Strengthening the resilience of essential service providers across the EU
The EU Critical Entities Resilience (CER) Directive, introduced in January 2023, aims to strengthen the resilience of essential service providers across the EU. This directive is part of the EU’s broader mission to improve cyber and infrastructure security, complementing the NIS2 and Cyber Resilience Act. You can read more about how we’re currently supporting customers with NIS2 compliance here.
The CER Directive applies to organisations across 11 key sectors, including energy, transport, healthcare, and digital infrastructure. Compliance is mandatory by 2026, with specific deadlines before this date that require immediate action from businesses identified as ‘critical entities’.
Key Objectives of the CER Directive
The CER Directive focuses on enhancing cyber resilience and mitigating risks that can impact essential services. There are three core objectives:
- Building Stronger Resilience: Organisations must prepare for a variety of risks, from natural disasters to cyberattacks, ensuring they can continue delivering critical services during disruptions.
- Improved Risk Assessments: Risk assessments must be performed every four years at a minimum to identify both existing and threats, and to ensure a proactive approach to risk management.
- Cross-Border Collaboration: The directive emphasises communication and cooperation between critical entities across borders, recognising that today’s digital infrastructure is inherently interconnected.
Directive Requirements
Each EU Member State must implement a national strategy to enhance the resilience of its critical entities. Organisations designed ‘critical entities’ within the covered sectors must:
- Conduct regular risk assessments.
- Develop and maintain resilience plans.
- Implement incident reporting procedures, with a 24-hour notification requirement following disruptions.
- Cooperate with national authorities on audits and inspections.
How Appurity Can Help
Appurity offers specialised services to help businesses comply with the CER Directive, with a particular focus on security validation and risk assessments. These services not only support compliance but also build long-term resilience to protect your critical operations.
- Automated Security Validation: Appurity’s Automated Security Validation Service continuously assesses the effectiveness of your security controls. By validating security measures in real time, we help you identify vulnerabilities and ensure that your systems are resilient against existing and evolving threats. This proactive approach to security ensures that critical entities can detect and address weaknesses before they lead to major disruptions.
- Risk Assessments: A core requirement of the CER Directive is conducting regular and thorough risk assessments. Appurity works closely with your team to identify potential risks, whether cyber or physical, and develop strategies to mitigate these risks. Our tailored risk assessments help organisations understand their vulnerabilities, from infrastructure threats to operational dependencies, and ensure compliance with the directive’s mandate for ongoing risk evaluation.
- Unified Endpoint-to-Cloud Security: Appurity’s Unified Endpoint-to-Cloud Security Service offers a comprehensive, end-to-end approach to operational resilience. With several key assessments rolled into one, we can determine your organisation’s readiness against SMS phishing, unauthorised device access, potential AI misuse, and more. Our unified approach ensures that all aspects of your business are covered, providing you with the ability to maintain seamless operations and improve your cyber resilience.
With the tight timelines and complex requirements of the CER Directive, Appurity’s expert services will ensure that your organisation is fully prepared. By taking proactive measures now, we help you secure your business’s future while meeting the essential compliance deadlines.