On 11 November 2025, the CRACoWi project had the opportunity to participate in a Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) Webinar organized by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the National Cybersecurity Center of the Netherlands (NCC NL). 

The event was dedicated to Dutch Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) aiming to raise awareness and enhance understanding of the CRA – the EU regulation designed and released to strengthen cybersecurity resilience by providing cybersecurity standards for products with digital elements, ensuring security throughout their lifecycle. The regulation has been in force since 2024, and compliance will become mandatory for all such products placed on the EU market by 2027. 

ITML, as Project Coordinator of CRACoWi, presented the project’s mission to simplify CRA compliance for SMEs through automation, AI technologies, and capacity building activities. The presentation also highlighted the wide range of CRA stakeholders, from manufacturers and importers to distributors, critical infrastructure operators, and market surveillance authorities, and explained how CRACoWi supports each of them through tailored tools, guidance, and training and awareness activities. SevenShift, a key technical partner of CRACoWi, shared the technical and innovative perspective, presenting a high-level overview of the project technologies, focusing on the Cyber Resilience Act Compliance Wizard, an AI-driven solution that guides users through compliance assessment, documentation, and certification support. 

The session also featured other European initiatives, such as the SECURE project, which contributes to the broader DIGITAL-DEPLOY-CYBER-06-STRENGTHENCRA action. SECURE aims to support European SMEs to strengthen their cybersecurity capacities and facilitate the implementation of the CRA by providing cascade funding opportunities, training, and resources for CRA compliance readiness. 

Cross-sector collaboration activities like this support SMEs understand the practical implications of the CRA, discover how they can utilize the technologies being developed and how initiatives like CRACoWi and SECURE can directly enhance their cybersecurity maturity and compliance preparedness. 

The CRA webinar also served as a valuable opportunity to connect with Dutch stakeholders and showcase the role of European collaboration in enhancing cybersecurity awareness and resilience among SMEs. ITML’s participation in the event reflects its continued commitment to promoting cybersecurity resilience across Europe and supporting SMEs in meeting new regulatory challenges through innovation, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.