Is VAPT Mandatory for ISO 27001? Here’s the Real Deal

Is VAPT mandatory for ISO 27001? Not technically but find out why it’s a critical step in risk management, compliance audits, and securing your systems.

So, this is a question I get asked a lot, especially by small businesses or startups who are starting their ISO 27001 journey.

“Hey Aryan, is VAPT like… compulsory if we want ISO 27001 certification?”

And the answer is kind of a yes… but also no situation.

Let me explain.

See, ISO 27001 is not like a checklist of tools or a “buy this, do that” type of compliance. It’s a framework.

It gives you a set of controls, and you decide which ones apply to your organization, based on risk.
VAPT (Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing) falls under that same logic. It’s not explicitly written like “you MUST perform VAPT to pass ISO 27001” but in real-world implementation, it’s kinda hard to avoid it.

Read Also: Black Box vs White Box vs Grey Box Penetration Testing

What ISO 27001 Actually Says?

ISO 27001 mainly talks about managing information security risks. The core of it is : identify your risks, implement controls, and keep improving.

Now under Annex A (which has all the controls), there’s one called A.12.6.1 – Technical Vulnerability Management.

This control basically says:

“Information about technical vulnerabilities of information systems being used shall be obtained in a timely fashion, the organization’s exposure to such vulnerabilities evaluated and appropriate measures taken…”

Now, it doesn’t say “you must do a VAPT every 3 months” or anything like that, but let’s be honest how else are you going to evaluate technical vulnerabilities in a practical way?

You gotta scan your systems, test your apps, and see where weaknesses are. That’s where VA (vulnerability assessment) and PT (penetration testing) come in.

So yeah… is VAPT mandatory for ISO 27001? Not explicitly, but it’s kinda implicitly necessary to fulfill the goal of some controls.

What Experts Say on Is VAPT Mandatory for ISO 27001

Here’s the deal: when auditors come in for an ISO 27001 certification audit, they’re not going to ask “Have you done a VAPT this month?”

Instead, they’ll ask:

• How are you identifying and managing technical risks?
• Do you have a patching process?
• How do you know your systems aren’t vulnerable?
• Do you test your security controls regularly?

Now if you don’t have any VAPT reports or scan logs or test results… it’s kinda hard to answer those questions confidently, right?

In my experience, most clients do at least:

• Basic vulnerability scan (internal + external)
• One penetration test per year (web app / infra / cloud, depending on what they use)
• Remediation tracking, where you actually show that issues were fixed

And honestly, that’s enough for most auditors, provided you’ve documented the risk and your decisions clearly.

My Personal Take as a VAPT Guy

Look, I’m obviously from the VAPT world, so you’d expect me to say “yes, of course, do VAPT, it’s critical!” but even beyond that, I think VAPT is just smart security practice.

Forget ISO for a second don’t you want to know if your systems are weak before some attacker finds out?

Also, a good VAPT report is more than just a checkbox. It gives your team visibility, helps you plan patch cycles, train devs better, and sleep a little easier at night.

So to answer the main question:

Is VAPT mandatory for ISO 27001?

Technically, no.

Practically, if you’re serious about security 100% yes.

Especially if you’re handling customer data, personal info, or cloud services skipping VAPT just isn’t worth the risk, or the audit headache.

Conclusion

If you’re going for ISO 27001 or even maintaining it treat VAPT as a core part of your technical risk strategy. You don’t need to overdo it, but don’t ignore it either.

Schedule your assessments, track the findings, fix what matters, and document the process. That’s what ISO really wants.

Catch you in the next blog post.