Organizations turning to SAP as the digital core of their business operations are facing new security and compliance challenges every day. As businesses grow and change, protecting the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of everything that they own is necessary. Because SAP systems are so deeply connected to the critical business functions, protecting and securing these environments is not just needed but mandatory.

In 2016, the Network and Information Security (NIS) Directive became the EU's first piece of comprehensive cybersecurity legislation—targeting operators of essential services (OES) and digital service providers (DSPs). Despite requiring OES and DSPs to put in place adequate security measures, report incidents, and address third-party services proactively, the directive lacked a focus on certification recommendations and regular audits.

Over the past few years, unprecedented growth in the digital landscape, driven by rapid innovations, global pandemics, and uncontrolled cyber activities, has expanded the threat landscape, leading to an increase in cyber-attacks targeting organizations and Member States.

The latest NIS2 Directive that goes into effect in October 2024 seeks to achieve a common level of cybersecurity across the EU and aims to strengthen cyber resilience and create a baseline of cybersecurity. The NIS2 Directive includes stricter, more comprehensive requirements that apply to a wider range of sectors, such as public administration, space, postal services, waste management, and chemicals. It mandates enhanced risk management processes, including risk evaluation, incident response, business continuity, and supply chain security. The directive mandates organizations to report significant incidents within 24 hours, followed by detailed reports within a month while corporate accountability is heightened, with leadership held responsible for compliance, along with a focus on cybersecurity training, internal auditing, and vulnerability scanning. NIS2 also emphasizes enhanced risk management, covering incident response, supply chain security, and vulnerability handling, and requires regular audits and certification for compliance.

As the stakes of non-compliance rise—from significant fines and penalties to lawsuits and even shutdown—companies will need to invest heavily in their cybersecurity repertoire. Onapsis works with companies to address both challenges and strengthen SAP security, helping your organization in meeting compliance regulations. By performing comprehensive risk assessments and creating incident response plans, their methods also break down compliance implementation.

Whether organizations are just getting started on NIS2 or have more mature SAP system security measures, Onapsis can help organizations in their compliance journeys, to stay abreast of changing regulations. Their comprehensive approach includes assessments to identify vulnerabilities and creation of customized risk management strategies, enabling real-time threat detection and automated security policies. Onapsis specializes in enabling organizations to deploy advanced security measures such as network security, access controls, and SAP-specific vulnerability management, promoting better DevSecOps practices; and also performs regular internal audits of SAP systems to ensure strong compliance standards, offering tools like vulnerability scans and compliance audit capabilities to identify and resolve security gaps.

Read Onapsis’ white paper, Navigating the NIS2 Directive With Onapsis, to know more on how to build SAP security into your business to Help Achieve NIS2 Compliance.

Register for Onapsis webinar, Strengthen SAP Security for NIS2 Compliance, and secure your spot.