Over the past two years, a series of legislative changes have been introduced within the European Union that directly affect the private security sector — particularly in technological, regulatory, and operational areas. These developments are highly significant and must undoubtedly be taken into account by professionals in the field.

For example, the so-called Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), which entered into force on December 10, 2024, requires that all products containing digital components meet cybersecurity standards before being placed on the market. Products must bear the CE marking to indicate conformity, and manufacturers are also required to provide security updates, manage vulnerabilities, and ensure continuous cybersecurity support.

In addition, new laws have been adopted to strengthen cyber incident response capabilities, focusing on cooperation among EU Member States in prevention, detection, and recovery from cyber threats. This set of measures — known as the Cybersecurity Package, which includes the Cyber Solidarity Act and amendments to the Cybersecurity Act (CSA) — not only establishes a cyber-alert system and networks of national and international hubs for information sharing, but also introduces a European cyber reserve (a pool of private-sector incident response services that can be deployed in emergencies) and mutual technical assistance mechanisms.

Furthermore, although it is no longer entirely new, it is worth highlighting NIS2, which has been recently implemented. As you know, it requires many organizations — including some within the private security sector — to strengthen their incident management, risk management, and business continuity systems.

Ultimately, all these recent changes mean that private security companies (or those providing related services such as digital surveillance, alarm systems, IoT, or control software) must ensure that their hardware and softwarecomply with the new security requirements (secure-by-design, updates, vulnerability management), undergo audits and certifications if they offer managed services, adapt contracts with suppliers/importers to ensure regulatory compliance, and be prepared to respond quickly to incidents, including mandatory reporting to competent authorities.

Finally, I would like to emphasize how crucially important it is for the sector to count increasingly on personnel trained in regulation, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies (IoT, AI, etc.). Only through continuous professional development will we be able to meet the challenges that Europe’s new regulatory wave is bringing to private security.