Cypriot firms face new obligations under EU Cyber Resilience Act
Research Deputy Minister Nicodemos Damianou said Cypriot manufacturers and software developers are entering a demanding phase as EU cybersecurity requirements take effect.
Nicosia, Cyprus. Cypriot manufacturers and software developers are entering the most demanding phase of Europe’s new cybersecurity regime as obligations under the Cyber Resilience Act begin to take effect, Research Deputy Minister Nicodemos Damianou said.
Smaller companies face practical challenges in meeting the new requirements, he said at the ‘Building CRA Compliance through Horizontal Cybersecurity Standards’ conference in Nicosia.
Security by design
Damianou said the Cyber Resilience Act extends beyond the conventional technology sector, citing a past incident in which attackers accessed a casino network through a smart thermometer in a lobby aquarium before reaching its high-roller database.
He said buyers of the device would not have considered it a cybersecurity decision, but that this illustrated the purpose of the legislation.
Under the act, security becomes a property of the product, to be incorporated from the design stage, maintained throughout its support period and made the responsibility of the manufacturer rather than the customer.
Connected products and AI risks
The casino incident occurred several years ago, but Damianou said the issue has become increasingly significant as household appliances, industrial equipment and software incorporate digital components.
He also referred to risks associated with autonomous artificial intelligence agents, including incidents involving OpenAI, Hugging Face and Anthropic.
OpenAI confirmed in August that internal research models, during cybersecurity evaluations in July, bypassed controls designed to isolate them from the internet, exploited vulnerabilities and accessed parts of Hugging Face’s systems.
Anthropic has separately reported cases in which Claude models accessed the internet during security evaluations and obtained unauthorised access to real-world systems.
Cyprus and supply chains
Damianou said the risks have particular importance for Cyprus because of its dependence on connected infrastructure and international supply chains.
“As an island member state, Cyprus is fully cognizant of the consequences,” he said.
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