HMS Networks has announced that its Anybus Communicators are Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) ready, providing an easy way for industrial manufacturers, system integrators and factory owners to meet EU cybersecurity requirements for connected industrial products.
CRA impact on connectivity
Under the EU Cyber Resilience Act, connectivity is no longer just a functional component of a product. It becomes a regulated part that must support long-term security, secure updates, documentation and compliance evidence throughout the product lifecycle. To address these requirements, HMS Networks has updated its Anybus Communicator portfolio with enhanced hardware and software security features developed under IEC 62443-certified secure product development processes.
“With the Cyber Resilience Act, cybersecurity becomes a purchasing requirement, not just a technical consideration,” says Fredrik Brynolf, gateway business line director at HMS Networks. “By making Anybus Communicators CRA-ready, we help our customers reduce compliance effort and risk while continuing to rely on proven, industrial-grade connectivity solutions.”
Enhanced hardware and software supporting CRA requirements
To strengthen long-term security and lifecycle robustness, Anybus Communicators now include several key updates.
• Real-time clock and supercapacitor: These ensure reliable timestamps for certificates, logs and diagnostics, even during extended power-off periods such as weekend shutdowns.
• Dedicated security chip: Cryptographic keys and sensitive data are stored securely, enabling strong encryption and protection against tampering.
Together, the real-time clock with backup power and the security chip provide a stronger hardware foundation for secure operation and long-term lifecycle support under CRA.
• Secure configuration: Configuration access is protected using HTTPS, preventing man-in-the-middle attacks during commissioning and maintenance. Certificates are user-managed to support secure configuration in different environments.
• Role-based access control: Password protection is activated directly in the web user interface. Each device is delivered with a unique default admin password, laser-marked on the product during production and used for first-time login.
• Three standard roles are supported: Admin with full access, user with slave network configuration access, and operator with read-only access. This ensures that configuration access matches operational responsibility.
• Controlled updates and lifecycle protection: The Anybus Communicator supports a controlled firmware lifecycle. On CRA-ready devices with updated hardware, safeguards are in place to prevent downgrading to firmware versions released prior to the hardware update, ensuring that CRA-relevant security capabilities are not removed.
• Protection of intellectual property: Machine builders and device makers can simplify configuration for end users and protect intellectual property by hiding master configuration details.
Helping customers meet evolving requirements
By integrating these hardware and software updates, the Anybus Communicator provides CRA-ready connectivity out of the box. This helps device makers, machine builders, system integrators and factory operators respond to growing cybersecurity, compliance and purchasing requirements from customers.
Manufacturers and integrators can continue to rely on the Anybus Communicator for both industrial network connectivity and cybersecurity. Units already deployed continue to be supported, while new units are delivered with CRA-ready hardware and software, providing a clear, non-disruptive path to meet CRA and customer cybersecurity requirements.
HMS Networks builds and maintains connectivity, security tooling and compliance over the product lifecycle, so customers do not have to. For many use cases, implementing an Anybus Communicator is the simplest, lowest-effort way to meet CRA expectations while preserving uptime, performance and market access.
Availability and product scope
CRA-ready Anybus Communicators are shipping approximately 1,5 years before the Cyber Resilience Act is enforced. To learn more about CRA, visit www.hms-networks.com/c/eu-cyber-resilience-act-industrial-manufacturers
For more information contact Industrial Data Xchange (IDX),
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