Asset management provides visibility on what you run and what is critical. Risk management turns that visibility into prioritized decisions on controls, incidents, and resilience.
Asset management and risk management form the practical backbone of a NIS 2 aligned cybersecurity program. You cannot protect what you do not understand, and you cannot prioritize without a consistent view of risk. Asset management starts by identifying the systems, applications, services, and data that support critical operations. It also captures ownership, dependencies, and classification, so decisions can be assigned and defended.Risk management then evaluates how threats and vulnerabilities could affect those assets and services. The purpose is not to produce a long register, but to support decisions: what to improve first, what to test, where to invest, and what response capabilities are required. In a NIS 2 context, this includes technical risks, operational risks, third party dependencies, and the ability to manage incidents at scale.When combined, assets and risks guide the selection of infrastructure and application security controls. They also shape incident response plans: what detection is needed, which escalation paths matter, what crisis coordination is required, and how recovery is managed with continuity considerations. This connection prevents a common failure mode where controls are implemented without regard to business criticality.From an implementation perspective, the key is repeatability. Asset data must be maintained, risk assessment must be refreshed, and the program must track how changes in technology or services affect security posture. This is why monitoring, metrics, and management review are essential. They close the loop between controls, incidents, and improvement decisions, and they create evidence of program maturity over time.
Many programs have asset lists that are incomplete or disconnected from ownership and criticality. Without owners, remediation stalls. Without criticality, prioritization becomes political. The program should define a minimal asset model that is accurate enough to drive control and response decisions.On risk, the practical goal is consistency. You need a method that produces comparable risk statements, supports acceptance decisions, and feeds the roadmap. This is where training helps: it aligns teams on a single approach and reduces contradictory interpretations of what “compliant” means in day to day operations.
“Assets tell you what matters; risk tells you what to do next.”
Expert Trainer
Expert Trainer
NIS 2 implementation is an operational program that combines governance, risk, controls, incident response, testing, and measurable improvement—not just documents.
You should be able to show governance decisions, risk assessments, implemented controls, incident response artifacts, and monitoring/testing results.
The NIS 2 Directive aims to strengthen cybersecurity and resilience across critical infrastructure and essential services by setting clearer security and governance expectations.
Necessary cookies are always active. You can accept, reject non-essential cookies, or customize your preferences.