How to Address Three Critical NIS2 Measures at the Network Edge
Time has run out for NIS2 preparation. Since October 2024, all EU member states must implement measures to adhere to the NIS2 cybersecurity regulations, including supervisory and enforcement actions. For Irish organisations designated as essential or important entities, demonstrating compliance is no longer optional.
Many organisations tend to overlook an essential part of NIS2 compliance: securing the network edge. This is particularly risky, as the network perimeter is often a tempting target for attackers. The edge offers hackers numerous attack opportunities, from the growing number of endpoints to a broadening attack surface driven by burgeoning smart device connectivity, unnoticed software vulnerabilities, unsecured network links, and misconfigured IT systems.
The Network Edge Compliance Gap
Traditional centralised cybersecurity solutions struggle to provide complete visibility at the network edge. They monitor from the centre outwards, which often causes them to overlook vulnerabilities at individual access points. A view from the centre approach frequently overlooks the kind of security gaps that attackers look to exploit.
Three of the ten minimum obligations for managing cybersecurity risks under the NIS2 Directive address challenges related to edge network security. Organisations should adopt new strategies to deliver on these requirements. They are:
1. Policies on Risk Analysis and Information System Security
The NIS2 Requirement: Organisations must regularly conduct risk assessments and establish solid information system security policies. This helps organisations to promptly identify, evaluate, and address potential risks. Risk assessments should help organisations prioritise cybersecurity investments and apply protective measures that match the risks they face.
The Edge Challenge: You cannot manage risk for assets you cannot see. Many organisations lack complete visibility into which devices connect at the network perimeter. Rogue access points, unauthorised devices, and misconfigured network components create vulnerabilities that risk assessments often overlook.
The Solution Approach: Addressing this challenge at the edge requires connecting directly to perimeter edge infrastructure. By doing this, organisations gain a "see the edge from the edge" perspective that enables the monitoring and management of data about the following:
- Comprehensive endpoint and network discovery
- WiFi and Bluetooth/BLE site surveys
- Automated discovery monitoring
- Automated network topology mapping
- DNS validation
- WiFi interference detection
- VLAN ID monitoring and device reachability testing
- Path analysis
- Rogue AP and wireless client location
- Authorised device list maintenance
2. Incident Handling
The NIS2 Requirement: Organisations must create procedures and protocols for detecting, managing, and responding to security incidents. This includes establishing incident response teams, defining response protocols, and ensuring teams report incidents both internally and to relevant authorities. Incident handling should aim to minimise damage, restore operations swiftly, and keep relevant stakeholders informed.
The Edge Challenge: Detecting incidents at the network edge requires real-time visibility into what is actually happening at access points. By the time a centralised security system detects anomalous behaviour, an attacker may have already gained a foothold.
The Solution Approach: Effective incident handling at the edge requires:
- Integration of vulnerability scanning into automated testing and network discovery
- Standalone vulnerability assessment capabilities
- Automated WiFi security issue detection
- VLAN ID monitoring and device reachability verification
- WiFi interference detection
These capabilities identify vulnerabilities that teams can respond to before attackers exploit them. This directly ties into incident response by enabling expedited service restoration after incidents occur.
3. Policies and Procedures to Assess Effectiveness of Cybersecurity Risk Management Measures
The NIS2 Requirement: Essential and important entities must continuously test cybersecurity controls through ongoing monitoring and the deployment of countermeasures in response to emerging or zero-day threats. Organisations need to periodically evaluate the effectiveness of their cybersecurity controls and risk management strategies via internal and external audits, continuous monitoring, and adjusting controls in response to newly identified vulnerabilities or threats.
The Edge Challenge: Assessing security effectiveness requires establishing baseline measurements and ongoing monitoring. At the network edge, configurations change often, new devices connect, and wireless environments evolve. Without frequent edge surveys, organisations cannot genuinely determine if their security measures function as intended.
The Solution Approach: Assessing effectiveness at the edge demands:
- Continuous endpoint and network discovery
- Automated VLAN ID and device reachability testing
- Automated discovery monitoring
- WiFi interference detection
- Automated WiFi security problem detection
- Authorised device list validation
These capabilities enable organisations to establish baselines, identify deviations, and confirm that countermeasures are effective. This ongoing testing method is vital for proving continuous compliance.
A Practical Edge Security Workflow
The key to addressing these three NIS2 measures lies in establishing a structured Cybersecurity Assessment Workflow that encompasses the network edge. A workflow that unites discovery, assessment, and monitoring into a coherent process to deliver the following:
- Discover all assets, access points, and connections at the edge
- Assess configurations, vulnerabilities, and security postures
- Monitor for changes, unauthorised devices, and security incidents
- Document findings for compliance reporting and risk management
- Address identified issues promptly
- Verify that remediation efforts achieved the desired results
This approach can then feed edge configuration data into wider enterprise audits and compliance efforts, including detailed edge network information that centralised systems often miss.
The Irish Compliance Imperative
Irish organisations falling under NIS2's scope face real enforcement risks. The directive applies to essential entities in the Transport, Energy, Banking, Health, and Water sectors, as well as to important entities across Postal and courier services, waste management, chemical production and processing, food production, and many digital service providers.
Organisations in these sectors must demonstrate compliance with all ten minimum obligations outlined in Article 21 of the NIS2 Directive. While many have invested in enterprise cybersecurity solutions, the network edge often remains a gap in their compliance stance.
Bridging the Edge Security Gap
Meeting NIS2 requirements at the network edge requires tools designed explicitly for this purpose. Technologies that directly connect to edge devices to provide the "see the edge from the edge" perspective needed for thorough risk assessment, incident detection, and validation of the effectiveness of security measures.
The NetAlly CyberScope is an ideal method to close the visibility gap for edge networks. With the rise of IoT devices, remote work, and all the various 'smart' gadgets attempting to connect, your perimeter resembles the "Wild West". As the ultimate network and security tool, CyberScope can analyse, troubleshoot, and help safeguard your wired and WiFi perimeter. It delivers the following:
- Network discovery of every device connected to your wired or WiFi networks that your centralised tools may overlook.
- Built-in network vulnerability scanning to find weaknesses that attackers could exploit.
- Fast testing and security checks make security testing during new deployments and problem resolution effortless.
- Network topology map generation that lets you easily see everything connected with just a couple of taps, including hard-to-spot and unauthorised devices.
- Wired and wireless troubleshooting of 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz wireless bands, including WiFi surveying.
- Ongoing security checking that keeps you a step ahead of attackers via continuous device discovery via an easy-to-use cybersecurity assessment workflow.
- Interactive dashboards, analytics, collaboration tools, report generation, and remote tool access capabilities empower security and system admin teams.
When integrated with collaboration platforms, these CyberScope capabilities enable organisations to document findings, share intelligence across teams, and maintain the evidence trail required for compliance reporting. This blend of edge visibility and centralised analysis offers a strong approach to NIS2 compliance. Find out more by downloading the NetAlly Cyberscope Application Note PDF.
Take Action on NIS2 Compliance
Enforcement of the NIS2 Directive has begun, and Irish organisations can no longer delay addressing their edge network security. The three critical measures mentioned earlier require visibility and control that traditional centralised solutions cannot deliver. The NetAlly CyberScope will help you find any gaps in your edge network infrastructure and security.
Contact Renaissance to find out more about how Irish MSPs can help their clients implement NIS2 compliance at the network edge.