When it comes to security, potent emerging threats on the horizon are causing regulators to be more proactive than ever. For organizations, this means constant reorientation to new compliance frameworks, obligations, and risks.
At the forefront of this regulatory churn is the European Union’s expanded Network & Information Systems directive, otherwise known as NIS2, a regulation focused on cyber security and risk management in the EU. Companies in critical sectors operating in the EU or serving EU customers need to adhere to NIS2.
While a lot of the discourse around NIS2 focuses on how enterprises need to address new compliance requirements, there’s one group of service providers who have a critical role to play: managed security service providers (MSSPs). Companies are increasingly relying on the capabilities of MSSPs to help them navigate complex regulations like NIS2.
What is the scope of NIS2?
To help anxious customers reinforce their compliance posture and keep supervisors satisfied, MSSPs need to understand which organizations the new regulation impacts. So let’s kick things off by summarizing the scope of NIS2.
NIS2 is directed at EU-based and EU-serving mid- and large-sized organizations across public and private sectors. The previous iteration of the regulation (NIS) applied to businesses in transport, banking, financial markets, digital infrastructure, drinking water, energy, and health sectors.
Now, NIS2 extends into more critical sectors such as food production, research, waste management, manufacturing, postal services, public administration, space, wastewater, and digital providers.
Below are some standout features of NIS2:
- Higher noncompliance fines
- Stringent supply chain security obligations
- Stricter incident reporting obligations
- Mandatory employee training
- Optimized incident response plans
- More frequent cyber security audits
- Stronger access management requirements
- Stricter cyber security risk management measures
How should MSSPs respond to NIS2?
Once MSSPs have identified which of their customers needs to satisfy NIS2 requirements, they have a lot of groundwork to perform to help these clients do so.
Let’s take a look at some ways MSSPs can better serve these companies.
Ensure that backend infrastructure and capabilities can handle NIS2
For proper security controls covering NIS2 areas of focus, like access management, supply chain security, and incident detection and response, MSSPs must ensure that their backend infrastructure is robust and resilient.
Nonnegotiables should include AI-driven automation capabilities, high levels of scalability to deal with fluctuating demand, and integrability to offer a diverse arsenal of vendor-agnostic security tools and capabilities.
Orient clients to the new obligations
NIS2 is a directive without a rulebook or a set of instructions to follow. This means that MSSPs shouldn’t assume that their customers know how to approach this new regulation.
Intensive and individualized one-on-one training and awareness programs are crucial. It’s also important to color these awareness initiatives with case studies, success stories, and measurable benefits of adhering to NIS2.
Present an NIS2 cyber security roadmap
New regulations like NIS2 can easily overwhelm businesses. It’s an MSSP’s job to break NIS2 compliance into a simple and actionable process that aligns with their customers’ budgets and risk appetites.
To develop an individualized roadmap, close collaboration with a company’s chief information security officer (CISO) is a must. For companies without a full-time CISO, MSSPs should deploy their own CISO to help create a NIS2 roadmap.
Conduct NIS2-centric risk assessments
Using the NIS2 directive as a framework, MSSPs need to conduct thorough cyber risk assessments for their customers. In these assessments, MSSPs should focus on emerging threats but also recontextualize existing ones through the lens of NIS2.
An assessment should cover hardware, software, data, identities, endpoints, networks, and supply chains. MSSPs should inventory these critical components, identify their owners, uncover their dependencies, rank their threat severity from low to critical, and develop mitigation strategies to address risks.
Implement updated security controls and policies
While NIS2 doesn’t provide an official set of technical requirements, MSSPs should focus on implementing or recommending security controls and tools like virtual private networks (VPNs), multi-factor authentication (MFA), least privilege access, threat detection and response, encryption, and data security.
To support these controls, MSSPs should craft NIS2-specific security policies and provide the option of customizable policies to tackle special security needs.
Kickstart 24/7 monitoring and logging mechanisms
NIS2 compliance demands constant vigilance. For MSSPs, the only way to guarantee this for their clients is by implementing around-the-clock monitoring and logging systems. Monitoring 24/7 is also the only way to stay on top of today’s threat landscape and relentless cyber attacks.
From a compliance standpoint, optimized monitoring and logging can also help expedite incident remediation and reporting.
Regularly scan for exploitable vulnerabilities
To achieve NIS2 compliance, enterprises have to make vulnerability management the cornerstone of their security program. MSSPs can help by providing the means to continuously scan their customers’ IT environments for exploitable vulnerabilities.
However, MSSPs need to do more than just identify vulnerabilities. They should also focus on context-based prioritization of uncovered vulnerabilities, remediating ones that can lead to their customers’ most sensitive assets and data first.
Update compliance tools and protocols
To ensure that their clients rapidly achieve NIS2 maturity, MSSPs must implement robust compliance tools and protocols. This includes everything from vulnerability assessment tools to reporting tools.
A simple and swift solution to transform customers’ compliance is introducing AI- and automation-driven tools and platforms. AI-powered compliance tools can accelerate compliance processes, improve the accuracy of findings, and support customers with every phase of their NIS2-compliance roadmap.
Evaluate security risks of third-party vendors
NIS2’s strong emphasis on supply chain security shouldn’t be overlooked—and for good reason. According to IBM, supply chain breaches increased the average cost of data breaches in 2024 by $221,718.
For MSSPs, this means evaluating the security practices of clients’ third-party vendors, helping them navigate shared responsibility models, and weaving supply chain security capabilities into their cyber security stacks.
Establish strong incident response and recovery playbooks
No matter how resilient their customers’ security posture is, MSSPs must convey that cyber incidents are inevitable and that response and recovery must therefore be a top priority. To optimize incident response, MSSPs should introduce robust independent frameworks, individualized playbooks to deal with specific types of attacks and incidents, and AI-powered detection and response mechanisms.
With the right incident response protocols, MSSPs can guarantee business continuity, data security, and overall NIS2-compliance for their customers.
Introduce stronger cyber security reporting practices
MSSPs have to train customers about NIS2’s new incident reporting and notification requirements, which include early warnings, official disclosure, ad hoc status reports, and comprehensive final reports for computer security incident response teams and higher authorities.
If customers have in-house incident teams, MSSPs can help them create these reports. For customers that don’t, MSSPs should deploy their own security operations center (SOC) and incident response teams to handle and report on cyber incidents.
Encourage threat intelligence sharing
The old adage “knowledge is power” couldn’t be more true in a cyber security and regulatory compliance context. To reinforce cyber security capabilities and become NIS2-compliant, businesses must have immediate access to the latest threat information.
This means that MSSPs should provide their customers with their threat intelligence. However, it’s also important to encourage customers to join larger threat intelligence communities and partnerships, especially with other companies that fall under the scope of NIS2.
How Check Point can help MSSPs navigate NIS2
For MSSPs, helping customers navigate new regulations like NIS2 is a core service. However, to do so efficiently, MSSPs often need support of their own
By joining Check Point’s MSSP Partner Program, MSSPs can access advanced AI-powered, cloud-delivered capabilities, from incident detection and response to threat intelligence sharing. MSSPs receive individualized solutions to address obligations across the entire spectrum of NIS2 sectors, from food production to digital providers.
With simplicity, scalability, and profitability as its core pillars, the program helps MSSPs enhance their service offerings, open new revenue streams, and improve margins. Consolidated management with multi-tenant hierarchy and robust automation tools enable efficient management of customers, services, and products.
Last but certainly not least, Check Point Infinity Global Services provides end-to-end cybersecurity services for MSSPs from Check Point experts. These services include 24×7 MDR, specially designed training programs, and a rich selection of threat prevention solutions that can assist MSSPs with NIS2 compliance.
Ensure NIS2-compliance today: Partner up with Check Point
Get a demo of the Infinity MSSP Portal, and register as a partner to see how Check Point can help support MSSP services with NIS2.