# ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.7.4 — Physical security monitoring

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-7-4-physical-security-monitoring
- Section: [Compliance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance) › [ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A Controls](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022) › Physical controls
- Last updated: 2026-06-05
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

**ISO/IEC 27001:2022**·Annex A `A.7.4`·medium·Component: **Physical controls**

## What this control requires

> Premises shall be continuously monitored for unauthorized physical access.
> 
> — ISO/IEC 27001:2022, Annex A A.7.4

### In plain English

Premises shall be continuously monitored for unauthorized physical access. In practice, this means you can prove you identity security-level controls on a defined cadence.

## Why it matters

ISO 27001 certification depends on showing each Annex A control is either implemented or explicitly justified for exclusion in the Statement of Applicability (SoA). Certification bodies sample controls during surveillance audits, and a missing SoA entry — or implementation that doesn't match the SoA wording — is a finding.

## What an auditor looks for

An ISO 27001 lead auditor looks for: (1) an SoA entry covering the control with justification, (2) a documented procedure or policy implementing it, (3) records that prove the procedure runs (logs, tickets, training records) and (4) management-review evidence that effectiveness is monitored.

Within **Physical controls**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Annex A A.7.4) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles.

## How to implement

#### Physical Security

**Inheritance.** For cloud-only operations, inherit physical controls from the provider's SOC 2 / ISO 27001 report and document the inheritance in the SoA.

### Operational checklist

-   **Identity.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Access.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Physical.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Security.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Scope:** security.

## Evidence to collect

-   **Identity Scan.** IAM / IdP exports — Entra ID, Okta, IAM Identity Center, Workspace directory — showing accounts, roles, MFA state and last sign-in.

Identity analytics (Okta, SailPoint, Access Analyzer) demonstrates least-privilege. Focus: Physical security monitoring.

## Related controls in ISO/IEC 27001:2022

-   [**Annex A A.7.1** — Physical security perimeters](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-7-1-physical-security-perimeters)
-   [**Annex A A.7.3** — Securing offices, rooms and facilities](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-7-3-securing-offices-rooms-and-facilities)
-   [**Annex A A.7.8** — Equipment siting and protection](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-7-8-equipment-siting-and-protection)
-   [**Annex A A.7.9** — Security of assets off-premises](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-7-9-security-of-assets-off-premises)
-   [**Annex A A.7.2** — Physical entry](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-7-2-physical-entry)
-   [**Annex A A.7.10** — Storage media](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-7-10-storage-media)

## References

-   [ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 — ISO/IEC 27001:2022](https://www.iso.org/standard/27001)
-   Catalogue identifier: `Annex A A.7.4`

Topics: identity accessphysical securitycontinuous monitoring

## Related compliance guidance

- [ISO/IEC 27001:2022 compliance: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022): Start with the full ISO 27001 implementation guide — scope, roadmap, evidence and how the assessment runs.
- [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Most companies that hold ISO 27001 also need a SOC 2 report for North American customers, and the two share most of their technical controls.