Taipei, Taiwan – Advantech and DEKRA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to address cybersecurity compliance from the product design stage, as the European Union’s Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) enters its implementation phase.
Under the agreement, Taipei-based Advantech and DEKRA, a global testing, inspection and certification body, aim to help end customers and system integrators meet CRA requirements and international standards such as IEC 62443. They also plan to reduce compliance risks and shorten time to market.
The move reflects mounting pressure on makers of industrial equipment and Edge AI products, for which cybersecurity compliance is becoming an increasingly important condition of entering global markets.
To that end, the two companies will bring testing and compliance expertise into the early stages of product development. The collaboration covers technical and feasibility assessments, documentation review, certification preparation, vulnerability management and secure development support.
Advantech said this approach should help customers identify regulatory and technical requirements across different markets, plan certification pathways in advance and address potential cybersecurity gaps during development. It added that the approach should reduce the time and costs of late-stage design changes.
Miller Chang, President of Advantech’s Embedded Sector, said at the MOU signing ceremony, “As Edge AI continues to advance rapidly, compliance is evolving from a certification procedure before product launch into a critical consideration that customers need to address from the early stages of product design.”
“By combining Advantech’s expertise in industrial computing and Edge AI with DEKRA’s global certification expertise, we aim to enable customers identify regulatory requirements earlier, reduce compliance risks, and shorten time to market, enabling trusted Edge AI innovations to reach global markets more efficiently,” Chang added.
Stan Zurkiewicz, CEO of DEKRA, said, “Digital trust is essential for industrial innovation to succeed in global markets. As AI and connected technologies become integral to manufacturing, energy and transportation, companies need verifiable evidence of safety and cybersecurity to build confidence in new technologies.”
“Our collaboration with Advantech combines its industry experience with DEKRA’s third-party independent testing and certification expertise. DEKRA’s role is to provide independent assurance, helping companies navigate evolving international requirements and build trust in new technologies,” Zurkiewicz concluded.
As an initial outcome, Advantech’s AFE-E630 industrial edge system has passed an independent DEKRA assessment and received an Attestation of Conformity (AoC). The system is designed for commercial and industrial energy storage management applications.
According to Advantech, the system’s security functions meet IEC 62443-4-2 SL2 requirements within the assessed scope. The company said this offers a reference for customers’ subsequent product integration and system-level compliance assessments.
Looking ahead, the partners plan to extend the collaboration beyond established industrial applications. Target areas include AI-enabled industrial systems, semiconductor manufacturing, robotics, drones and other mission-critical unmanned systems, as well as energy site equipment and transportation management.
The companies noted that product safety, functional safety and cybersecurity requirements are becoming more interconnected as Edge AI is integrated with physical devices. Advantech will contribute its edge computing platforms and industry application knowledge, while DEKRA will provide expertise in cybersecurity, testing and functional safety.
