Data breaches continue to cost organizations millions of dollars each year, with costs rising steadily. According to IBM's 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average cost of a data breach has surged to $4.88 million globally, reflecting the increasing complexity and sophistication of cyberattacks. In the United States, this figure is even higher, averaging $9.8 million per breach, and the healthcare industry remains a prime target, with an average breach cost of $10 million—the highest of any sector.

The evolution of the cyber threat landscape highlights the need for organizations to strengthen their ability to identify, analyze, and evaluate cyber risks before they evolve into security incidents. Criminals often exploit known unpatched vulnerabilities to penetrate Industrial Control Systems (ICS) environments and disrupt critical operations. Although patch management seems like the obvious answer to this problem, it is easier said than done in ICS settings.

According to the NIS Directive, Member States should adopt a common set of baseline security requirements to ensure a minimum level of harmonized security measures across the EU and enhance the overall level of security of operators providing essential services (OES) and digital service providers (DSP). The NIS Directive sets three primary objectives: