Beyond the Obvious

It was a pleasure and a privilege to be invited representing NCC Group to speak at the recent European Business Registry Association (EBRA) conference in Milan. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to engage with such a forward-thinking and collaborative audience. As a small gesture following our Cyber Security session, I’m pleased to share the starter cyber hygiene checklist I mentioned during the discussion, designed to support registrars and their supply chain partners in strengthening foundational cyber resilience.

As I stated in my recent LinkedIN post, Company Registries are ‘The Quiet Cornerstone of Europe’s Digital Economy’ and a Prime Cyber Target.

Every day, millions of business interactions depend on one simple truth; trust in the data held by national company registries.

Yet across Europe, these critical systems, responsible for verifying legal entities, ownership and compliance, are increasingly exposed to cyber threats, legacy infrastructure gaps and supply chain vulnerabilities.

With growing interconnection between registries e.g: Business Register Interconnection System (BRIS), courts, tax offices and international sanctions systems, a single breach can ripple across borders and sectors and rupture the very foundations of Corporate trust.

Cybersecurity here isn’t just a tech issue, it’s a governance, economic and geopolitical issue.
This year’s conference is likely to be reflected on as a seminal moment across the sector, bringing registries out of the back office and into the security spotlight.

Here is the download link I promised to a Cyber Due Diligence Checklist for Corporate Registrars, designed specifically for non-technical directors. It identifies the top questions that registrars should ask their IT and cybersecurity teams and maps each to a clear KPI. This enables effective oversight, accountability and assurance at the board level without needing deep technical knowledge.

The spreadsheet also includes a second checklist more appropriate to address Registry Supply Chain Partners and Technology Vendors. It aligns questions with vendor-related KPIs to enable informed oversight and accountability across the extended registry ecosystem.

Putting these into action should comprise:

• Quarterly Briefings summarising the outlined KPIs.
• Mandate Exceptions Reporting where key thresholds (e.g., unpatched vulnerabilities) are breached.
• Involve Audit or Risk Committees in reviewing supply chain and AI-related risk exposure.
• Align Cyber Reporting to corporate risk registers, just like financial or reputational risks.

For the supply chain checklist:

• Include vendor cyber KPIs in quarterly supply chain risk reports.
• Maintain a critical vendor register with assigned risk tiers and review cycles.
• Request a Cybersecurity Assurance Letter from top-tier vendors annually.
• Incorporate AI and emerging tech risk clauses into procurement processes.

NB: These are by no means exhaustive in detail and you will get a feel for how you need to start thinking to maintain Cyber Hygiene efficiency for your own organisation and accountability.

For further assistance please contact me at nigel.gibbons ‘at’ nccgroup.com.