NIS2 requirements cover a wide range of measures, from Risk Management to business continuity insurance, and must be fully implemented by October 17, 2024, to avoid penalties. Given that this is a cybersecurity framework, utilizing IT Asset Management (ITAM) can greatly facilitate compliance.
In essence, ITAM software addresses many of the obligations outlined in NIS2 by offering comprehensive visibility into an organization’s assets and their relationships. It also enables the configuration of security alerts to respond to vulnerabilities quickly and effectively.
Moreover, integrating ITAM with your service desk or IT Service Management (ITSM) solution can further enhance its value. For example, you can establish workflows and establish an incident category specifically for reporting security breaches.
If you’re interested in learning more about how these solutions can assist you, keep reading!
The EU NIS2 directive, summarized
The NIS2 framework was introduced by the European Union in 2023 to bolster cybersecurity resilience throughout the region.
The final deadline for compliance with the regulation is October 17, 2024, with penalties for non-compliance including non-monetary remedies, administrative fines, and criminal sanctions.
While the EU directive targets sectors such as transport, energy, healthcare, and banking, its overarching objective is to ensure a high level of network and information security across various industries.
NIS2 and Asset Management
A key distinction of NIS2 from the original Network and Information Security (NIS) regulation is its emphasis on proactive incident reporting and Risk Management.
Given the proactive nature of this cybersecurity regulation, IT Asset Management is an ideal complement for organizations looking to comply with NIS2.
Essentially, ITAM enables organizations to:
- Establish and maintain an up-to-date software and hardware inventory.
- Map CI relationships to ensure business continuity.
- Manage assets throughout their lifecycle, from acquisition to disposal.
- Monitor IT asset configurations to ensure compliance with security standards.
- Implement alerts and automation to simplify Risk Management.
- Continuously report and monitor performance.
These areas align closely with NIS2 compliance requirements, making it logical to leverage any existing ITAM strategy in place for the implementation of the EU framework.
NIS2 and Service Management
Furthermore, combining ITSM with ITAM is highly recommended to maximize the benefits of both solutions.
By integrating your ITAM solution with your help desk, you can:
- Create workflows that automate aspects of your NIS2 compliance efforts.
- Establish a dedicated service category for reporting security incidents, streamlining data collection at the point of submission.
- Consolidate reporting capabilities to correlate incidents with assets.
While ITAM is pivotal in this context, ITSM enhances your NIS2 implementation by introducing automation and simplifying processes.
NIS2 requirements – and how ITAM and ITSM can address them
It’s now time to analyze the cybersecurity framework’s requirements and how ITAM and ITSM can help meet them.
Risk Management
The primary NIS2 requirement is Risk Management. According to the official site, organizations “must take measures to minimize cyber risks,” including Incident Management, stronger supply chain security, enhanced network security, better access control, and encryption.
How ITAM and ITSM can assist
- ITAM offers a CMDB that delineates your entire IT infrastructure, enabling you to understand the connections between your IT assets and the security of your network.
- It allows you to monitor asset configurations to ensure compliance with NIS2-mandated security standards and policies. This includes monitoring configurations for vulnerabilities and ensuring the proper implementation of security controls.
- Moreover, you can support risk assessment activities by providing data on the security posture of IT assets and identifying potential risks to the organization’s network and information systems. This information facilitates proactive risk mitigation strategies in alignment with NIS2 requirements.
- Additionally, it helps identify unauthorized software installations and take appropriate action, or identify outdated software and deploy patches to prevent exploits.
- On the other hand, you can create a service category within your self-service portal for employees to report security breaches or incidents (digital or physical). Through this customization, you can gather all necessary information to address the issue at the ticket creation stage (including images or screenshots).
- Lastly, by associating all assets assigned to the ticket creator with the request, you can identify patterns and proactively reach out to other users experiencing the same issue unbeknownst to them.
Corporate accountability
As per the second NIS2 requirement, corporate management must “oversee, approve, and receive training on the entity’s cybersecurity measures and address cyber risks.”
How ITSM can aid
- In addition to establishing a security incident category for simplified notification, the knowledge base serves as an excellent platform for training corporate management. You can incorporate NIS2-related content and cybersecurity standard procedures into your internal knowledge base for easy reference by employees and managers.
- Furthermore, you can set up approval checkpoints within any security-related service desk workflow to ensure and track validations in compliance with the NIS2 directive.
Reporting obligations
Lastly, organizations are required to “have processes in place for prompt reporting of security incidents with significant impact on their service provision or recipients.”
How ITAM and ITSM can aid
- You can utilize service desk SOPs to design standard workflows for addressing security incident reports.
- Additionally, you can view all affected assets and areas in any security incident within your CMDB.
In order to maintain business continuity, it is important to adjust and notify accordingly. Developing a plan for major cyber incidents that includes system recovery actions, emergency procedures, and a crisis response team is essential. ITAM and ITSM solutions can play a crucial role in this process by displaying cybersecurity standard operating procedures, attaching them to asset profiles, publishing them as knowledge base articles, or automating them into help desk workflows.
Additionally, implementing extra measures such as routine internal audits, building dashboards for monitoring IT infrastructure performance, and segmenting user privileges can further enhance cybersecurity efforts. By utilizing ITAM and ITSM software, organizations can address a wide range of NIS2 requirements and demonstrate proactiveness in addressing security measures. These practices help detect problems before they arise, aligning with the core principles of the EU cybersecurity directive.
