain a transparent, fully traceable compliance storyline.
Key Annex A Controls and How Automation Simplifies Them
Here are examples of how difficult controls become simple with automation:
A.5.7 – Threat Intelligence
Paracomply integrates with SIEM and threat feeds to automate collection of threat logs and reports.
A.5.23 – Information Security for Use of Cloud Services
Automated cloud monitoring validates:
- public access
- encryption
- log retention
- IAM policies
A.8.9 – Configuration Management
Pulls configuration states directly from cloud systems or MDM tools.
A.8.16 – Monitoring Activities
Evidence from SIEM and logging platforms is captured automatically.
A.8.28 – Secure Coding
Integrates with GitHub/GitLab to verify secure code checks and run SAST/DAST workflows.
Why Automation Improves Audit Outcomes
- No missing evidence
Automation ensures all required evidence is continuously collected. - No outdated versions
Every document is stored with version control. - No ambiguity
Tasks, owners, and timestamps leave no room for misinterpretation. - No inconsistencies
Templates ensure standardized documentation across teams. - No scramble
Automation converts ISO 27001 into a smooth, repeatable operational cycle.
Business Benefits of Automating Annex A Controls
Organizations that transition to automated ISO 27001 compliance experience transformational improvements. ISO certification timelines accelerate by 60 – 80%, and reliance on manual spreadsheets and screenshots drops by 70–90%. Automation strengthens security posture through real-time monitoring and centralized dashboards that unify leadership, DevOps, and security teams.
Compliance costs decrease significantly due to reduced consultant dependencies and fewer manual hours, while scalability improves as organizations grow their cloud, identity, and operational footprint. With automation tools like Paracomply IT GRC Platform, ISO 27001:2022 compliance becomes faster, easier, and far more reliable – creating a competitive advantage in regulated industries.
Everything You Need to Know About Automating ISO 27001
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do I automate ISO 27001 Annex A controls?
Automation is achieved through ISO 27001 software that provides integrations, workflows, evidence capture, and continuous monitoring.
2. What tools help automate ISO 27001 compliance?
Platforms like Paracomply offer end-to-end ISO 27001 automation – including risk, evidence, policy management, and control monitoring.
3. Does ISO 27001:2022 require continuous compliance?
Yes. Auditors prefer ongoing evidence collection, which automation enables.
4. Can automation replace internal audits?
No – but it makes them dramatically faster and more accurate.
5. Is Paracomply suitable for SMEs?
Absolutely. Automation lets smaller teams achieve enterprise-grade compliance without hiring additional staff.
Automation Is the Only Scalable Way to Meet ISO 27001:2022 Requirements
The modernization of ISO 27001 was a necessary evolution – but it also raised the bar for compliance teams worldwide. The 2022 Annex A controls demand real-time visibility, technical validation, and structured documentation that manual processes can no longer support.
Automation is no longer optional – it is the foundation of effective ISO 27001 compliance.
Platforms like Paracomply transform the entire experience:
- automated evidence
- continuous monitoring
- policy lifecycle automation
- AI-driven control mapping
- real-time dashboards
- seamless audits
With evolving threats and regulatory expectations, businesses that embrace automation will operate with greater resilience, confidence, and efficiency.
If you’re ready to simplify ISO 27001:2022, eliminate manual work, and achieve continuous compliance:
Book a Paracomply Demo Today
Experience automated Annex A controls, real-time monitoring, and frictionless audit readiness.
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