NIS2 Compliance

Demonstrating compliance with the NIS 2 Directive requires a structured approach: initial assessment and planning, implementation and documentation, and ongoing monitoring. We have provided the following best practices for each critical phase of NIS2 compliance and encourage you to consider each to efficiently achieve and maintain compliance with the directive’s requirements.

Initial Assessment and Planning

Planning for NIS2 compliance, which includes assessing your organisation’s current IT infrastructure, provides a strategic foundation by identifying your organization’s exact compliance scope and current security gaps. This targeted approach prevents wasted resources, guides proportionate investment, and creates a roadmap aligned with business priorities. The resulting benefits include reduced compliance costs, minimized business disruption, and a stronger overall security posture that supports both regulatory requirements and operational resilience. Consider these NIS2 assessment and planning best practices:

1. Conduct a thorough inventory of all digital assets, systems, and services that fall under NIS2 scope

Identify and catalog everything from IT infrastructure to cloud services and IoT devices. This creates the foundation for your compliance strategy by defining what needs protection and determining your entity’s classification under NIS2.

2. Document existing security policies, procedures, and technical controls across the organisation

Assess your current security posture by cataloging all existing documentation, identifying outdated policies, and noting undocumented practices. This helps determine what can be leveraged for compliance and where gaps exist.

3. Evaluate current incident response capabilities and identify response gaps

Review incident response procedures, including detection systems, team responsibilities, recovery processes, and reporting mechanisms. NIS2 emphasizes timely incident notification, so identify where your current capabilities fall short of requirements.

4. Create a detailed mapping of existing controls to specific NIS2 requirements

Compare your current security measures against each NIS2 mandate to identify where you already comply and where additional controls are needed. This provides a clear picture of your compliance position.

5. Prioritise identified gaps based on risk level and compliance impact

Evaluate each gap against potential risk exposure and regulatory consequences. Focus resources on addressing high-risk areas first to maximize impact and demonstrate meaningful compliance progress.

6. Develop a comprehensive implementation roadmap with clear milestones and responsibilities

Create a detailed action plan specifying required changes, assigning ownership, and establishing checkpoints. This transforms compliance from an abstract goal into concrete, trackable activities.

7. Identify required internal and external expertise needed for successful implementation

Determine if your team has the necessary skills or if external specialists are needed. NIS2 requires specialized cybersecurity knowledge that may exceed in-house capabilities.

8. Establish a realistic compliance budget that accounts for all necessary investments

Calculate costs for technology upgrades, staff training, potential consultants, and ongoing maintenance. NIS2 compliance requires meaningful investment beyond mere documentation changes.

9. Determine achievable timelines aligned with organisational capabilities and constraints

Set realistic deadlines considering your organization’s size, complexity, and resources. Aggressive but attainable timelines demonstrate commitment while acknowledging practical limitations.

Implementation and Documentation

Strategic implementation and comprehensive documentation of NIS2 requirements transform compliance from concept to reality. Proper implementation embeds security controls directly into operational processes, while thorough documentation provides evidence of compliance and establishes institutional knowledge. Together, they create defensible proof of due diligence for regulators, enable consistent security practices across the organization, and provide a foundation for continuous improvement that extends beyond minimal compliance to meaningful security maturity. Consider these NIS2 implementation and documentation best practices:

1. Apply a risk-based approach to resource allocation, focusing first on the most critical systems

Prioritize security investments based on system criticality and vulnerability rather than applying uniform controls. This maximizes protection of essential services with limited resources while meeting NIS2’s emphasis on proportionate security measures.

2. Implement security controls proportionate to the identified risks for each system or service

Match control strength to risk level, avoiding both over-engineering of low-risk assets and under-protection of high-risk ones. This creates a balanced security posture that satisfies NIS2’s requirement for appropriate risk management.

3. Document all security policies, procedures, and technical controls in standardised formats

Use consistent documentation templates across the organization to ensure completeness and enable efficient review. Standardization supports NIS2 compliance by facilitating oversight and demonstrating systematic security governance.

4. Maintain detailed records of all risk assessments and security decision-making processes

Preserve the reasoning behind security decisions, including risk acceptance justifications. This documentation is crucial for demonstrating due diligence to regulators during NIS2 compliance reviews.

5. Preserve evidence of implementation and testing activities for compliance verification

Retain logs, test results, and implementation records as proof of control effectiveness. NIS2 requires not just having controls in place but also demonstrating they function as intended.

6. Align NIS2 compliance efforts with existing frameworks

Build upon established security frameworks such as ISO 27001 or NIST CSF rather than creating standalone NIS2 processes. This leverages existing investments and creates a more cohesive and sustainable security program.

7. Map overlapping requirements between standards to avoid duplication of compliance efforts

Identify where different compliance requirements address the same controls to eliminate redundant work. This creates efficiency by satisfying multiple obligations with single implementations.

8. Leverage existing certification evidence where applicable to streamline documentation

Repurpose documentation from existing certifications as evidence for NIS2 compliance. This reduces administrative burden while maintaining compliance integrity across multiple frameworks.

9. Establish clear governance structures with assigned responsibilities for ongoing compliance

Define roles, reporting lines, and accountability for maintaining NIS2 compliance over time. This ensures sustainability beyond initial implementation and addresses NIS2’s focus on continuous security governance.

Monitoring, Testing and Continuous Improvement

Monitoring, testing, and incrementally improving your organisation’s cybersecurity programme transforms NIS2 compliance from a one-time project into an evolving security capability. Regular assessment activities validate control effectiveness, identify emerging weaknesses, and demonstrate ongoing due diligence to regulators. This proactive approach not only satisfies regulatory requirements but builds organizational resilience by enabling rapid adaptation to new threats, reducing incident impact, and creating a culture of security excellence that delivers both compliance and genuine risk reduction. Consider these NIS2 monitoring, testing and improvement best practices:

1. Schedule regular penetration testing and vulnerability assessments across all relevant systems

Conduct systematic security evaluations to identify exploitable weaknesses before attackers do. NIS2 requires proactive security testing, and regular assessments provide evidence of due diligence while revealing practical vulnerabilities that automated scans might miss.

2. Conduct periodic table-top exercises to test incident response procedures and team readiness

Simulate security incidents with key stakeholders to evaluate response effectiveness without actual disruption. These exercises fulfill NIS2 requirements for incident preparedness while building team coordination and identifying procedural weaknesses.

3. Verify business continuity and disaster recovery plans through simulated disruption scenarios

Test recovery capabilities against realistic scenarios to ensure critical systems can be restored within required timeframes. NIS2 emphasizes resilience, requiring organizations to demonstrate functional recovery capabilities, not just documented plans.

4. Deploy appropriate technical monitoring solutions to detect security events in real-time

Implement monitoring tools calibrated to your environment’s specific threats and vulnerabilities. NIS2 requires timely incident detection, making effective monitoring essential for both compliance and practical security.

5. Establish and track key performance indicators for security measures and controls

Define measurable metrics to evaluate security program effectiveness and demonstrate continuous improvement. This provides quantifiable evidence of security diligence for NIS2 audits while guiding ongoing security investments.

6. Implement a supplier monitoring programme to assess the security posture of critical partners

Regularly evaluate third-party security controls, especially for suppliers with access to critical systems. NIS2 specifically addresses supply chain risk, requiring organizations to extend security oversight to their ecosystem.

7. Review and incorporate lessons from incidents, near-misses, and industry developments

Analyze security events for improvement opportunities and integrate relevant industry learnings. This continuous feedback loop satisfies NIS2’s requirements for adaptive security and demonstrates organizational maturity.

8. Stay informed about emerging threats and vulnerabilities relevant to your sector

Maintain awareness of sector-specific threats through information sharing and intelligence sources. NIS2 requires threat awareness, particularly for sector-relevant attacks that may target your specific operations.

9. Regularly update policies and procedures to address new threats and regulatory guidance

Revise security documentation to incorporate emerging threats and updated compliance requirements. This ensures your security program remains relevant and compliant as both the threat landscape and NIS2 interpretations evolve.

10. Conduct annual comprehensive reviews of the entire compliance programme’s effectiveness

Perform holistic assessments to identify systemic weaknesses and optimization opportunities. This validates your overall NIS2 compliance approach and demonstrates commitment to continuous improvement beyond minimal requirements.

Learn More About NIS2 Compliance

To learn more about NIS 2 compliance best practices, be sure to check out NIS2 Compliance Checklist: A Comprehensive Guide for Organisations.

And to learn more about Kiteworks for NIS2 compliance, please visit: NIS 2 Compliance Software for Managing and Mitigating ICT Risk.