NRW Minister of Economic Affairs Neubaur hands over grant notification
Bochum/Düsseldorf, 15 November 2024 –
Today, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia (MWIKE) handed over the grant notification for around 600,000 euros, marking the start of the project entitled: ‘NIS2 contact centre NRW – a central contact point for small and medium-sized companies in NRW, which supports them in taking the necessary measures to successfully meet the requirements of the NIS2 Directive by providing free initial advice’. Mona Neubaur, Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy (MWIKE) of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (MWIKE), handed over the notification yesterday to Christine Skropke, Chairwoman of the Board of eurobits e.V. – European Competence Centre for IT Security.
The NIS2 contact centre’s free advice service is aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are affected by the EU’s stricter NIS2 Directive, which came into force in October 2024. In North Rhine-Westphalia alone, an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 SMEs are affected by the NIS2 Directive. However, many of these companies are inadequately prepared for the new requirements. In view of the shortage of cyber security specialists, support services are urgently needed.
Ministerin Neubaur: ‘Greater digital security in business and society remains an ongoing task. It must keep pace with increasing threats, but also with new defence options. The contact point that has now been set up is another result of our ‘Wirtschaft.Digital.Sicher.NRW’ initiative, with which we are raising awareness of this important topic and further expanding our cyber security network. The main aim now is to publicise the impact of the NIS 2 Directive and support companies in its implementation. I am delighted that eurobits e.V. is supporting this important process as a reliable partner.’
The NIS2 contact centre NRW under the umbrella of eurobits e.V. offers companies an uncomplicated check in a first step as to whether they are affected by the NIS2 directive. This relevance check enables companies to deal with the new legal situation in a targeted manner. This is followed by a free initial consultation, during which a customised action plan is developed together with qualified consultants with the relevant specialist expertise. This enables the affected companies to fulfil the NIS2 requirements within a reasonable period of time. Following the consultation, the action plan is documented by the consultant and made available to the company.
‘As there are often few or no cybersecurity specialists working in the companies concerned, the advice will be provided in a transparent and understandable form for SME managers´, adds Alpha Barry, board member and project manager of the project at eurobits e.V.
‘With the NIS2 contact point, we are pleased to create a free service that is unique on a national level and helps SMEs in NRW to prepare specifically for the stricter requirements. This not only strengthens their competitiveness, but also contributes to the sustainable security and resilience of the infrastructure in the region,’ says Christine Skropke, CEO of eurobits e.V.
The funding starts on 1 November 2024 and ends after three years on 31 October 2027.
If you have any questions about the new NIS2 contact centre, please contact us by e-mail at: nis2-anlaufstelle@eurobits.de
The eurobits press release can be downloaded here: Press release
The MWIKE press release can be found here: Press release MWIKE
Source of the photo: Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia