SciELO Brazil Achieves ISO 27001 Certification and Sets an International Standard for Scientific Information Security

By Rondineli Gama Saad

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SciELO Brazil has achieved ISO 27001 certification, marking a strategic milestone in the protection, management, and governance of information within the national scientific communication ecosystem. This international recognition positions the platform as a global reference in information security for digital scientific libraries, establishing a new benchmark for reliability, resilience, and sustainability in open science in Brazil.

ISO/IEC 27001 is globally recognized as the most rigorous standard for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS). Its implementation requires a systematic, risk-based approach, the application of 93 security controls across 14 domains, and the adoption of continuous improvement processes supported by a structured governance framework.

In the context of scientific communication, adopting this standard is a critical differentiator, providing robust assurance of data integrity, availability, and confidentiality — essential elements for ensuring the credibility, authenticity, and continuity of digital services.

The certification process provides Brazil’s main research funding agencies — including CNPq, CAPES, and FAPESP — with the assurance that their investments in the maintenance and development of SciELO Brazil are protected by robust, auditable controls aligned with international best practices. This assurance translates into the safeguarding of digital assets that represent decades of national scientific output, while also ensuring service continuity even under adverse conditions.

The standard’s requirements for detailed documentation and independent external auditing further elevate transparency in security management, reinforcing accountability in the use of public resources and strengthening the quality of Brazil’s scientific infrastructure.

This achievement enhances Brazil’s position in the global open science landscape, demonstrating a clear commitment to the highest international standards of information management. From now on, journals indexed in the SciELO Brazil collection benefit from an additional layer of protection against data loss, supported by advanced backup systems, disaster recovery plans, and proactive monitoring mechanisms that ensure operational resilience and service reliability.

Furthermore, the standardization of security processes yields operational benefits such as reduced costs associated with incident management, increased efficiency in audits, and automatic compliance with national and international regulations.

By consolidating its information security policy under ISO 27001 certification, SciELO Brazil reaffirms its commitment to three fundamental principles: confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Confidentiality is ensured through strict access controls that limit sensitive data — including user information, access metrics, and strategic content — to authorized personnel only.

Integrity is maintained through robust verification systems that prevent unauthorized data modifications, combined with version control mechanisms and audit trails that enable full traceability. Availability is guaranteed through redundant architectures, continuous monitoring, and business continuity plans that keep the platform operational under all circumstances.

The strengthening of scientific data governance resulting from the certification is reflected in the formalization of policies, procedures, and clearly defined roles, supported by continuous training programs, regular audits, and mechanisms for constant evaluation of control effectiveness. This governance model not only protects current digital assets but also ensures the platform’s scalability and its ability to interoperate with other national and international scientific digital infrastructures.

Achieving ISO 27001 certification demonstrates that it is fully possible to provide open and unrestricted access to scientific knowledge while maintaining rigorous data security and content integrity. This milestone reflects SciELO Brazil’s technological maturity, its continuous commitment to quality, and its institutional responsibility in sustaining scientific information.

It also establishes a benchmark for institutional repositories, thematic platforms, and regional networks, particularly in Latin America, encouraging the widespread adoption of international standards for information security across the open science ecosystem.

It is important to emphasize that ISO 27001 certification is not an endpoint but rather the beginning of a permanent cycle of continuous improvement. Maintaining this status demands constant vigilance, ongoing updates to security controls, adoption of emerging technologies — including artificial intelligence for threat detection and response — and sustained investment in technical training and the specialization of security teams.

The ISO 27001 certification achieved by SciELO Brazil goes far beyond being a simple seal of compliance. It represents a concrete commitment to protecting the national scientific heritage, ensuring that future generations have secure, reliable, and trustworthy access to the knowledge produced in Brazil.

For funding agencies, it provides solid guarantees of responsible and transparent management of public resources. For journals, it ensures institutional credibility, operational resilience, and robust content protection. For users, it consolidates trust in data integrity, document authenticity, and the security of personal information.

This milestone establishes Brazil as a key player in building a secure, reliable, and sustainable digital scientific ecosystem and projects the country’s scientific output as a reference on the global stage.

SciELO Brasil’s Information Security and Privacy Policy, which underpins this commitment, is publicly available at Política de segurança da informação e privacidade¹ (Portuguese only).

The certificate can be accessed in NBR ISO/IEC 27001: 2013 Certificate.²

Notes

1. Política de segurança da informação e privacidade ↩

2. NBR ISO/IEC 27001: 2013 Certificate ↩

External Links

NBR ISO/IEC 27001: 2013 Certificate

Política de segurança da informação e privacidade

About Rondineli Gama Saad

Coordinator of the Infrastructure, Digital Preservation and Information Security Unit of SciELO Brasil. Post-Graduate in Information Security Systems Management, IDESP/Daryus (2022). Post-Graduate in Computer Forensic Investigation, Impacta (2014). Technologist in Computer Networks, Faculdade Oswaldo Cruz (2006).