NIS2 Compliance: Tracking Changes and Regulations in Cybersecurity

Latest estimates put global cybercrime at a cost of $10.5 trillion USD. Everyone from a local mom-and-pop shop integrating online employee hours tracking to a massive enterprise providing custom SaaS products needs advanced cybersecurity to prevent what feels like endless incident reports. 

To ensure organizations are better prepared for such inevitable events, a new NIS2 directive sets benchmarks for advancing cyber protection, helping many businesses across the EU with the support and security they need. 

The updated NIS2 is not just about compliance. The goal is to safeguard operations and cultivate public trust. The more organizations demonstrate a resilience to evolving online threats, the better. Here is everything you need to know about implementing such directives in your operations

What is NIS2?

The NIS2 was first introduced in 2020, but came into effect on January 16, 2023. It is a continuation of previous EU Network and Information Systems (NIS) directives, designed to bolster information security through comprehensive cybersecurity measures. 

With NIS2 in place, crucial sectors like healthcare, energy, transportation, and finance can better combat potential cyber threats. Some of the more significant features of the NIS2 directive include: 

• A broader scope of affected business sectors and organizations must now follow NIS2 compliance. 
• The requirements have become far stricter, ensuring higher data security, governance, and reporting standards. 
• EU supply chains are now responsible for assessing the security of third-party suppliers. 
• New penalties can be imposed, costing businesses substantial fines and reputational damage if left unchecked. 

The fact is, as online crime like ransomware attacks, virus proliferation, and malware injections increase, having proper NIS2 safeguards in place ensures the EU’s infrastructure and public trust remain intact.

How to Prepare for Compliance

NIS2 compliance requires your business to take proactive and structured approaches to improvements. Most companies can benefit from integrating comprehensive tools like Pirani Information Security Management Software to meet compliance needs through automated processes and data-driven insights. 

However, the necessary measures include: 

• Risk Management: Complete a risk assessment that includes supply chain security, network security, access, control, and levels of encryption. 
• Reporting Obligations: Businesses must provide accurate reporting of any security incidents significantly impacting their service provisions or recipients, such as a 24-hour “early warning.” That not only addresses risk, but shares updated information with relevant peers. 
• Corporate Accountability: NIS2 ensures all management levels to oversee, approve, and be trained in cybersecurity measures. It puts more liability on management, incentivizing their education. 
• Business Continuity: The goal here is simple – to ensure businesses can maintain operations by implementing system recovery plans, emergency procedures, and setting up a crisis response team. 

You can find more minimum measures ranging from security around system procurement to security procedures for employees accessing sensitive data. The overarching idea is to integrate plans and procedures that proactively defend a company from attacks, minimize damage when an attack occurs, and trigger recovery systems that build greater continuity. 

You should designate if you’re an Essential Entity (EE) or an Important Entity (IE). EEs include organizations like transportation, finance, energy, water, space, health, public administration, and digital infrastructure. 

IE is directed more at public and private companies in niche markets like foods, digital providers, chemicals, postal service, waste management, research, and manufacturing. 

Start by conducting a risk assessment, implementing information security policies, leveraging easy-to-use information security management software, training your workforce, and then actively monitoring everything through inclusive automation.

Impact of Non-Compliance with NIS2

The world runs on incentives. In the case of NIS2, the incentive is avoiding severe consequences. The NIS2 directive includes more than monetary fees. It stretches the violations to non-monetary remedies, administrative fines, and criminal sanctions. 

While the financial penalties certainly will make most businesses look up and take notice, the reputational damage could be even more risky. Businesses do not want to appear “soft” on cyber threats that compromise consumer data, medical histories, financial backgrounds, and more. 

Non-compliance puts an organization at risk of losing public trust. The more a business exposes itself to potential cyber threats like ransomware attacks and data breaches, the greater the public outcry for compliance and prioritizing NIS2 compliance. 

For example, an essential entity in energy without compliance could be subject to a fine level of at least €10,000,000 or 2% of global annual revenue – whichever is higher. However, the public loss of trust could result in losing customers and pressure regulatory bodies to inflict greater penalties.

The Role of Technology in Compliance

When you leverage tools like Pirani Information Security Management Software, you gain an advantage in NIS2 compliance. It will help you automate compliance tasks like documenting events, monitoring future threats, and reporting on resolutions.

In addition, you get peace of mind that real-time risk assessment is in place to prevent exposure to potential cyber threats – thus streamlining your compliance efforts so you can focus on more important business or organizational needs. 

When implemented properly, you’ll benefit from a strengthened security posture that meets NIS2 standards and offers consumers or regulators verification you’re “on board” with EU regulations. You build customer trust that data security won’t lead to leaks or threats, offering your organization a competitive advantage over those who choose non-compliance. 

Utilizing such technologies grants your business long-term resilience in addressing risks and preparing your systems for future challenges. Considering how fast online threats evolve, you want all the tools you can get to have actionable responses that protect crucial systems.

How Pirani Helps with NIS2 Compliance

Poor data security is not beneficial to a business. It puts your systems at risk, leading to expensive fines with EU regulations. Using Pirani Information Security Management Software ensures you have active monitoring, reporting, tracking, and support for evolving online threats.

To avoid costly fines and reputational damage from the recently implemented NIS2 directive, your company must now take steps in operational cyber risk management, cyber hygiene, and supply chain security. 

Pirani helps you with normative compliance so you can better identify, manage, and control potential risks. It offers you an easy-to-use platform that protects your organization's data so you can better comply with current and future NIS2 standards. From performing continuous system audits to evaluating the performance of your security, Pirani is your answer for NIS2 compliance.

FAQs

What is the purpose of NIS2?

The point of the recent NIS2 directive is to help strengthen EU member states resilience to cybersecurity risks through a series of comprehensive information security practices. 

Who does NIS2 apply to?

Compliance with the NIS2 falls onto a growing list of sectors, including Essential Entities like: 

• Banking
• Digital Infrastructure (DNS, IXP, TLD, ICT)
• Energy
• Financial Markets
• Health
• Public Administration
• Space
• Transport
• Water & Sewage
• ICT Service Management

The other group is Important Entities like: 

• Digital providers
• Manufacturing
• Chemicals
• Postal Services
• Food Services
• Research
• Waste Management

What is the difference between NIS and NIS2?

The primary difference falls into the scope of the NIS2 directive. It covers far more sectors and imposes much stricter fines for non-compliance. The new emphasis is on risk assessment, accountability, continuity, and supply chain management.