Preparing your business for upcoming cybersecurity and privacy regulations for 2025

Canon’s research revealed that IT leaders consistently rate information security as one of their top three most challenging and time-consuming responsibilities over the last five years.

In fact, information security (33%) was rated the number one challenge, closely followed by maintaining compliance (25%). As such, information security remains a pressing concern as regulatory obligations and technological complexity continue to grow.

Regulations are on the rise, with the EU and national governments strength and expanding the scope security directives to bolster information security. This has seen the number of industries that fall under legislation expand as well as a strengthening of reporting and security measures as new initiatives enter force.

This ‘regulation revolution’ is set to continue, necessitating you to look and plan well in advance as well as grappling with exciting challenges. Some require urgent attention such as DORA that came into force early 2025, mandating resilience testing and monitoring - impacting businesses as well as their customer. While others like the Cyber Resilience Act, set to come into effect in 2026 and then in full effect in 2027, will ensure that compliance will remain a priority for years to come.

NIS2 (Network and Information System 2), is also a key part of the shift. Designed to strengthen cyber resilience across the EU, NIS2 expands the scope of its predecessor (NIS) by introducing stricter risk management and incident reporting obligations as well as enhanced regulatory oversight.

To meet the challenges of today and adapt to the evolving information security landscape of tomorrow, working with a partner with the expertise and solutions to future proof your operations is crucial. Business can prepare for new and emerging regulations, avoiding potentially costly alternation to their operations as implementation deadlines approach by making the following considerations and taking a proactive approach to information security.

Businesses must have a clear understanding of the legislations that apply to their business, industry and local region and this can be achieved by consulting with relevant legal teams or experts in this area. By doing this, organisations will have a better understanding of the implications and wider impact on their business.

Implementing a process for ongoing monitoring of emerging legislation and regulatory trends is also key. This could be managed through a dedicated internal team or outsourced to an expert supplier, allowing organisations to anticipate future requirements and proactively adapt.

In order to navigate the evolving regulatory landscape, security teams may also need to expand – either by hiring or training personnel who specialise in security compliance, interpreting legislation and implementing security controls. This may have an impact on resource, staffing and budgets, depending on the level of adaption required.

IT teams must also adapt and establish clear processes for vulnerability reporting, patching, incident response and data breach notification, as demanded by NIS2. These processes are essential and should be documented and regularly reviewed to help ensure compliance. Where required, organisations may also need to invest in additional software and wider technologies that support these processes.

Suppliers may sit outside of your organisation but their processes and reporting compliance may still have a direct impact on your organisation. It’s important to engage with your suppliers, understand their security practices and carry out audits that will help ensure that they align with your own compliance standards.

Whilst some security incidents may have a significant impact on your business, it’s important that employees communicate the risks that they detect and that a culture of open reporting is fostered. Encouraging internal reporting will allow your organisation to learn from mistakes, and for new processes to be put in place, without fear of retribution.

New and emerging regulation is a positive force for consumers and the security industry as a whole and ultimately, will lead to a more secure and transparent digital landscape for businesses. While there may be a short-term cost, the long-term benefits of adapting and embracing a proactive approach to regulation far outweigh the challenges.