What Are Key Features of ISO 27018 Certification?

What is ISO 27018 Certification?

ISO/IEC 27018 is the international standard for protecting personal data in public cloud environments. It provides guidance for protecting personally identifiable information (PII) in public cloud services, specifically when the cloud service provider acts as a PII processor. The current edition, ISO/IEC 27018:2025, has been aligned with the updated ISO/IEC 27002:2022

What makes ISO 27018 Certification valuable is its set of clear, practical features that translate privacy principles into specific commitments cloud providers must follow. These features answer the most important questions customers ask about their data in the cloud: how it is used, who can see it, where it is stored, what happens if something goes wrong, and what happens when the service ends.

Key Features of ISO 27018 Certification at a Glance

Feature 1: Processing Personal Data Only on Customer Instructions

Under ISO 27018, the cloud provider acts as a processor, not an owner, of customer personal data and may process it only for purposes defined in the contract. This keeps customers in control of their data and helps them meet their obligations as data controllers. Contracts and internal policies ensure data is never used for any other purpose.

Feature 2: No Use of Customer Data for Marketing or Advertising

Providers must not use customer personal data for marketing or advertising without express consent. One of the most distinctive features of ISO 27018, it addresses concerns that providers might profit from customer data. Policies prohibit commercial use, and systems prevent customer data from feeding advertising or profiling.

Feature 3: Transparency About Sub-Processors

Providers must disclose any sub-processors used for hosting, support or other services before they process customer personal data. This lets customers assess risk across the entire chain of organizations handling their data. Providers maintain and share an up-to-date sub-processor list and bind sub-processors to equivalent privacy obligations.

Feature 4: Disclosure of Data Locations

Providers must inform customers of the countries where personal data may be stored or processed. Since different countries have different laws, customers need this to manage cross-border transfer obligations. Locations are documented in contracts, documentation or trust centers.

Feature 5: Notification of Legally Binding Disclosure Requests

If authorities legally request customer personal data, the provider must notify the customer unless prohibited by law. This keeps customers informed about who is accessing their data so they can take action. Providers follow a documented procedure for handling requests, notifying customers and recording all disclosures.

Feature 6: Prompt Personal Data Breach Notification

Providers must promptly notify customers of any personal data breach affecting their data. Customers often must report breaches to regulators and individuals, and timely notice makes this possible. A tested incident response process covers detecting, assessing, documenting and communicating breaches.

Feature 7: Support for Individuals' Privacy Rights

Providers must help customers respond to individuals' requests to access, correct or delete their personal data. Since the data sits in the provider's systems, customers rely on the provider to honor these rights. Providers offer tools or processes to locate, export, correct or delete data on request.

Feature 8: Secure Return, Transfer, and Deletion of Data

When a contract ends, providers must return, transfer or securely delete customer personal data, including temporary files and storage media. This assures customers their data won't remain with the provider indefinitely. Defined retention and deletion procedures cover production systems, backups and temporary files, with evidence of secure deletion.

Feature 9: Strong Security Safeguards

ISO 27018 builds on ISO 27002 and adds privacy safeguards such as encrypting data over public networks, controlling data restoration and securely disposing of storage media. Privacy depends on security, and without strong safeguards personal data can be exposed. Providers apply encryption, access control, secure configuration, logging and secure disposal across their infrastructure.

Feature 10: Access Control and Personnel Confidentiality

Access to personal data is limited to authorized users with unique IDs, access records are maintained, and staff are bound by confidentiality obligations. Since insider access is a major cloud privacy risk, these controls ensure accountability for everyone with access. Providers enforce role-based access, review it regularly and require confidentiality agreements from employees and contractors.

Feature 11: Accountability and Records

Providers must keep records showing how personal data is handled, including disclosures, breaches and deletion. These records let providers prove compliance to customers, auditors and regulators. Processing, access, disclosures, incidents and deletion are logged, with relevant information shared with customers.

Feature 12: Built on Privacy Principles and ISO 27001

The standard sets controls for protecting PII in the public cloud in line with ISO/IEC 29100 privacy principles and complements an ISO/IEC 27001-based ISMS. This ensures privacy commitments are backed by a proven, risk-based security system. ISO 27018 controls are included in the ISO 27001 scope and Statement of Applicability and assessed during certification audits.

Feature 13: Clear Distinction Between Processor and Controller Roles

The 2025 edition more precisely distinguishes processor and controller roles, with an emphasis on monitoring and accountability. Clear roles reduce confusion over responsibilities, which is essential for meeting privacy law obligations. Contracts clearly define the provider's processor duties and the customer's controller duties.

Feature 14: Global Applicability

The standard applies to organizations of all types and sizes, including public, private, government and not-for-profit, that process PII via cloud services under contract. Providers of any size, serving customers anywhere, can use one internationally recognized framework. It can be applied across regions to address laws such as GDPR and India's DPDP Act.

Why Choose TopCertifier for ISO 27018 Certification?

TopCertifier is a leading ISO consulting and certification service provider that helps cloud providers implement every key feature of ISO 27018 Certification effectively. Our experienced consultants provide end-to-end support, including gap analysis, data mapping, privacy risk assessment, contract and sub-processor review, documentation, control implementation, internal audits, and certification audit preparation.

We help cloud providers turn ISO 27018 features into practical, working processes aligned with ISO/IEC 27018:2025 and integrated with ISO 27001. Our proven methodology helps organizations strengthen privacy, build customer trust, and achieve ISO 27018 Certification with confidence.