NIS2 Directive:

The NIS2 Directive is currently in the spotlight. With this directive, the European Parliament will ensure minimum security requirements for essential and important social entities. Is your organisation an essential or important entity, or do you do business with one? Then it is time to take a close look at your security policy. The exact guidelines will not be announced until 17 October 2024. What can you do right now to prepare for NIS2?

Should you take action now?

Closer details of the NIS2 Directive are not yet known. We already know the broad outlines of the conditions organisations need to meet. Implementing these new measures is no easy task. It is therefore key to quickly plan all the necessary actions in . When doing so, you also need to take into account the potential financial and organisational implications.

Make a baseline measurement.

What about your current security policy? Check the status quo. What security measures are you using? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your policy? By doing a baseline or risk analysis, you will know exactly where you stand and what you need to improve.

Getting the right licences.

The right licences are what will get your security up to scratch and complying with NIS2. One good example is Microsoft 365 Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS). EMS offers management tools that protect your remote users and data. This includes improved identity and access management, end point management, data protection and an efficient management of cloud applications. EMS is already being implemented on a large scale to comply with data breach legislation.

Train your team.

Invest in cybersecurity training It’s imperative that all employees are informed about risks and procedures and the entire organisation internalises the security policy and plays their part to see it come to fruition.

Proactive security with Zero Trust.

Organisations can profit greatly from a Zero Trust strategy. Especially now that the number of remote employees is on the rise. The Zero Trust principal is based on: zero trust, constant verification. For example by means of multi-layer verification. This way, threats from inside and outside the network are recognised quickly and the damage is minimised.

According to Microsoft, the three pillars of Zero Trust are:

• Verify explicitly
• Use least-privilege access
• Assume breach

Learn the 5 ways Microsoft Surface devices support the Zero Trust principle here.

Zero Trust strategie