Top 10 Reasons NIS-2 Makes Pre-Employment Checks Non-Negotiable
With the NIS-2 Directive now applicable across the EU, organisations face broader cybersecurity obligations and stronger expectations around organisational risk management. Member States had to transpose NIS-2 into national law by October 17, 2024 and the Directive became applicable from October 18, 2024. Source: Digital Strategy Europe
Below are ten practical reasons NIS-2 turns pre-employment background checks from “recommended” into a core component of a secure hiring process.
1. Wider scope of entities covered
NIS-2 extends obligations to more sectors and more companies - meaning more organisations must prove they manage human risks as part of their cybersecurity posture. Source: Digital Strategy Europe
2. Clearer emphasis on organisational measures
NIS-2 explicitly requires not only technical controls but also organisational policies (including HR and personnel security) to mitigate cyber risk - and that includes vetting people who will access sensitive systems. Source: enisa.europa.eu
3. Insider threats are a top source of breaches
Insider incidents, malicious or accidental, cause outsized damage. Pre-employment checks reduce the probability of hiring high-risk individuals into critical roles.
4. Faster detection of red flags with modern OSINT
Automated OSINT screening ties together clear-, deep- and dark-web signals (public aliases, leaked credentials, forum activity) and official registries - producing actionable results in minutes.
5. Evidence for auditors and regulators
When regulators or auditors probe an incident, documented vetting processes and reports demonstrate that an organisation took reasonable organisational steps to manage risk. Source: enisa.europa.eu
6. Tailored screening for role criticality
NIS-2 encourages risk-based approaches - background checks can be scaled by role (e.g., basic checks for non-privileged positions; enhanced checks for admins/engineers).
7. Faster hiring without sacrificing security
Automated, compliant background checks allow HR to move quickly while maintaining thorough due diligence - important for business continuity and time-to-hire.
8. Cross-border hiring realities
NIS-2 is EU-wide; many teams are pan-European. Centralised OSINT checks help standardise vetting across jurisdictions while still noting local legal constraints.
9. Reduces reputational and financial fallout
Avoiding a single insider incident can prevent operational disruption, heavy remediation costs, and reputational damage that regulators will scrutinise post-incident.
10. Complements technical controls
Background checks are not a replacement for MFA, logging or least privilege - they are a complementary organisational control that mitigates human risk before access is granted.
NIS-2 shifts the compliance spotlight to organisational practices and people risk. Embedding fast, GDPR-aware OSINT screening into your hiring process is a practical, evidence-based response.