What is the NIS2 Directive? Compliance Requirements and Checklist

With the rise of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats targeting all sectors, securing networks and information systems is no longer optional—it’s now a regulatory necessity. 

The NIS2 Directive has been introduced to enhance cyber resilience across industries by enforcing stricter cybersecurity measures. These regulations fill the gaps left by earlier directives, ensuring a unified and comprehensive approach to cybersecurity.

By becoming NIS2 compliant, organizations can minimize operational disruptions, safeguard sensitive data, and ensure greater stability in the face of evolving cyber threats. 

This article breaks down the key elements of NIS2 compliance, identifies who needs to comply, and offers a clear roadmap for protecting your business while meeting these essential regulatory requirements.

What is the NIS2 Directive?

The Network and Information Security Directive (NIS2) is the new cybersecurity measure for the EU to provide a high common level of cybersecurity across all its members. It is the follow-up to the first NIS Directive, or NIS1, adopted in 2016. 

The NIS1 Directive demanded minimum measures to secure the network and IT systems of important sectors and key digital service providers in the EU. However, as new threats appeared on the horizon, it became evident that single-layered solutions were no longer sufficient.

NIS2’s updated directive expands on the powers of the original legislation and incorporates stronger safeguards to protect the key infrastructure in the European Union. It seeks to improve the EU’s overall readiness against cyber threats and guarantee that critical and significant sectors are more prepared to respond to cyber events.

Another noteworthy change in NIS2 is that it considers key digital services for the first time, including cloud services, data centers, and digital platforms. As more industries shift to a digital environment, these structures play the role of supporting a number of imperative sectors and, therefore, being suitable for cyber attackers to attack.

NIS2 Directive: The Elements of Cybersecurity

Why is NIS2 crucial for companies and organizations situated in the EU? The answer does not lie in the security approach, but it is a result of the continuing expansion of threats. 

Cyber threats are becoming more complex and frequent, causing a high impact on organizations. 

There were 2,365 cyberattacks in 2023, and 343,338,964 people became cyberattack victims. There was a 72% increase in data breaches in 2023 compared to 2021. Globally, a data breach incident was estimated to cost $4.88 million in 2024. 

Taking the cost of cyber incidents, cyber risks are reflected in not only tangible monetary loss but also reputational loss, regulatory penalties, and possibly service interruption.

Key Reasons Why NIS2 Is Essential

The following are the key reasons why NIS2 is essential:

Enhanced Security Across Sectors

NIS2 guarantees that everything from energy suppliers to providers of digital services meets rigid safeguards. In this regard, the directive improves the overall security level while raising the bar for all market participants.

Harmonized Approach Across the EU

In comparing NIS2 to the previous NIS Directive, one of the major advances of NIS2 is that it creates a more unified approach to cybersecurity regulation across the EU. Having a clear and consistent set of rules will provide more protection, and at the same time, there will be less confusion from one member state to the other.

Fines and Enforcement

As stated in the NIS2 Directive, the penalties for non-compliance are serious. 

‘Systemically important entities’, including financial institutions, healthcare providers, and other public infrastructures, stand to have fines worth €10,000,000 or 2% of their annual global revenue, whichever is more. 

Essential industries, such as digital service suppliers or food production firms, risk fines of up to €7 million or 1.4% of their annual sales worldwide.

Increased Scope

While the original NIS1 Directive was formulated only for essential service sectors, NIS2 included other critical sectors for the digital economy. This implies that an increasing number of firms, especially those in digital infrastructure, must comply with such regulations.

NIS2 can be viewed not only as a regulatory burden but as a structural and strategic security vision designed for constructing confidence in the EU’s Digital Single Market, protecting citizens, and hardening critical infrastructure against cyber threats.

Who Must Comply with NIS2?

NIS2 affects almost every sector in the European Union. These industries are classified into two categories: approximately 35% belong to the first group, or the essential entities, and approximately 65% belong to the second group, or the important entities.

Essential Entities

Core bodies are organizations offering services deemed central to the functioning of society and the economy. They include:

• Transport Sector (rail, airline, and maritime included)
• Suppliers (including energy such as electricity and Oil and Gas providers)
• Financial (e.g., banking & Insurance Industry)
• Transportation (e.g., cars and vehicles), food services, establishments and industries
• Sanitation (e.g., water management: water and wastewater)
• Government agencies, often referred to as Public Administration
• Digital Primary Support Components (for example, data centers DNS service providers)

Important Entities

These are entities that, though not considered to be of vital importance in the economy at the current times, still have significant importance in the economy. These include:

• Agriculture/ Food Processing and Packaging
• Postal and Courier Services
• Chemical Manufacturing
• Waste Management
• Digital Service Providers (online platforms and cloud service providers)

All the essential entities must implement NIS2; however, the degree of supervision and possible sanctions may differ.

NIS2 Compliance Deadline: October 17, 2024

Full compliance with the NIS2 requires companies to implement it by 17th October 2024. According to this date, all companies and other organizations from the EU must ensure that they have complied with the NIS2 directive regarding cyber security.

This deadline cannot be changed. Failure to meet this deadline will attract serious penalties and organizational and reputational losses in operations. Due to the mentioned factors, it is important that businesses start preparing with the requirements without any delay.

How to Become NIS2 Compliant

NIS2 compliance is a complex process that requires several important actions to be taken. Although the process appears complex, it is advisable to divide it into steps to assist organizations in managing the change process successfully.

1. Carry Out a Risk Analysis

First, any organization seeking to be NIS2 compliant must assess its current cyber risk position. This entails a detailed risk analysis to determine the risks within your technological setup. Second, define threats and their impact, and third, find out which assets are critical and require protection. It is crucial to engage all the parties of interest in this process, which comprise the IT department, security personnel, and organizational executives.

2. Implement Security Controls

Once risks are identified, organizations must put in place security controls that are in accordance with the NIS2. These include:

• Two Factor Authentication (2FA)
• Encryption of sensitive data
• Incident response protocols
• Daily/weekly/monthly vulnerability scan and applying of patches.

It also requires that organizations impose strict control measures to minimize the chances of unauthorized access to key systems and information.

3. Manage Misconfigurations

The most typical issue related to SaaS environments is misconfiguration. For example, SpinSPM (SaaS Security Posture Management) is a solution that can detect misconfigurations in platforms such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Salesforce, and Slack. Using SpinSPM, companies can help ensure that their SaaS platforms comply with NIS2.

4. Make an Incident Response Plan 

According to NIS2, organizations must have an incident response plan. It should also map out what actions the organization needs to take if and when a cyber incident occurs to minimize the impact.

5. Provide Ongoing Training

Human mistakes are still one of the most frequent causes of data breaches. To reduce this risk, all employees of organizations must be trained in cybersecurity awareness on a regular basis. This training should include aspects such as identifying phishing, password best practices, and using company equipment safely.

6. Audit Regularly

NIS2 is not a one-time check; it is an ongoing process. It is important that, occasionally, organizations assess themselves to determine their ability to meet the set directive standards. This entails auditing policies, assessing and updating security measures, assessing new threats, and training employees.

7. NIS2 Compliance Checklist

Thus, organizations should use the NIS2 checklist to follow the right path. Key items should include:

• Risk assessments
• Incident response plans
• Data encryption
• Secure access controls
• Employee training programs
• Regular audits
• Third-party risk management

Organizations can use these guidelines to determine whether they are on track to achieve NIS2 compliance.

NIS2 Requirements Checklist

The NIS2 Directive lists the minimum requirements that companies have to satisfy. These are found in Article 4 of the directive and include the following:

• Risk Analysis and Management: Organizations need to identify the risks of their network and information systems and act to mitigate these risks.
• Incident Response: The entities should identify and act upon cybersecurity incidents.
• Business Continuity: To counter the risk of cyber threats, organizations should implement business continuity and disaster recovery strategies.
• Supply Chain Security: This can only be done if the vendors and services a business receives comply with the right cybersecurity policies.
• Employee Training: Staff must be reminded and trained frequently regarding cyber threats to recognize and act upon any threats.

For organizations that are managing SaaS environments, many of these processes can be automated by SpinSPM, which enables organizations to maintain their security status and address issues.

What SpinSPM Can Offer for NIS2 Compliance

The overall process of NIS2 compliance management is already challenging, and when it comes to SaaS solutions, it can be even more cumbersome. 

With SpinSPM, businesses can be assured of having the necessary solution to address many of NIS2 requirements and manage misconfigurations, risks, and security policies. Here’s how SpinSPM makes a difference:

Granular Risk Assessment

The third-party application risk assessments provided by SpinSPM are the most comprehensive in the market. This way, the platform is fully aware of your SaaS environment, and in real-time, it provides you with actionable intelligence and a risk score history.

Access Control Management

SpinSPM enables companies to implement access control policies, which would restrict entry of only specific personnel to certain data. Its integration into solutions such as Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 guarantees that access management rules are always enforced across the organization.

Misconfiguration Management

Configuration issues are among the leading causes of data breaches in SaaS ecosystems. SpinSPM helps in detecting and correcting misconfiguration in applications like Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Slack and Salesforce.

Comprehensive SaaS Security

SpinSPM is a solution within the SpinOne platform which offers more capabilities for detecting ransomware, preventing data leaks, and automating data recovery. This multilayered approach allows businesses to address the requirements of NIS2 in a manner that does not interfere with their work.

With SpinSPM, organizations can save a lot of time and resources needed to accomplish and meet NIS2 compliance.

FAQs

1. What is the difference between the NIST and NIS2?

While both of them are related to cybersecurity, NIS2 is a European directive targeted at the critical infrastructure of the EU, while NIST is a US-based cybersecurity framework that offers guidance on how organizations can improve their security.

2. Is NIS2 mandatory?

Yes, NIS2 is mandatory for all organizations belonging to the essential and important sectors within the European Union. For instance, failure to meet the legal requirements may lead to heavy fines and other consequences.

3. Can SpinSPM make it possible to have a fully NIS2-compliant system?

Of course not, there is no magic wand that can ensure 100% compliance, but by using SpinSPM, organizations can focus on many of the aspects that NIS2 requires, including risk management, configuration, and access control.

Takeaway

It’s time to start the journey towards NIS2 compliance; let SpinSPM be your partner. To find out more about how our platform can help automate your cybersecurity procedures and meet many of the requirements of this significant EU regulation, get a free demo.

Through the use of tools such as SpinSPM, organizations can help ensure that they are in compliance with NIS2, secure their data, and avert fines.