After first NIS2 audits: time to move to the next level

Lesku Gergely

NIS2 compliance has created unprecedented visibility into business risks and critical assets. Learn how PULZARIS Analyst Agent and modern OT security solutions transform compliance data into stronger cyber resilience.

NIS2 compliance has required a significant investment of resources—and in some cases, a complete shift in mindset—for many organizations. Although the preparation process was often fraught with difficulties, one important outcome is undeniable: many companies now have access to information, records, and processes that were previously unavailable. And in many organizations, cybersecurity has finally become a priority for senior management. At the same time, technology—particularly artificial intelligence—has undergone developments that are fundamentally changing the possibilities for cybersecurity defense.

Compliance can also be a competitive advantage

During the implementation of NIS2, organizations were required to map their systems, business processes, critical assets, and risks. This data is not only necessary for compliance with the audit but can also serve as the foundation for more effective cybersecurity operations.

Most organizations today have:

an asset inventory and system catalog;
business process documentation;
risk analysis;
business impact analysis (BIA);
vulnerability and threat management information.

The real question today is no longer whether this information is available, but whether the organization is able to use it operationally in its day-to-day security decisions.

Threats are evolving faster than ever

Reports from recent years show a clear trend: ransomware remains one of the most significant threats, while attackers are increasingly using tools based on artificial intelligence. AI-based attacks have now become a reality.

The challenge is further compounded by the fact that enterprise environments are becoming increasingly complex, while a significant number of legacy systems and hard-to-manage OT infrastructure continue to operate in industrial environments. This means that security teams would have to analyze an incredible volume of heterogeneous data and make decisions more quickly with the same or even fewer resources.

The digitized ISMS

The documentation created during NIS2 (the collection of policies, records, and procedures) becomes truly valuable only when it can be used digitally and dynamically adapts to changes. Modern OT security solutions, network monitoring systems, and device discovery platforms are capable of keeping critical information continuously up to date.

As a result, organizations can:

automatically identify critical assets;
prioritize the most significant risks;
perform network segmentation more effectively;
respond more quickly to incidents;
reduce attackers’ scope of action.

The focus is increasingly on continuous visibility and protection tailored to business risks. And this is finally possible.

AI and automation in the next generation of SOCs

Modern SOCs no longer simply collect alerts. The PULZARIS Analyst Agent is capable of correlating events across IT and OT environments, analyzing past incidents, and taking vulnerability data into account.

When an alert is received, the PULZARIS Analyst Agent can:

identify the affected devices;
collect related events;
retrieve historical activity;
take business criticality into account;
assess the likelihood of a threat;
recommend response actions.

All of this significantly reduces the workload on analysts, while enabling faster and more informed decision-making. It can expand the scope to such an extent that many more events can be analyzed in much greater depth.

Technology alone is not enough

Although automation and artificial intelligence are playing an increasingly important role, final decisions still require expert oversight. The key to success lies in a shared understanding of business processes, IT, and OT environments.

The foundations established by NIS2, combined with modern security technologies and AI, enable organizations to significantly improve their defense capabilities even with limited resources.

When compliance becomes a competitive advantage

We have entered a new era of cybersecurity. The combined use of information gathered during NIS2 compliance, advanced OT security solutions, and artificial intelligence creates opportunities that were unimaginable just a few years ago. Organizations that are able to leverage this data and these technologies at the operational level will not only be able to meet compliance requirements but also significantly increase their resilience against ever-evolving cyber threats.