NIS2 compliance for industrial networks: Are you ready?

For the reason that European Union (EU) signed the second model of the Community and Data Safety (NIS2) Directive in December 2022, there was an actual frenzy throughout Europe about it. NIS2 is now on high of the precedence lists of most European Chief Data Safety Officers (CISO). However have you learnt what it’s? And most significantly, must you be involved?

You in all probability haven’t any alternative however to adjust to NIS2

The quick reply is: Sure! Should you work for a company in an trade sector listed within the NIS2 Directive as vital for the resilience of the European economic system, or are a provider to any of those organizations, the NIS2 regulation needs to be in your agenda. It’s designed to pressure industries throughout the EU to strengthen their cybersecurity practices and guarantee their suppliers and repair suppliers aren’t introducing any cyber dangers to their operations.

The preliminary model of NIS voted in 2016 solely affected just a few vital European organizations. This second model is a totally totally different beast. Virtually all organizations working in most trade sectors should comply. And if you’re discovered to be out of compliance, regulation authorities throughout member states can impose hefty monetary penalties, and even title monitoring officers to supervise your cybersecurity technique. For complete particulars on which organizations should comply and the sanctions regime, learn this white paper.

Industrial networks should implement robust safety controls 

However what does the NIS2 Directive mandate precisely? The great checklist of measures may be present in the identical white paper, however if you happen to run an industrial group, here’s what it is best to search for to make sure your operational know-how (OT) infrastructure is compliant:

Deploy licensed OT parts. Your OT infrastructure is as robust as its weakest level. NIS2 requires you to make sure the OT gadgets you might be deploying aren’t introducing cyber dangers to your operations. Luckily, the ISA/IEC 62443 Half 4-1 and Half 4-2 requirements outline what a safe OT asset is. All Cisco merchandise are developed in accordance with a lifecycle course of which is Half 4-1 licensed. Cisco industrial switches are licensed for Half 4-2 compliance. Ask your networking distributors for his or her certifications.
Assess and prioritize OT cyber dangers. Many organizations nonetheless don’t have an in depth stock of what’s linked to their industrial community. NIS2 requires you to have visibility into your OT safety posture so you’ll be able to drive finest practices. Cisco Cyber Imaginative and prescient robotically builds a complete stock of property and their communications actions. It calculates dangers scores that will help you prioritize dangers to be remediated. Distinctive within the trade, Cyber Imaginative and prescient additionally leverages scores from Cisco Vulnerability Administration to prioritize vulnerabilities based mostly on whether or not they’re actively exploited within the area.
Implement zero-trust inside your community. Most industrial networks have grown to change into massive layer 2, flat networks. Malicious visitors can simply unfold and compromise your complete operations. ISA/IEC 62443 Half 3-3 requires segmenting the community into small zones of belief the place property can talk solely with these they should run the commercial course of. Cyber Imaginative and prescient along with Cisco Identification Companies Engine (ISE) can construct these zero-trust segmentation insurance policies and work with Cisco industrial community gear to implement them with out the necessity for extra {hardware}.
Migrate to zero-trust distant entry. Enabling distributors and contractors to remotely entry industrial property is vital to run operations. Mobile gateways that IT shouldn’t be controlling are at odds with each OT and IT safety necessities. VPNs have drawbacks of being always-on options with all-or-nothing entry to all OT property. Cyber Imaginative and prescient’s distant entry studies checklist all these backdoors in order that IT can take management again. Use Cisco Safe Gear Entry (SEA) to allow Zero-Belief Community Entry (ZTNA) to your operational environments. SEA hides property from discovery so distant customers have entry solely to essential gadgets, and restricts entry to particular occasions. It enforces robust safety controls akin to multifactor authentication (MFA) and safety posture checks, and it may well report classes for compliance and safety audits.
Detect and report incidents. NIS2 additionally requires having the instruments in place to rapidly detect incidents and have the ability to take motion. The regulation defines a strict reporting timeline, and organizations are anticipated to run complete investigations to assist all the group higher perceive and shield towards new threats. Cisco XDR aggregates intelligence from all safety instruments deployed within the atmosphere to offer a 360° view in a unified dashboard. It streamlines detection and investigation throughout each IT and OT domains, making menace searching and remediation simpler.

Be taught extra about NIS2 for industries in our free webinar

To be taught extra about what industrial organizations ought to implement to adjust to NIS2 and safe operations, take a look at our NIS2 for Industries answer overview. Our OT safety consultants will focus on it in additional particulars throughout a webinar on March fifth. Save your seat and register now!

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