Totara earns ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification, strengthening security for its learning platform

A clear signal on security for customers and buyers

Totara, the company behind a widely used learning-management platform, says it has won ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification for its information-security management system. That sounds technical, but the upshot is simple: an independent auditor has checked Totara’s policies, controls and practices and judged them to meet a global standard for handling information risk.

For customers, the certification is a practical reassurance. Organisations that must protect sensitive staff records, training outcomes, or regulated learning content can point to the certificate during procurement and risk assessments. For Totara, the approval reduces a common barrier in public-sector and highly regulated tenders and helps the firm compete where bidders are asked to prove their security credentials.

What ISO/IEC 27001:2022 asks for — and what Totara has put in place

ISO/IEC 27001:2022 is the international standard for running an information-security management system, often shortened to ISMS. It does not promise perfect security. Instead, it requires a company to identify its real information risks, put in sensible controls, train staff, and keep the whole system under review.

At its core the standard asks organisations to do a few clear things: carry out risk assessments for information assets; adopt controls that reduce those risks (for example access rules, logging, or encryption); document policies and responsibilities; test and audit the controls; and show senior managers are accountable for security. Auditors also look for incident-response plans and evidence that the company learns from near misses or real incidents.

Totara’s certificate covers the company’s ISMS as it applies to its learning platform and supporting services. That means the guardrails — policies, monitoring, technical controls and staff procedures — have been inspected and found to match the standard’s requirements. The certification also implies Totara will go through scheduled external audits to keep the status current.

Why regulated customers and procurement teams should care

For organisations in government, healthcare, finance or other regulated sectors, supplier checks are routine. ISO 27001 is a commonly accepted way to show a vendor has a structured approach to protecting data. When Totara presents a current certificate, procurement teams can treat that as evidence the vendor manages risk in a way the buyer understands.

Practical benefits include simpler supplier risk scoring, faster contract negotiations on security clauses, and clearer expectations for incident handling and notification. Education and training buyers who must demonstrate compliance with data-protection rules will find a certificate useful when mapping how learner data is stored and processed.

That said, having a certificate is not the same as meeting every niche compliance rule a single buyer might face. It’s one important piece of assurance, not the whole puzzle.

Where Totara stands versus other learning platforms

Many learning-management providers talk about security; fewer hold a current, external ISO 27001 certificate, and even fewer have upgraded to the most recent 2022 edition. The update tightened requirements around risk thinking and alignment with newer control frameworks, so having the newer version can be a talking point in competitive bids.

Public-sector buyers and large enterprises increasingly ask for up-to-date certifications as a baseline. Totara’s move brings it in line with that expectation and helps level the playing field when competing against vendors that already had formal certifications.

How customers can confirm the claim — and what certification does not guarantee

Customers who want to verify Totara’s status should ask for a copy of the certificate and the scope statement. A proper certificate will name the accredited audit body, show the dates of validity, and specify which services and locations are covered. Buyers can also request a summary of recent audit findings or evidence of follow-up actions, and ask whether the organisation produces related reports, such as penetration-test summaries or SOC-style attestations.

It’s important to keep expectations realistic. ISO 27001 certification shows a company manages information risk according to a recognised system. It does not guarantee there will never be a data breach or that every possible vulnerability is eliminated. Still, for many customers, certification is a meaningful step: it demonstrates structure, oversight and the willingness to be independently assessed.

For organisations weighing LMS options, Totara’s certification is a practical signal that security and compliance are treated as business priorities, not afterthoughts.

Sources

• prnewswire.com