Cyber Resilience Act, Preamble 21 to 30 (Final Text)
(21) In order to support and facilitate the due diligence of manufacturers that integrate free and open-source software components that are not subject to the essential cybersecurity requirements set out in this Regulation into their products with digital elements, the Commission should be able to establish voluntary security attestation programmes, either by a delegated act supplementing this Regulation or by requesting a European cybersecurity certification scheme pursuant to Article 48 of Regulation (EU) 2019/881 that takes into account the specificities of the free and open-source software development models.
The security attestation programmes should be conceived in such a way that not only natural or legal persons developing or contributing to the development of a product with digital elements qualifying as free and open-source software can initiate or finance a security attestation but also third parties, such as manufacturers that integrate such products into their own products with digital elements, users, or Union and national public administrations.
(22) In view of the public cybersecurity objectives of this Regulation and in order to improve the situational awareness of Member States as regards the Union’s dependency on software components and in particular on potentially free and open-source software components, a dedicated administrative cooperation group (ADCO) established by this Regulation should be able to decide to jointly undertake a Union dependency assessment.
Market surveillance authorities should be able to request manufacturers of categories of products with digital elements established by ADCO to submit the software bills of materials (SBOMs) that they have generated pursuant to this Regulation. In order to protect the confidentiality of SBOMs, market surveillance authorities should submit relevant information about dependencies to ADCO in an anonymised and aggregated manner.
(23) The effectiveness of the implementation of this Regulation will also depend on the availability of adequate cybersecurity skills. At Union level, various programmatic and political documents, including the Commission communication of 18 April 2023 on Closing the cybersecurity talent gap to boost the EU’s competitiveness, growth and resilience and the Council Conclusions of 22 May 2023 on the EU Policy on Cyber Defence acknowledged the cybersecurity skills gap in the Union and the need to address such challenges as a matter of priority, in both the public and private sectors. With a view to ensuring an effective implementation of this Regulation, Member States should ensure that adequate resources are available for the appropriate staffing of the market surveillance authorities and conformity assessment bodies to perform their tasks as laid down in this Regulation.
Those measures should enhance workforce mobility in the cybersecurity field and their associated career pathways. They should also contribute to making the cybersecurity workforce more resilient and inclusive, also in terms of gender. Member States should therefore take measures to ensure that those tasks are carried out by adequately trained professionals, with the necessary cybersecurity skills.
Similarly, manufacturers should ensure that their staff has the necessary skills to comply with their obligations as laid down in this Regulation. Member States and the Commission, in line with their prerogatives and competences and the specific tasks conferred upon them by this Regulation, should take measures to support manufacturers and in particular microenterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises, including start-ups, also in areas such as skill development, for the purposes of compliance with their obligations as laid down in this Regulation.
Furthermore, as Directive (EU) 2022/2555 requires Member States to adopt policies promoting and developing training on cybersecurity and cybersecurity skills as part of their national cybersecurity strategies, Member States may also consider, when adopting such strategies, addressing the cybersecurity skills needs resulting from this Regulation, including those relating to re-skilling and up-skilling.
(24) A secure internet is indispensable for the functioning of critical infrastructures and for society as a whole. Directive (EU) 2022/2555 aims at ensuring a high level of cybersecurity of services provided by essential and important entities as referred to in Article 3 of that Directive, including digital infrastructure providers that support core functions of the open internet, ensure internet access and provide internet services. It is therefore important that the products with digital elements necessary for digital infrastructure providers to ensure the functioning of the internet are developed in a secure manner and that they comply with well-established internet security standards.
This Regulation, which applies to all connectable hardware and software products, also aims at facilitating the compliance of digital infrastructure providers with the supply chain requirements under Directive (EU) 2022/2555 by ensuring that the products with digital elements that they use for the provision of their services are developed in a secure manner and that they have access to timely security updates for such products.
(25) Regulation (EU) 2017/745 of the European Parliament and of the Council lays down rules on medical devices and Regulation (EU) 2017/746 of the European Parliament and of the Council (10) lays down rules on in vitro diagnostic medical devices. Those Regulations address cybersecurity risks and follow particular approaches that are also addressed in this Regulation.
More specifically, Regulations (EU) 2017/745 and (EU) No 2017/746 lay down essential requirements for medical devices that function through an electronic system or that are software themselves. Certain non-embedded software and the whole lifecycle approach are also covered by those Regulations. Those requirements mandate manufacturers to develop and build their products by applying risk management principles and by setting out requirements concerning IT security measures, as well as corresponding conformity assessment procedures.
Furthermore, specific guidance on cybersecurity for medical devices is in place since December 2019, providing manufacturers of medical devices, including in vitro diagnostic devices, with guidance on how to fulfil all the relevant essential requirements set out in Annex I to those Regulations with regard to cybersecurity. Products with digital elements to which either of those Regulations apply should not therefore be subject to this Regulation.
(26) Products with digital elements that are developed or modified exclusively for national security or defence purposes or products that are specifically designed to process classified information fall outside the scope of this Regulation. Member States are encouraged to ensure the same or a higher level of protection for those products as for those falling within the scope of this Regulation.
(27) Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 of the European Parliament and of the Council (11) establishes requirements for the type-approval of vehicles, and of their systems and components, introducing certain cybersecurity requirements, including on the operation of a certified cybersecurity management system, on software updates, covering organisations’ policies and processes for cybersecurity risks related to the entire lifecycle of vehicles, equipment and services in compliance with the applicable United Nations regulations on technical specifications and cybersecurity, in particular UN Regulation No 155 – Uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles with regards to cybersecurity and cybersecurity management system and providing for specific conformity assessment procedures.
In the area of aviation, the principal objective of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council is to establish and maintain a high uniform level of civil aviation safety in the Union. It creates a framework for essential requirements for airworthiness for aeronautical products, parts and equipment, including software, that includes obligations to protect against information security threats. The certification process under Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 ensures the level of assurance aimed for by this Regulation. Products with digital elements to which Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 applies and products certified in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 should not therefore be subject to the essential cybersecurity requirements and conformity assessment procedures set out in this Regulation.
(28) This Regulation lays down horizontal cybersecurity rules which are not specific to sectors or to certain products with digital elements. Nevertheless, sectoral or product-specific Union rules could be introduced, laying down requirements that address all or some of the risks covered by the essential cybersecurity requirements set out in this Regulation.
In such cases, the application of this Regulation to products with digital elements covered by other Union rules laying down requirements that address all or some of the risks covered by the essential cybersecurity requirements set out in this Regulation may be limited or excluded where such limitation or exclusion is consistent with the overall regulatory framework applying to those products and where the sectoral rules achieve at least the same level of protection as the one provided for by this Regulation.
The Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts to supplement this Regulation by identifying such products and rules. For existing Union law where such limitation or exclusion should apply, this Regulation contains specific provisions to clarify its relation with that Union law.
(29) In order to ensure that products with digital elements made available on the market can be repaired effectively and their durability extended, an exemption should be provided for spare parts. That exemption should cover both spare parts that have the purpose of repairing legacy products made available before the date of application of this Regulation and spare parts that have already undergone a conformity assessment procedure pursuant to this Regulation.
(30) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 specifies that a number of essential requirements set out in Article 3(3), points (d), (e) and (f), of Directive 2014/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, relating to network harm and misuse of network resources, personal data and privacy, and fraud, apply to certain radio equipment.
Commission Implementing Decision C(2022) 5637 of 5 August 2022 on a standardisation request to the European Committee for Standardisation and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation lays down requirements for the development of specific standards further specifying how those essential requirements should be addressed. The essential cybersecurity requirements set out in this Regulation include all the elements of the essential requirements referred to in Article 3(3), points (d), (e) and (f), of Directive 2014/53/EU.
Furthermore, the essential cybersecurity requirements set out in this Regulation are aligned with the objectives of the requirements for specific standards included in that standardisation request. Therefore, when the Commission repeals or amends Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 with the consequence that it ceases to apply to certain products subject to this Regulation, the Commission and the European standardisation organisations should take into account the standardisation work carried out in the context of Implementing Decision C(2022) 5637 in the preparation and development of harmonised standards to facilitate the implementation of this Regulation.
During the transitional period for the application of this Regulation, the Commission should provide guidance to manufacturers subject to this Regulation that are also subject to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 to facilitate the demonstration of compliance with the two Regulations.
Cyber Resilience Act Final Text
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