Antivirus software does not make you NIS2-compliant. This is the most common misconception we hear from small business administrators: “We have antivirus software and a firewall, so we’re covered.” Compliance isn’t something you can buy off the shelf—it depends on how your company operates, not on the software license you’ve installed.
NIS2, transposed into our national law via Emergency Ordinance 155/2024, does not require a specific product. It requires risk management measures, and these cover the company’s operating procedures, not a single piece of equipment or subscription:
- written and adopted security policies;
- management of access to accounts, data, and equipment;
- an incident response plan, so everyone knows what to do when something goes wrong;
- a tested backup—one that has been restored at least once, not just scheduled;
- employee training, because most incidents start with someone in a hurry;
- control over vendors with whom you exchange data or to whom you grant access.
Why this distinction matters: Antivirus software is just one brick in an entire wall. It’s useful, but it doesn’t answer any of the questions above. During an audit, the DNSC doesn’t ask what antivirus software you have—it asks what procedures you have in place and whether you follow them.
The good news for a small business is that most of these measures are organizational, not costly. They don’t require large investments, but rather clear decisions and discipline: who has access to what, who checks the backup, and what happens when someone reports a suspicious email. They just need to be put in place by someone who knows what they’re doing.
The first step is to find out whether your company is subject to the law and to what extent. The free assessment takes about 5 minutes and also shows you what steps you need to take: https://xdn-cs.ro/instrument-nis2.html
This article was generated with AI assistance.