On April 1, 2025, the EMERALD project successfully co-organized a pivotal industrial panel at the CLOSER 2025 Conference titled “Cybersecurity Certification for the Computing Continuum: Future Challenges and Opportunities.” The panel was a collaborative effort with the projects COBALT, CERTIFY, CONFIRMATE, DOSS and TELEMETRY, all members of the European Cluster for Cybersecurity Certification (E3C).
Context and Relevance
Mario Draghi’s recent report on the future of European competitiveness has highlighted the urgent need to address cybersecurity challenges that threaten the integrity of Europe’s digital infrastructure. Among the key concerns are supply chain compromises, privacy loss, AI misuse, reliance on external technologies, and hybrid cyber-physical threats. These challenges demand a unified and strategic approach from both the public and private sectors to ensure the resilience of the European Computing Continuum—a concept that encompasses the entire digital ecosystem, from edge devices to cloud environments.
In parallel, the ICT sector continues to grapple with regulatory compliance as a major hurdle. The introduction of key EU regulations such as the EU Cybersecurity Act (EUCS), Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), Data Act, and AI Act has laid the groundwork for a more secure digital environment. However, these legislative efforts also introduce new layers of complexity for organizations seeking to remain compliant while innovating at speed.
Panel Highlights
The panel started with the official presentation of the EC3 cluster to the audience, explaining its composition, key activities and main objectives, such as identifying key challenges and opportunities for enhancing cybersecurity certification and serving as a hub for multiplying synergies in projects working on these topics.
The panel provided a comprehensive analysis of the key cybersecurity certification challenges currently facing the European Computing Continuum. The discussion focused on innovative approaches and emerging trends, including:
- Continuous certification models that adapt to the dynamic nature of modern ICT systems
- AI-enhanced certification methods that leverage artificial intelligence for real-time risk assessment and compliance
- Trusted IoT supply chains, ensuring the security of devices at every stage from design to deployment
- Cross-project synergies and collaborative strategies for harmonizing certification practices across the EU
Experts from the EMERALD, COBALT, CERTIFY, CONFIRMATE, DOSS and TELEMETRY projects shared insights and experiences, fostering a rich and engaging dialogue among attendees. To finish the panel, lively and interesting discussions were held with the audience that included different stakeholders from the academic and the industrial side.
By bringing together leading experts from across the cybersecurity and software engineering domains, the panel fostered cross-sector collaboration, knowledge exchange, and innovative thinking to meet the evolving demands of the European digital landscape.
Event Details
- Date: April 1, 2025
- Event: CLOSER 2025 – Conference on Software Engineering for Resilient Systems
- Panel Title: Cybersecurity Certification for the Computing Continuum: Future Challenges and Opportunities
- Location: Porto, Portugal.
- Organizers: EMERALD, COBALT, CERTIFY, CONFIRMATE, TELEMETRY, DOSS
- Cluster Partnership: European Cluster for Cybersecurity Certification (E3C) – https://cybersecuritycertcluster.eu/
