In today’s increasingly connected business environment and surging cyber threats, compliance with regulations like the NIS2 Directive in the EU has become a critical consideration for organizations across industries and of all sizes. Effective compliance isn’t merely about ticking boxes—it’s about fundamentally strengthening your security posture and business operations.
The Real-World Compliance Challenge
The journey toward NIS2 compliance presents significant challenges for many organizations with IoT infrastructure, especially those with cellular IoT deployments. These challenges stem from several key factors, including the lack of cellular IoT security solutions in the market:
Legacy Device Vulnerabilities: Many IoT devices in use today have weak security features, making them vulnerable to sophisticated attacks. As highlighted in our recent webinar, Orange Belgium shared an example of an enterprise customer whose smart parking camera was hacked via a brute force attack, with malicious traffic continuing undetected for months. The malicious traffic was consuming extra data/bandwidth, which showed up as higher charges on their cellular service bill.
Lack of Awareness: Enterprises are increasingly using cellular IoT devices in their digital transformation projects, often unaware that off-the-shelf sensors, cameras, and routers usually lack sufficient security capabilities. This knowledge gap represents a significant hurdle in achieving meaningful compliance.
Technical Limitations: IoT devices are typically deployed for much longer periods than traditional IT devices and are typically more widely deployed geographically. Many don’t support over-the-air patching or updates, making security management especially challenging.
Organizational Silos: A common challenge involves both the disconnection between operational technology (OT) teams who manage IoT deployments and the IT cybersecurity teams responsible for protecting networks, as well as the significant skills gap in operational technology (OT) for ensuring IoT security. This divide can slow implementation of effective security measures.
Beyond Compliance: Protecting Your Business from Growing Cyber Threats
NIS2 compliance isn’t just about avoiding regulatory penalties—it’s about protecting your business from very real threats:
Growing Attack Surface: Cybercriminals don’t follow rules or regulations—they target the weakest link in your security chain. IoT endpoints are particularly vulnerable, and once compromised, can remain in that state for extended periods before detection.
Significant Operational Impact: A single compromised device can disrupt manufacturing facilities or critical infrastructure systems, potentially leading to costly downtime and safety risks. Industry estimates suggest most downtime from cyber-attacks can last up to four weeks, with full recovery taking up to nine months.
Financial Consequences: The cost of breaches continues to rise, with estimates reaching up to five million euros depending on the organization’s size. Additional financial impacts include EU fines for non-compliance, forensic investigation costs, and production downtime.
Reputation Risk: Trust takes time to build but can disappear overnight following a security breach, resulting in loss of service, exposure of customer data, and other significant business impacts.
Making NIS2 Work for Your Business: Practical Approaches
Rather than viewing NIS2 as merely a compliance burden, organizations can turn it into a business advantage:
Network-Level Security: The most effective approach addresses threats at the cellular network level, eliminating the need for special SIM cards, device software installations, or complex traffic rerouting through internet proxies.
Integrated Security Approach: Solutions like Aeris IoT Watchtower™ that require minimal effort from customers are ideal, integrating IoT cybersecurity on top of existing IoT infrastructure without requiring new hardware or complex configurations.
Automation and Innovation: Businesses should prioritize automation wherever possible. Smart tools and innovative products can significantly improve security operations efficiency, enabling better monitoring and more rapid vulnerability remediation.
Return to Security Basics: Good security discipline remains essential. Security teams should work hand-in-hand with organizational stakeholders to define and adhere to robust frameworks.
The Critical Imperative: Why You Must Act Now
The message from the expert panel in our webinar was unequivocal. With total IoT devices projected to exceed the global population by 2030, reaching over 32 billion connections according to Statista, cellular IoT devices are expected to grow to around 7.5 billion by 2033 based on data from Transforma Insights. Enterprises must adopt solutions specifically designed for cellular IoT and zero-trust approach to protect their business-critical IoT infrastructure.
The risks of inaction are severe and growing daily. As threat actors continue to target vulnerable IoT devices, each day without proper protection increases your organization’s exposure. The combination of expanding attack surfaces, increasingly sophisticated threats, and stricter regulatory requirements creates a perfect storm that demands immediate attention.
The right approach and partners can transform compliance from a burden into a competitive advantage, enabling your organization to achieve both security and operational benefits.
Don’t wait until after a breach to improve your security posture. By taking actions to boost your cellular IoT security now, you can ensure NIS2 compliance, operational efficiency, and future-proof your business.
