The NIS 2 Directive: Strengthening Europe’s cybersecurity and resilience

The importance of cybersecurity is paramount. In recent years, cyber threats have grown substantially in their level, complexity, and scale, leaving the European industry vulnerable. Consequently, the European Commission proposed the Network and Information Security (NIS 2) Directive, presenting measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union. Its transposition into national law across different Member States is expected in October 2024, presenting new challenges and opportunities for the chemical industry.

In a hybrid Policy Horizon organised by Cefic, Speakers from the European Commission, National Chemical Federations and the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium, discussed how the NIS2 Directive aims to strengthen resilience and improve the ability to respond to cyber incidents across the EU. They also provided insights into its national-level transposition and its implications for businesses, industrial sites, and headquarters.

Key takeaways from the session include:

• The NIS 2 Directive enhances protection for all our IT systems against external threats.
• A pragmatic and harmonised approach across Member States will help achieve a minimum compliance level for the industry within an acceptable timeframe.
• We need to adopt innovative approaches to address the remaining challenges. (People, training, …)
• Own risk assessment should carefully evaluate the cyber threats posed by interconnected supply chains and outsourced services.

Digitalisation offers huge opportunities to better manage our sites and improve safety, and there is no doubt that this will continue to be increasingly important. While it was agreed that Europe has a strong legislative base on safety, automatisation and digitalisation threats must be managed appropriately ensuring safe and secure management of industrial sites.

For more information about the webinar, please contact Jean Godts, Senior Manager BREF, Cefic.