Our Cyber Security summit bought together industry professionals to inform businesses on how they can achieve compliance, adapt to AI, and implement robust data security practices into their everyday operations. The summit presented strategies and tools to safeguard organisations against prevailing cyber threats, with key frameworks surrounding the continued development of AI within security. This blog will recap the most important takeaways from the summit, with insights into how to build a secure, compliant workplace.
NIS2 Directive: Raising the Compliance Bar
Presented by WatchGuard, the NIS2 Directive discussed the importance of complying with the strict requirements to bolstering cyber resilience and operational security across critical sectors. NIS2 replaces the original Network and Information Systems (NIS) directive, to implement a higher standard level of cyber security across the European Union (EU). Bringing stricter compliance obligations, businesses affected by NIS2 will need to implement robust risk management practices, ensure data security, and establish incident reporting mechanisms within tight timeframes. Key compliance requirements include:
- Risk Management: Businesses need to identify and manage cyber risks by implementing risk assessments to cover aspects, such as network security, access controls, and vulnerabilities.
- Incident Reporting: Reporting cyber incidents is an essential component of NIS2, which requires businesses to report all cyber incidents within 24 hours of discovery. There should also be additional follow-up reports within 72 hours and 1 month, to track the progress of resolving the issues.
- Supply Chain Security: Businesses must address security risks throughout their supply chain, including with vendors and third-party providers.
- Cyber Security Measures: Implement baseline cyber security practices to address specific threats, including access controls, multi-factor authentication, and vulnerability management.
- Governance and Accountability: Management bodies are responsible for overseeing and approving cyber security measures.
The impact of NIS2 is significant, with deadlines for EU members fast approaching. The next milestone deadline is the 17th of April 2025, for member states to establish a list of essential and important entities. All organisations operating within the EU must be compliant with NIS2 to avoid penalties. Staying complaint also demonstrates a commitment to cyber security, strengthening trust amongst clients, partners, and regulators.
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AI in Security: A Game-Changer for Threat Detection
Moving onto AI and its transformative role in cyber security. This section of the summit discussed AI’s ability to detect sophisticated threats and enhanced security practices, with a strong focus on the implementation of AI-driven tools within platforms like Microsoft 365. Pax8 lead this informed section of the summit, providing clarity and insight into how AI-driven tools are reshaping how businesses handle security by automatically identifying and responding to anomalies before they have the change to escalate.
The presentation provided some insightful statistics surrounding the demand for AI within the workplace. Citing Adecco, who reported that 57% of employees want employers to provide training on AI. Particularly as AI-driven tools are integrated within popular platforms like Microsoft 365, amongst others that are used by businesses to streamline their daily operations. Within these platforms, AI can monitor user behaviour, detect unusual login attempts, and flag high-risk activities. This enables businesses to stay one step ahead of evolving threats by enhancing their resilience without placing any additional burdens on IT teams.
AI within security is a necessity for organisations that are looking to adopt a proactive security posture. As AI continues to advance, it will enable businesses to automate more of their threat detection and response, making it a foundational element of modern cyber security strategies.
“I particularly liked the AI presentations and conversations”
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Data Governance: Microsoft Copilot
The summit underscored the importance of solutions like Microsoft’s Copilot when it comes to data governance, automating data management and security monitoring. As a critical component of cyber resilience, data governance helps organisations manage data responsibly and mitigate potential risks. This allows businesses to stay on top of compliance requirements while safeguarding sensitive information. Microsoft explains that Copilot Pro, when integrated with Microsoft 365, can boost productivity by using the latest AI models that give you quicker response times and early access to new features. But how does this help businesses with data governance?
Copilot offers advanced data governance features which enables organisations to classify and protect data, set permissions, and track data usage. It simplifies the process of managing sensitive information and ensures data is handled securely throughout its lifecycle.
However, there are some prevailing concerns with data governance within Microsoft 365. The Gartner research ‘Top 10 Insights From the 2023 Microsoft 365 Survey’ reported that “73% of respondents use at least one third-party add-on product to manage and govern Microsoft 365.” Despite this challenge, however, Microsoft 365, integrated with Copilot, does provide sophisticated monitoring capabilities through its AI automation features to monitor unusual activity and stop issues before they cause disruptions to business operations. These tools enable organisations to establish a robust data governance framework, making it easier to ensure data integrity, privacy, and security in an era of increasingly stringent regulatory standards.
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Recapping the Summit’s Key Takeaways
The Cyber Security Summit highlighted crucial aspects of maintaining a secure, compliant, and resilient workplace. From understanding the compliance demands of NIS2 to harnessing the power of AI in threat detection and implementing advanced data governance with tools like Copilot, businesses now have access to more effective strategies than ever. These insights will prove to be invaluable as organisations work to secure their digital operations, stay compliant, and protect their most valuable assets. If you’d like a deeper insight into the slides presented at our summit you can see them here.
“Very well run and well organised”
“AI could be a security challenge moving forward, getting confidence from events like this helps improve our strategies, thank you Outbound™”
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