How to use ISMS Copilot with Drata

Overview

Drata is a comprehensive compliance automation platform that excels at continuous monitoring, automated evidence collection, and configurable compliance workflows across 20+ frameworks including SOC 2, ISO 27001, and NIST 800-153. ISMS Copilot complements Drata by providing specialized compliance expertise for the critical human judgment tasks that automation can't fully address: understanding nuanced control requirements, reviewing policy quality, interpreting framework-specific expectations, and getting expert guidance on implementing controls in your unique organizational context.

Who This Is For

This guide is for:

• Security and compliance teams managing Drata deployments who need expert implementation guidance

• Organizations using Drata's adaptive automation who want AI assistance for custom control design

• Compliance professionals leveraging Drata's monitoring but needing help with policy customization and evidence quality

• Consultants supporting clients on Drata who require AI tools for quality assurance and advisory work

How Drata and ISMS Copilot Work Together

What Drata Does Best

Drata excels at making compliance continuous, configurable, and scalable:

• Continuous monitoring: 24/7 monitoring of security controls across your entire tech stack with real-time compliance status visibility

• Automated evidence collection: Automatically gathers compliance evidence from hundreds of integrated systems, eliminating manual spreadsheet management

• Adaptive automation: Create custom tests with no-code automation to monitor controls unique to your organization

• Pre-mapped controls: Extensive library of pre-mapped GRC controls across 20+ frameworks reduces setup time

• Multi-framework support: Manage multiple compliance frameworks simultaneously with overlapping control mapping to reduce redundant work

• Audit Hub: Centralized auditor communication, evidence management, and request tracking for streamlined audits

• User access reviews: Automates user access review workflows, moving away from manual spreadsheet processes

• Policy Center: Auditor-approved, customizable policy templates with version control and automated distribution

• Trust Center: Public-facing trust portal for sharing compliance status with customers and prospects

• Risk management: Tools for internal risk assessment and vendor risk monitoring

Where ISMS Copilot Adds Value

ISMS Copilot complements Drata's automation with deep compliance expertise for judgment-intensive tasks:

1. Custom Control Design and Implementation

Drata's adaptive automation lets you create custom controls, but you need to know what to monitor and how:

• Custom control guidance: "I need to create a custom control in Drata for ISO 27001 A.8.28 (secure coding). What should this custom test validate, and what evidence should it collect?"

• Organization-specific implementation: "We use a unique deployment process with Kubernetes and ArgoCD. How should I design Drata tests to monitor change management controls for SOC 2 CC8.1?"

• Control logic design: "What's the right logic for a Drata automated test to validate that our backup restoration process meets ISO 27001 A.8.13 requirements?"

• Edge case handling: "Drata monitors our standard infrastructure, but we have one legacy system. How should I design compensating controls and monitoring for this exception?"

2. Policy Customization and Quality Enhancement

Drata provides auditor-approved policy templates, but every organization needs customization:

• Industry-specific requirements: "I'm using Drata's Information Security Policy template. What additional requirements should I add for a financial services company regulated by FINRA?"

• Policy completeness review: Upload Drata policy and ask "Review this Access Control Policy for ISO 27001:2022 compliance. What's missing or needs more detail?"

• Multi-framework alignment: "We're maintaining SOC 2, ISO 27001, and HIPAA policies in Drata. How should I structure policies to meet all three frameworks without redundant documents?"

• Procedure depth: "Drata's Incident Response Policy covers requirements but lacks procedures. What operational detail should I add for SOC 2 Type II audits?"

3. Evidence Quality and Audit Readiness

Drata collects evidence automatically, but auditor expectations require human judgment:

• Evidence adequacy assessment: "Drata collected logs showing our quarterly access reviews. Is this sufficient evidence for SOC 2 CC6.2, or do auditors typically expect additional documentation?"

• Manual evidence identification: "What manual evidence might auditors request that Drata's automation can't collect for ISO 27001 certification?"

• Evidence narrative development: "I need to write a control description narrative for our SOC 2 report explaining how we monitor security controls. What should this narrative include beyond what Drata tracks?"

• Testing evidence evaluation: "Our penetration test report is in Drata's evidence repository. What do ISO 27001 auditors specifically look for in these reports?"

4. Framework Interpretation and Mapping

Drata maps controls across frameworks, but interpretation requires expertise:

• Control nuance understanding: "Drata maps SOC 2 CC6.6 to ISO 27001 A.9.4.1. What are the subtle differences in auditor expectations between these controls?"

• Applicability decisions: "Which ISO 27001 Annex A controls can I legitimately exclude from my Statement of Applicability for a fully cloud-native SaaS company?"

• Framework-specific requirements: "Drata shows we're compliant with SOC 2 trust service criteria. What additional requirements exist for SOC 2 + HITRUST that aren't covered by standard SOC 2?"

• Emerging framework guidance: "We need to prepare for NIS2 Directive compliance. Can our existing Drata SOC 2 and ISO 27001 programs be adapted, or do we need new controls?"

5. Risk Assessment and Treatment

Drata provides risk management tools, but risk analysis requires compliance judgment:

• Risk scenario identification: "What are the typical information security risk scenarios I should document in Drata's risk register for a B2B SaaS company?"

• Risk treatment planning: "Drata identified several medium-risk items. How should I prioritize risk treatment for ISO 27001 requirements vs. SOC 2?"

• Risk acceptance criteria: "What criteria should I use to determine when risk acceptance is appropriate vs. requiring mitigation controls?"

• Vendor risk evaluation: "What specific security questions should I ask in Drata's vendor risk assessments for SaaS vendors handling customer data?"

6. Audit Preparation and Response

Drata streamlines audit logistics, but audit success requires understanding auditor thinking:

• Mock audit questions: "Generate 25 likely ISO 27001 Stage 2 audit questions for our certification, focusing on areas where auditors typically probe beyond automated evidence"

• Auditor question interpretation: "The auditor asked 'How do you ensure least privilege access?' What are they actually looking for, and what Drata evidence should I reference?"

• Exception documentation: "Drata flagged a control exception for one application without MFA. How should I document this exception and compensating controls for the auditor?"

• Control effectiveness demonstration: "Beyond Drata's automated monitoring, what additional evidence demonstrates control effectiveness to ISO 27001 auditors?"

7. Strategic Compliance Planning

Drata provides the platform, but strategic decisions require compliance expertise:

• Framework selection: "We have SOC 2 in Drata and need to decide between adding ISO 27001, HITRUST, or FedRAMP for healthcare customers. What's the right choice?"

• Scope definition: "How should we define our ISO 27001 certification scope in Drata for a company with multiple products and geographic locations?"

• Timeline planning: "What are realistic milestones for ISO 27001 certification when using Drata, and where do organizations typically encounter delays?"

• Resource allocation: "What compliance activities still require dedicated staff time vs. what Drata's automation handles independently?"

Common Workflows Combining Both Tools

Workflow 1: Designing Custom Adaptive Automation

Scenario: You need to create a custom Drata test for a unique control in your environment.

1. In ISMS Copilot: Define control requirements: "I need to implement ISO 27001 A.12.3.1 (information backup) for our Kubernetes cluster data. What should be validated to demonstrate this control is effective?"

2. In ISMS Copilot: Design test logic: "What automated checks should I implement to verify backup completeness, frequency, and restoration capability for audit evidence?"

3. In Drata: Build the custom test using adaptive automation based on ISMS Copilot's guidance

4. In Drata: Configure evidence collection from your backup systems

5. In ISMS Copilot: Validate approach: "Does this backup monitoring approach meet both ISO 27001 and SOC 2 requirements for backup testing?"

6. In Drata: Deploy the custom test and monitor ongoing compliance

Workflow 2: Multi-Framework Compliance Expansion

Scenario: You have SOC 2 in Drata and you're adding ISO 27001.

1. In Drata: Add ISO 27001 framework and review pre-mapped controls showing overlap with existing SOC 2

2. In ISMS Copilot: Analyze gaps: "I have SOC 2 Type II. What ISO 27001 Annex A controls require additional implementation beyond my SOC 2 controls?"

3. In ISMS Copilot: Get implementation guidance for net-new controls: "How should I implement ISO 27001 A.5.23 (cloud security) for AWS infrastructure?"

4. In Drata: Configure monitoring and evidence collection for new ISO 27001-specific controls

5. In ISMS Copilot: Policy alignment review: "Review these policies to ensure they satisfy both SOC 2 and ISO 27001:2022 requirements"

6. In Drata: Deploy updated policies and track compliance across both frameworks

Workflow 3: Audit Preparation

Scenario: Your SOC 2 Type II audit begins in 30 days.

1. In Drata: Review compliance dashboard, address any control gaps, ensure all automated evidence is current

2. In ISMS Copilot: Prepare for questions: "Generate 30 likely SOC 2 Type II auditor questions for a cloud-based SaaS company, focusing on areas auditors typically probe beyond automated evidence"

3. In ISMS Copilot: Review evidence completeness: "What manual evidence might SOC 2 auditors request that Drata's automation doesn't automatically collect?"

4. In Drata: Organize all evidence in Audit Hub, invite auditor, grant appropriate access

5. During audit: When auditors ask complex questions, consult ISMS Copilot for interpretation and guidance on crafting responses

6. In Drata: Submit evidence requests, track audit progress through completion

Workflow 4: Policy Customization

Scenario: You're deploying Drata's policy templates but need industry-specific customization.

1. In Drata: Generate policy set from Policy Center templates for your frameworks

2. Export policies: Download policies for review

3. In ISMS Copilot: Upload each policy: "Review this Data Protection Policy for a healthcare technology company. What HIPAA-specific requirements should be added?"

4. Customization: Edit policies based on ISMS Copilot recommendations

5. In ISMS Copilot: Final validation: "Does this revised policy meet HIPAA Security Rule, SOC 2, and ISO 27001 requirements for healthcare SaaS companies?"

6. In Drata: Upload finalized policies, deploy to employees, track acknowledgments

Workflow 5: Control Gap Remediation

Scenario: Drata's continuous monitoring identified a control gap.

1. In Drata: Review the control failure alert and understand which control is non-compliant

2. In ISMS Copilot: Get remediation guidance: "Drata flagged that our vulnerability scanning isn't running weekly. What are the requirements for SOC 2 CC7.2 and ISO 27001 A.12.6.1 regarding vulnerability management?"

3. In ISMS Copilot: Implementation planning: "We use AWS Inspector and Snyk. How should we configure these tools to meet weekly scanning requirements?"

4. Implementation: Configure systems based on guidance

5. In Drata: Verify automated monitoring now shows compliance, document remediation in platform

6. In Drata: Ongoing monitoring confirms continued compliance

Practical Examples

Example 1: Adaptive Automation Design

Situation: You need to create a custom Drata test to monitor database encryption configuration.

Ask ISMS Copilot: "I need to create a custom Drata test to validate that all production databases have encryption at rest enabled. What should this test check to satisfy SOC 2 CC6.1 and ISO 27001 A.10.1.1?"

ISMS Copilot guidance: Provides specific validation criteria (encryption enabled, key rotation policy, encryption algorithm standards), what evidence to collect, and how often to run the test for compliance requirements.

Example 2: Policy Template Enhancement

Situation: Drata's Incident Response Policy template needs customization for your organization.

Ask ISMS Copilot: Upload policy and ask: "Review this Incident Response Policy for a fintech company handling payment data. What PCI DSS-specific requirements and financial services best practices should be added to Drata's template?"

ISMS Copilot guidance: Identifies PCI DSS Requirement 12.10 additions needed, financial regulatory reporting obligations, customer notification requirements, and incident severity classification criteria specific to financial services.

Example 3: Multi-Framework Control Mapping

Situation: Drata shows control mapping between frameworks, but you need to understand implementation differences.

Ask ISMS Copilot: "Drata maps SOC 2 CC7.3 to ISO 27001 A.16.1.2. Both address incident response, but what are the specific differences in what auditors expect to see for each framework?"

ISMS Copilot guidance: Explains that SOC 2 emphasizes continuous monitoring and service availability impact, while ISO 27001 focuses on documented procedures and evidence of lessons learned, helping you tailor Drata's monitoring to satisfy both.

Example 4: Evidence Completeness Validation

Situation: Audit is approaching and you want to validate evidence quality.

Ask ISMS Copilot: "Drata has collected 6 months of access review evidence. What additional documentation or evidence might ISO 27001 certification auditors request beyond what Drata automatically collects?"

ISMS Copilot guidance: Identifies manual evidence like access review summary reports, exception approvals, access provisioning/deprovisioning procedures, and role definition documentation that may not be automated in Drata.

When to Use Each Tool

Integration Best Practices

1. Leverage Drata's Configurability with ISMS Copilot Expertise

• Design before building: Use ISMS Copilot to design custom control logic before creating adaptive automation in Drata

• Validate test coverage: Ask ISMS Copilot whether your custom Drata tests adequately cover framework requirements

• Optimize automation: Use ISMS Copilot to identify which controls can be fully automated vs. which require manual evidence

2. Enhance Policy Quality

• Template starting point: Use Drata's auditor-approved templates as your foundation

• AI-powered customization: Upload policies to ISMS Copilot for industry-specific enhancement recommendations

• Multi-framework alignment: Validate policies meet all framework requirements when maintaining multiple certifications

3. Maximize Evidence Quality

• Automated foundation: Let Drata collect all evidence it can automatically

• Gap identification: Use ISMS Copilot to identify manual evidence needs Drata can't automate

• Pre-audit validation: Upload sample evidence to ISMS Copilot for adequacy review before audit submissions

4. Organize Multi-Framework Work

• In Drata: Manage all frameworks, controls, and evidence in a single platform

• In ISMS Copilot: Create framework-specific workspaces ("Company - ISO 27001," "Company - SOC 2") for focused guidance without context confusion

• Cross-reference: When ISMS Copilot provides implementation guidance, execute and track in Drata

Cost and Resource Considerations

Investment Overview

• Drata: Enterprise compliance platform with pricing typically based on company size and frameworks, starting in the tens of thousands annually

• ISMS Copilot: Specialized compliance AI starting at $20/month individual or team plans for organizations

Combined Value Proposition

Organizations using both tools report:

• Reduced external consultant dependency: Handle complex compliance questions in-house instead of hiring consultants at $150-300/hour

• Better custom control design: Build more effective adaptive automation through expert guidance, reducing false positives and audit findings

• Higher policy quality: Industry-specific policy customization reduces auditor questions and findings

• Faster framework expansion: Confidently add new frameworks with AI-guided implementation planning

• Smaller specialized teams: 1-2 person teams manage multi-framework compliance that previously required larger teams or external support

Limitations and Boundaries

What This Combination Doesn't Replace

• External auditors: You still need independent auditors for SOC 2, ISO 27001 certification, and third-party assessments

• Executive ownership: Leadership must still own compliance strategy, risk appetite, and resource allocation decisions

• Legal expertise: Complex regulatory interpretation may require compliance attorneys, not AI guidance

• Technical implementation: Both tools provide guidance and monitoring, but your team implements controls and maintains systems

When You Might Still Need Consultants

• First-time certifications: Organizations pursuing their first ISO 27001 or SOC 2 often benefit from consultant oversight

• Highly complex environments: Multi-national operations with varied regulatory requirements may need specialized legal and compliance advisors

• Significant compliance gaps: Organizations with major deficiencies or failed previous audits may need consultant-led remediation

• Industry-specific nuances: Certain regulated industries (healthcare, finance, government) may require specialized consultants for complex scenarios

Getting Started

If You're Already Using Drata

1. Identify expertise gaps: What questions do you currently ask consultants or research extensively?

2. Try policy enhancement: Export a policy from Drata and upload to ISMS Copilot for customization recommendations

3. Design a custom test: Use ISMS Copilot to design logic for your next adaptive automation control before building it in Drata

4. Prepare for audit: Ask ISMS Copilot to generate likely auditor questions for your frameworks

5. Evaluate value: Track how often ISMS Copilot answers questions that would have required consultant time

If You're Evaluating Both Tools

1. Start with Drata: Drata provides the operational foundation—continuous monitoring, evidence automation, workflow management

2. Add ISMS Copilot for expertise: Layer on ISMS Copilot for custom control design, policy enhancement, and implementation guidance

3. Define integration workflow: Establish when you use each tool and how they complement each other in your compliance program

What's Next

• Welcome to ISMS Copilot - Get started with ISMS Copilot

• Organizing Work with Workspaces - Create framework-specific workspaces for organized guidance

• How to Create ISO 27001 Policies Using AI - Enhance Drata policies with AI customization

• How to Conduct ISO 27001 Gap Analysis Using ISMS Copilot - Supplement Drata's control mapping with detailed framework analysis

• How to Prepare for SOC 2 Audit Using ISMS Copilot - Prepare for audits with AI-generated scenarios and guidance

Getting Help

Questions about using ISMS Copilot alongside Drata?

• Contact ISMS Copilot support for guidance on integrating AI expertise with Drata workflows

• Join the ISMS Copilot community to connect with other compliance professionals using both tools

• Check the Help Center for workflow templates and integration best practices