Are you preparing for ISO 27001 certification and struggling to align your technical infrastructure with the standard’s security controls while keeping operations efficient? Network security, secure remote access, and access control are critical components of ISO 27001-and this is where NetBird, an open-source WireGuard-based Zero Trust overlay network, can help you.
What is ISO 27001?
ISO 27001 is the internationally recognized standard for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS). It provides a comprehensive framework for protecting sensitive information, whether a company handles personal data, intellectual property, financial details, or mission-critical systems. ISO 27001 gives organizations a structured, auditable approach to securing information in a consistent way.
How NetBird Supports ISO 27001 Controls
ISO 27001 requires organizations to establish controls that protect data, secure access, log activity, and manage risk. NetBird provides a technological foundation that maps directly to the standard. By abstracting network connectivity into a secure, encrypted overlay, NetBird allows organizations to decouple security policies from physical infrastructure while implementing Zero Trust principles. Here is how NetBird helps satisfy several key controls and strengthens your overall security posture.
1. Secure Communications
Controls: A.8.24 Use of cryptography, A.5.14 Information transfer, A.6.7 Remote working
ISO 27001 requires protecting data that traverses public or untrusted networks. NetBird makes that requirement easier to implement and sustain by using WireGuard, a modern VPN protocol with a minimal attack surface and best-in-class cryptography. The platform establishes end-to-end encrypted tunnels across all connected devices, ensuring that sensitive traffic never leaves your network in clear text, and authenticates every connection using strong cryptographic keys to prevent interception, tampering, or impersonation. In practice, your network stays protected no matter where employees connect from-home Wi-Fi, public hotspots, or distributed cloud environments.
2. Identity-Based Access Control
Controls: A.5.15 Access control, A.5.16 Identity Management, A.5.18 Access rights, A.5.17 Authentication information, A.6.7 Remote working
Access control and identity management are pillars of ISO 27001, and NetBird’s identity-centric approach naturally aligns with these requirements. A common audit failure point is the joiner/mover/leaver process, especially the latency between a user leaving and their access being revoked. NetBird addresses this through tight integration with Identity Providers (IdPs) such as Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) , JumpCloud , Okta , and Google Workspace . Instead of maintaining its own user database, NetBird acts as a Service Provider, leveraging IdP-driven authentication, automated provisioning via SCIM , and both IdP-enforced and NetBird-native MFA with periodic re-authentication. From a compliance perspective, this supports ISO 27001 controls around least privilege, secure access provisioning, and access restriction by ensuring only the right people on the right devices get to critical systems.
3. Network Segmentation & Zero Trust
Controls: A.8.20 Network security, A.8.22 Segregation of networks
Segmentation is essential for preventing unauthorized lateral movement inside a network, and ISO 27001 highlights the importance of minimizing attack surfaces. NetBird makes segmentation simple and highly scalable. Administrators can create isolated network groups that limit communication to only what is required, build fine-grained policies that assign permissions based on users, groups, roles, and resources, and define tightly scoped cross-group exceptions when needed. Because every device ties to a verified identity, the platform enforces Zero Trust principles- each connection attempt must be authenticated and authorized before it is allowed. Mapping these segmentation boundaries to ISO 27001 requirements helps teams demonstrate that internal systems are shielded from unauthorized access and that robust Zero Trust perimeters exist between workloads.
4. Logging, Monitoring & Audit Trails
Controls: A.8.15 Logging, A.8.16 Monitoring activities, A.5.28 Collection of evidence
ISO 27001 places a strong emphasis on traceability-knowing who accessed what, when, and how. NetBird contributes to these obligations with audit and traffic events logging that maintain comprehensive records of network activity. The platform records essential events such as:
- Authentication attempts
- Authorization decisions
- Device connections and disconnections
- Policy and configuration changes
You can use Stream Activity Events to export logs to centralized monitoring systems like Datadog , Amazon S3 , SentinelOne Data Lake , or other supported integrations, forming a clear audit trail that supports both operational security and compliance evidence requirements. This directly satisfies ISO 27001’s expectations around monitoring, event logging, and protection of log integrity.
5. Use of Third-Party Services
Control: A.8.9 Configuration management
Organizations leveraging NetBird Cloud must consider supplier management requirements under ISO 27001. NetBird provides transparency that simplifies this process: you can review NetBird’s data processing behavior, understand where and how metadata flows, and evaluate the platform’s API architecture. For teams requiring tighter control, a fully self-hosted deployment keeps all control-plane data within your own infrastructure. Including NetBird in supplier evaluations and documenting associated risks maintains alignment with ISO’s vendor management controls.
Summary
NetBird delivers modern, secure networking capabilities that directly support the technical requirements of ISO 27001. By enabling encrypted communications, Zero Trust access control, streamlined segmentation, and detailed audit logs, NetBird becomes the connective tissue of your Information Security Management System, providing the visibility, control, and agility required to defend modern infrastructure. While NetBird will not replace the management and organizational elements required by the standard, it significantly strengthens an organization’s technical compliance posture and turns abstract ISO 27001 requirements into concrete, enforceable technical realities.