NIS2 Compliance: What It Means for Teams, Businesses, and the Industry as a whole

Merav Vered, VP of GRC and Strategic Initiatives at Vendict, shares her current views on the wider value of NIS2. Based on her experience, this opinion piece reflects the state of play today, acknowledging that the landscape may evolve as NIS2 continues to unfold.

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NIS2: A Catalyst for Stronger Cybersecurity and Industry-Wide Collaboration

With the NIS2 directive officially coming into play on October 17th, companies across the EU are racing to meet the deadline and ensure compliance. But while the focus is understandably on hitting this target, the true value of NIS2 goes beyond just ticking boxes for regulatory purposes. This directive sets a new standard for cybersecurity across industries, transforming how we think about risk, security, and responsibility in a digital world.

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Key aspects of NIS2 include:

• Strengthening the cyber resilience of critical infrastructure and essential services across the EU, which is crucial as cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated and frequent.
• Addressing the inconsistencies in the implementation of the original NIS Directive, ensuring a more unified and robust approach to cybersecurity across member states.
• Broadening the range of sectors covered, including public administration, digital providers, space, research, and more—ensuring that a wider array of essential entities are protected.

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NIS2 ultimately aims for a safer, more secure digital landscape that benefits everyone—not just the companies under its direct purview.

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NIS2’s Expanded Scope: The Urgent Need for Compliance and Long-Term Cyber Resilience

The scope of NIS2 has significantly expanded, increasing both the number of organizations it affects and the range of sectors involved. 

In France alone, according to Annabelle Richard of Pinsent Masons, the number of NIS-regulated organizations is expected to grow by 30 times—from 500 to around 15,000—with the number of sectors covered rising from six to 18. If similar numbers are extrapolated across Europe, the scale of compliance could be daunting for businesses. 

Data from Sailpoint shows that as of a year before the deadline, only 34% of impacted organizations in the UK, France, and Germany were prepared for NIS2. This highlights a significant gap to bridge, especially as many organizations still face critical compliance challenges. For example, 80% of UK businesses still need to secure their supply chains, while 74% have not implemented necessary risk management measures. This data underscores the need for swift action and increased efforts to meet NIS2 requirements.

While many businesses are understandably focused on the immediate task of compliance, the real question is: how can organizations leverage NIS2 for long-term growth and security? The motivations behind compliance are clear—strengthening cyber resilience in an era where threats are evolving rapidly and increasing in sophistication. But NIS2 does more than just prepare organizations to fend off cyberattacks. Its wider goal is to foster a more resilient ecosystem, where collaboration and shared standards lead to stronger, more interconnected networks of security across sectors.

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Navigating the Challenges of NIS2 Compliance

However, compliance is not without its challenges. For smaller organizations, in particular, the resources required—whether financial, human, or technological—can be daunting. The expanded scope of NIS2 brings with it a more complex regulatory landscape, and the early mandatory incident reporting requirements, alongside comprehensive risk management demands, can feel like an uphill battle.

Assigning C-level responsibility for cybersecurity is one of the directive’s boldest requirements. This shift calls for more than just placing a checkbox beside the name of a security officer; it demands top-down commitment to cybersecurity, with leaders accountable for the organization’s overall cyber posture. This may be one of the hardest obstacles to overcome, as it requires cultural change at the highest levels of an organization, not just procedural updates.

Building a Stronger Industry Through NIS2

For me, NIS2 isn’t just another compliance checklist; it’s a much-needed opportunity to rethink cybersecurity on a broader scale. When looking into NIS2, I saw it more as a blueprint for the future of cybersecurity, not simply a set of regulations to meet. The directive encourages industries to shift from reactive to proactive strategies, positioning cybersecurity as a key driver of sustainable business growth rather than just a regulatory burden.

Organizations that fully embrace NIS2 are not only safeguarding their own assets but are also contributing to a stronger, more resilient digital ecosystem. The directive pushes for enhanced risk management practices and better incident response capabilities, allowing companies to lead with trust, security, and collaboration—elements that are becoming vital competitive advantages in today’s fast-evolving landscape.

What’s the real takeaway? NIS2 offers forward-thinking businesses a chance to elevate their approach towards multi-faceted compliance. It’s a pathway to future-proof their operations against tomorrow’s threats, while simultaneously strengthening their role in an interconnected industry that thrives on shared standards and resilience.

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