NIS2, DORA, the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA)… all these new EU cybersecurity regulations are pushing companies to bolster their digital defences or face penalties if they don’t comply.
You might think this legislation is nothing more than an administrative nightmare, but it actually reflects the higher and higher expectations placed on security for European companies. So, what does this mean for you in practice?
Well, it raises the bar in terms of risk protection, detection and remediation, so it’s time to start reviewing your security practices and tools in depth.
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NIS2, DORA and CRA: what they mean for your business
The European Union (EU) has tightened its cybersecurity regulatory framework with three major bits of legislation:
The European Union (EU) has tightened its cybersecurity regulatory framework with three major bits of legislation.
To strengthen cybersecurity in European organizations
Digital Operational Resilience Act
For IT teams, these regulations mean security requirements have just got more complicated. But compliance isn’t just merely a formality… it takes foresight to adopt a structured approach, calling on the right tools and methods.
Don’t wait. Act now! Three key actions to secure your IT infrastructure today:
1. Take up a preventive security posture: get your configurations secured
Incorrectly configured and insecure systems are an open door for attackers and a major cause of non-compliance. Harden your systems as soon as they’re deployed and keep your security configurations maintained across your entire machine fleet.
Good practice is based on applying security standards, such as CIS benchmarks, recommendations from government cybersecurity authorities or NIST guidelines. These provide a solid framework for securing your critical systems and services by defining targeted measures, such as restricting privileges, disabling non-essential services and strengthening authentication mechanisms.
But imagine how long it would take to deploy these configurations across the board and maintain them over time. The answer? Get yourself a tool that automatically helps you stay compliant over time, so you’re not caught out by a breach.
2. Limit your exposure to vulnerabilities: keep your systems up to date
Another threat to your security is system obsolescence. If you fail to keep your systems up to date, that’s one more potential entry point for attackers to exploit. That’s why patch management is vital to aligning with the requirements of European directives.
So, develop a strategy tailored to your IT infrastructure and start implementing it. It’s not enough just to install updates as soon as they’re released; you also need to think about how often you should run patching campaigns and which ones should take priority to avoid operational disruptions.
Again, automation is the key to ensuring your patching strategy is applied across all your systems. Your chosen tool should be able to:
- Identify updates: Many tools will run updates automatically by connecting to your systems. Opt for a tool that reports relevant information, such as the update type and the vulnerabilities fixed in a security update. This information is essential to help you prioritize your risk remediation.
- Automate your patch campaigns: Automated patching will help keep all your systems up to date at all times. With the right tool, you can easily tune your patch campaigns to the constraints and needs of your business.
- Give you visibility over your infrastructure status: A decent tool will deliver real-time insights so you can manage your system updates. You will also get alerts if any vulnerabilities are detected, so you can act on them swiftly.
Automatically documenting each step makes it easier to track compliance too.
3. Stay a step ahead of attacks: detect threats in real time and take action
Even with secure configurations and up-to-date systems, no infrastructure is completely immune to cyber threats. Attackers are just waiting to exploit zero-day vulnerabilities, configuration errors or uncontrolled access. So, it’s essential to support preventative measures with proactive monitoring and the ability to respond quickly to vulnerabilities.
Threat detection is based on two aspects:
- Real-time vulnerability detection to immediately identify your exposure to new vulnerabilities. Choose a tool that can sync with your systems and provide information such as CVE severity level. This will effectively prioritize the most critical threats and corrective actions.
- Vulnerability remediation to rapidly reduce your attack surface. Some tools automatically apply patches or adapt deployment to the constraints of your infrastructure – guaranteeing security without compromising your system availability.
Under European directives such as NIS2, companies have to demonstrate that they can detect security incidents and respond to them effectively. Automating vulnerability identification and remediation not only helps you to anticipate threats, but it also ensures essential traceability when it comes to an audit.
- Secure your configurations
- Manage patches and vulnerabilities
- Comply with security policy and benchmarks
Now’s the time to get compliant
New EU cybersecurity regulations – such as NIS 2, DORA and the Cyber Resilience Act – put more stringent security and IT resilience requirements on companies.
For infrastructure teams, this means overhauling practices and continuous automation and monitoring to keep up security for their entire IT ecosystem.
After all, failing to comply doesn’t just mean greater exposure to cyber threats. You also risk being landed with penalties. Doing nothing isn’t an option. Secure your systems now.
