ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A · Control 5.14

Information Transfer: A Practical Implementation Guide

Protect information whenever it moves between people, systems, organizations or physical locations.

This control covers rules, agreements and safeguards for transferring information through electronic, physical and verbal channels.

Practical interpretation: Transfer risk depends on the information, recipients, route and context. Approved channels, recipient verification and clear agreements are more effective than a generic instruction to ‘send securely’.

What should the control achieve?

Transfer methods are approved by classification and risk.
Recipients and destinations are verified.
External transfers have suitable agreements.
Transfers are traceable and incidents are handled.

Step-by-step implementation

Map transfer scenarios

Include email, APIs, file sharing, removable media, couriers, calls and in-person disclosure.

Define channel rules

Match classification to encryption, authentication, approval and tracking requirements.

Verify recipients

Use address checks, callback procedures, access expiry and least privilege.

Establish agreements

Cover purpose, security, onward transfer, retention, breach reporting and deletion.

Protect physical transfer

Use packaging, trusted couriers, tracking and chain of custody.

Monitor and improve

Review logs, misdirected transfers, exceptions and supplier performance.

What this could look like in practice

A legal team sends Restricted case files through an approved encrypted portal with MFA and 14-day expiry. The recipient is confirmed by phone using a known number. Email attachments are prohibited for this class.

Activity	Practical implementation	Evidence
External file transfer	Approved portal, named recipients and expiry.	Portal audit log
API exchange	Mutual authentication and contract-defined fields.	API configuration and agreement
Physical media	Encrypted media, tamper-evident packaging and tracked courier.	Chain-of-custody record

Implementation evidence

Transfer policy
Approved-channel matrix
Data-sharing agreements
Recipient-verification procedure
Encryption configuration
Transfer logs
Courier records
Transfer incident reviews

Useful metrics

Transfers using approved channels
Misdirected information incidents
Expired shares still active
Supplier transfer exceptions

Common mistakes

Allowing convenience tools without assessment.
Sending passwords in the same channel as files.
Failing to verify auto-completed recipients.
Ignoring verbal and physical transfers.
Leaving external links open indefinitely.

Questions an auditor may ask

Which channels are approved for each classification?
How are recipients verified?
Show an external transfer agreement.
How are transfer logs and incidents reviewed?

Implementation test: Attempt a realistic Restricted transfer and confirm the wrong channel is blocked or clearly rejected by procedure.

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This independent educational guide paraphrases the practical intent of the control and does not replace the official ISO standards, professional advice or an organization-specific risk assessment. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by ISO.

ISO 27001 Annex A 5.14: Information Transfer – Practical Implementation Guide