European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO) launches its label ‘Cybersecurity Made in Europe’ to promote European cybersecurity companies and increase their visibility on the market.
The first phase of the ECSO label implementation includes signing partnership agreements with the European associations located in different European countries who will act as local partners in issuing the Label. These qualified issuing associations are expected to start accepting the first applications for the Label this autumn.
European cybersecurity companies from the European Union Member States (EU27), the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and European Economic Area (EEA) countries, as well as the United Kingdom (UK) will be eligible to apply for the Label. Applications will be assessed by the qualified issuing associations, recognised by ECSO. A list of these associations will be announced on the ECSO website and via its communication channels soon. Eligible companies will be able to submit their applications to any qualified issuing association and will not be bound to the country in which their European headquarters are located.
The Label is intended to designate the geographic – European – origin of a company and does not claim to measure the quality of its products and services. In order to qualify for the Label, European companies will be required to prove that:
- They are headquartered in Europe;
- They do not have any major ownership/control from outside of Europe;
- Europe is their primary place of business with more than a half of its cybersecurity R&D activities and staff located there;
- They provide trustworthy cybersecurity products and solutions, as defined in ENISA’s ‘Indispensable baseline security requirements for the secure ICT products and services’;
- They respect European data and privacy requirements, defined by the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The key purpose of the Label ‘Cybersecurity Made in Europe’ is to serve as an industry-driven marketing instrument to promote qualified European-based cybersecurity companies and increase their commercial exposure far beyond their traditional home markets. Additionally, the Label aims to raise awareness among users, business partners and investors of the strategic value of cybersecurity companies originating in Europe who develop their business based on the trustworthy European values.