Many organisations treat ISO 27001 and NIS 2 as projects with a finish line. In reality, both frameworks require continuous oversight of security controls, risks and operational processes. Supervisory authorities across the EU are making it clear that compliance must be active, not static. This means organisations need mechanisms that detect changes, flag deviations, verify effectiveness and guide improvement throughout the year.
This article explains what continuous monitoring means within the ISO 27001 standard and the NIS 2 Directive. It also describes how SMEs, enterprises and public-sector organisations can apply it in a practical and measurable way.
ISO 27001 presents the information security management system as a cycle. It requires regular measurement, review and correction. The standard does not expect organisations to implement controls once and assume they remain effective. Instead, controls must be monitored for fitness, accuracy and performance over time.
Continuous monitoring applies to several parts of ISO 27001:
Many organisations treat risk assessments as annual exercises. This creates blind spots. Continuous monitoring means adopting a predictable schedule and complementing it with on-demand reviews triggered by changes in technology, operations or regulation.
Monitoring must be documented to provide auditors and regulators with evidence that controls function as intended.
Metrics are essential to understanding trends and identifying weak points before they become incidents.
NIS 2 creates higher expectations for ongoing oversight. It requires essential and important entities to maintain “appropriate and proportionate” security measures and to demonstrate their effectiveness to supervisory bodies.
Continuous monitoring under NIS 2 typically involves the following areas.
Continuous monitoring helps detect potential breaches early, which aligns with the incident reporting obligations in NIS 2.
It also ensures testing takes place and lessons learned are incorporated into future exercises.
Supervisory authorities often examine evidence of such tests during compliance reviews.
Continuous oversight ensures you identify new risks introduced by suppliers.
The shift toward continuous monitoring is driven by three EU-specific factors.
NIS 2 and GDPR place increasing emphasis on accountability. Regulators expect organisations to demonstrate that controls remain effective all year. Evidence of past reviews, reports and metrics is often requested during inspections.
European organisations face threats from criminal groups, state actors, hacktivists and supply chain compromises. Static controls cannot address these evolving risks.
Most EU sectors, particularly energy, finance, healthcare, logistics and government, rely on interconnected systems. Continuous monitoring ensures that small issues do not escalate into widespread outages.
Implementing continuous monitoring does not require complex tools, although automation helps. The following practical steps apply to organisations of all sizes.
A calendar provides predictability and supports resource planning.
Automation tools provide alerts that feed into ISMS processes and produce evidence for auditors.
Continuous monitoring is successful only when responsibilities are clearly assigned. Define who reviews access, who validates backups, who maintains metrics and who reports deviations.
Not all assets require the same frequency of checks. Critical systems require more rigorous oversight, while low-impact systems may be monitored less frequently. This approach supports proportionality and keeps efforts manageable.
Evidence demonstrates that your ISMS is functioning rather than simply documented.
ISO 27001 and NIS 2 share several overlapping areas where continuous monitoring provides structure and clarity.
Monitoring demonstrates leadership involvement and supports management reviews required by ISO 27001 Clause 9 and governance expectations in NIS 2.
ISO 27001 A.8.15 (Logging), A.8.16 (Monitoring activities), and A.6.8 (Information security event reporting), along with NIS 2 Article 23 on incident reporting, require timely detection and reporting. Continuous monitoring ensures issues are identified before they escalate.
Both frameworks place importance on business continuity. Continuous monitoring provides evidence of resilience and readiness.
Continuous supplier assessments address ISO 27001 Annex A.5.19 to A.5.23 and NIS 2 Article 21 on supply chain security.
For EU organisations, ongoing compliance is not optional. ISO 27001 requires it. NIS 2 demands it. Customers and partners expect it. Continuous monitoring transforms information security from a point-in-time exercise into a living system that responds to change and demonstrates trustworthiness.