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Secure products: Cybersecurity Act and Cyber Resilience Act

Bring hardware and software to the EU market that meet the Cyber Resilience Act, and use EU cybersecurity certification where it counts.

Secure products: Cybersecurity Act and Cyber Resilience Act

What clients ask us

Does the Cyber Resilience Act apply to our product?

The Cyber Resilience Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/2847) covers products with digital elements made available on the EU market: hardware and software that connect, directly or indirectly, to a device or a network. That includes apps, firmware and software sold separately, and the remote data processing a product needs to work. Pure SaaS falls outside it, and so do products with their own regime, such as medical devices and vehicles. It applies to manufacturers, importers and distributors, including those outside the EU.

When do the Cyber Resilience Act obligations start?

The regulation entered into force on 10 December 2024 and applies in steps. From 11 September 2026, manufacturers must report actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe incidents, also for products already on the market. Most other obligations, including the essential requirements and CE marking, apply from 11 December 2027. Products placed on the market before then are generally only caught after a substantial modification. Use the time to build the vulnerability handling process, because that takes longest.

What must we do as a manufacturer?

Design and ship the product without known exploitable vulnerabilities, secure by default, and keep it secure with updates for a support period that reflects its expected use, as a rule at least five years. Run a vulnerability handling process with a software bill of materials and a coordinated disclosure policy. Before you sell, carry out the conformity assessment, draw up the technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity, and affix the CE marking. Reports go through ENISA's single reporting platform: an early warning within 24 hours, a notification within 72 hours and a final report afterwards.

Can we assess our product ourselves, or do we need a notified body?

For most products a self-assessment is enough. Important products, listed in Annex III, need more: for class I, such as password managers, VPNs and routers, you can self-assess only if you apply harmonised standards or a certification scheme; for class II, such as firewalls and hypervisors, a notified body must be involved. For critical products, such as smart cards and hardware security modules, the Commission can require a European cybersecurity certificate. Classify your product early, because it decides your timeline and budget.

What is the Cybersecurity Act, and do we need a certificate?

The Cybersecurity Act (Regulation (EU) 2019/881) gave ENISA a permanent mandate and set up an EU framework for cybersecurity certification of ICT products, services and processes. The first scheme, EUCC, based on the Common Criteria, applies since 27 February 2025, and an amendment of 2025 extends the framework to managed security services. Certification is voluntary unless EU or national law requires it. Customers and public tenders increasingly ask for it, though, and under the Cyber Resilience Act it can be the way to show conformity.

We use and publish open-source software. Where do we stand?

As a manufacturer you are responsible for the whole product, including the open-source components you integrate, so check them with due diligence and track them in your software bill of materials. Free open-source software developed or supplied outside a commercial activity is outside the Cyber Resilience Act. Organisations that support open source for commercial use as open-source software stewards have lighter duties, such as a cybersecurity policy and cooperation with authorities. Your licence choice and your contracts should match your role.

What do we risk, and how do we share the burden with our suppliers?

Breaching the essential requirements can lead to fines of up to EUR 15 million or 2.5% of worldwide annual turnover, and market surveillance authorities can order a withdrawal or recall. Most of the work sits upstream, with chip, module and software suppliers. Agree on security requirements, vulnerability notification within your own reporting deadlines, update support for the full support period, documentation and cooperation in conformity assessments. Pitch drafts and reviews these clauses.

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