Cyber resilience in European industry.

Strengthening industrial automation in OT environments by monitoring and tracking vulnerabilities across software supply chains.

The European research and innovation project ENFORCERS (Enhanced Cooperation for Cybersecurity)* has officially started, bringing together a strong consortium of industrial manufacturers and cybersecurity technology providers, supported by applied research organisations to address one of Europe’s most pressing challenges: ensuring resilient, trustworthy software throughout the lifecycle of industrial automation systems.

Consortium partners at the ENFORCERS project kickoff meeting, February 2026

The project’s official kickoff took place during February 2026 at WIBU-SYSTEMS AG in Karlsruhe (D), where consortium partners met in person for the first time to align on the strategic roadmap for the coming three years. The meeting marked the operational starting point of ENFORCERS and set the stage for close cross-border collaboration enabled by EU funding.

From incident detection to secure recovery: closing the cybersecurity loop.
ENFORCERS is designed to go beyond isolated security measures. Its central objective is to close the loop between cybersecurity incident detection, coordinated response, certification, and secure software redistribution in industrial environments. This is particularly relevant for automation and manufacturing, where software must often be updated across segmented, partially disconnected, or heterogeneous Operational Technology (OT) networks.

At the heart of the project is a Cybersecurity System Platform that links multiple trusted instances into a securely chained “system circle.” This includes:

• Private Security Operation Centers (SOCs) that collect, correlate, and classify incident and vulnerability data,
• Secure Elements that act as trust anchors at OT edges and gateways,
• Automated playbooks for vulnerability mitigation, certification, and secure software updates,
• and cross-border data exchange mechanisms that allow SOCs and stakeholders to cooperate while respecting data sovereignty.

The technical approach directly supports compliance with NIS2 and anticipates requirements of the Cyber Resilience Act, while remaining adaptable to future regulatory and technological developments.

“ENFORCERS brings together technologies, processes, and stakeholders into an operational cybersecurity framework,” explained Alvaro Forero, Project Coordinator at WIBU-SYSTEMS AG. “As coordinator, our responsibility is to ensure that we are building a cooperative system where incident handling, trust anchors, and secure software deployment work together across organisational and national boundaries. The kickoff meeting confirmed a shared understanding that cybersecurity resilience must be engineered into the full lifecycle of industrial software.”

Clearly defined roles across a strong European consortium.
ENFORCERS brings together partners with complementary expertise across Europe. As project coordinator, Wibu-Systems contributes its long-standing expertise in software protection, licensing, and secure update mechanisms for industrial environments, while ensuring technical coherence and cross-partner integration across the project. Industrial companies such as Balluff (Germany and Hungary), Schneider Electric (France), TTTECH Computertechnik (Austria), and Technology Nexus Secured Business Solutions (Sweden) contribute real-world requirements from automation, manufacturing, and industrial networking. Technology and cybersecurity specialists including Infineon Technologies (Germany), Langlauf Security Automation (Germany), DYNAMIKI (Greece), AITAD (Germany), and ResilTech (Italy) provide expertise ranging from AI and embedded systems to secure elements and cryptography to SOC operations and incident response. Applied research is supported by subcontractors such as Fraunhofer SIT, while VDMA contributes its industrial network and policy interface.

From a partner perspective, the project is also seen as a commitment to European cooperation.

“At ResilTech, we look forward to contributing with full commitment and to working alongside such high-level partners to strengthen Europe’s industrial cybersecurity,” said Francesco Brancati, Security Solution Manager and R&D Program Manager at ResilTech Srl, underlining the importance of cross-border collaboration as a prerequisite for resilient industrial systems.

The project effectively integrates three essential layers of work, ranging from structural activities such as system requirements and architecture design, through practical implementation efforts including SOC integration, digital elements, and secure connectors, to quality-oriented tasks focused on dissemination, standards compliance monitoring and training.

Early milestones include the definition of legal and technical requirements, the design of the Cybersec System architecture, and the setup of initial SOC and platform components, followed by demonstrators and validation in later phases.

Industrial partners see ENFORCERS as a strategic investment in long-term resilience. Dr. Markus Jung, VP Engineering at Balluff GmbH emphasised during the project launch, “ENFORCERS is a great opportunity for Balluff to build a strong network with leading partners in the cybersecurity domain. The project will support us in further strengthening our cybersecurity measures and enhancing best practices across our industrial automation products, processes, and manufacturing sites. The strong consortium enables us to anticipate emerging trends in the coming years, well beyond the requirements of the Cyber Resilience Act, and ultimately helps us empower our customers to increase their own cybersecurity.”

Over the next three years, ENFORCERS will deliver technical demonstrators, best practices, training activities, and contributions to standardisation and certification discussions. By combining industrial deployment experience with cybersecurity expertise, the project aims to create results that are replicable across sectors and that strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty in industrial software and automation.

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* Co-funded by the European Union, under the Grant Agreement No. 101249745, the project is supported by the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC). Views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre.

Additional Dedicated Resource: R&D project dedicated web page.

@WibuSystems  @Balluff #Cybersecurity #PAuto

Protecting and licensing open architecture platforms.

Ensuring secure licensing in distributed and decentralized configurations gives users versatility and independence in managing their licenses.

Wibu-Systems has announced that ETM professional control, the developer of SIMATIC WinCC Open Architecture, has chosen to implement Wibu-Systems’ CodeMeter solution for protecting and licensing its software. WinCC OA is a flexible and scalable SCADA framework, designed for controlling large-scale applications in a variety of industrial and public and private infrastructural sectors. CodeMeter is Wibu-Systems’ flagship security suite of interoperable modules geared towards safeguarding software against piracy, reverse engineering, tampering, and cyberattacks.

“Using CodeMeter for license generation and protection of our SCADA product SIMATIC WinCC OA enables us to expand our global business together with our partners." said Dr. Bernhard Reichl, CEO of ETM professional control. "With CodeMeter, not only are we protected against unauthorized usage, but the technology of Wibu-Systems also secures the valuable know-how of our integration partners’ solutions.”

WinCC OA software is at the core of some of the most intricate SCADA systems, operated remotely and distributed globally. Its open architecture easily adapts to the adoption of new technologies. With the rapid advent of cloud systems and modern environments like Docker containers or cloud clusters, the need for open and flexible software that is robust enough to protect the integrity and security of WinCC OA, especially for distributed, decentralized connected components, is paramount.

In a global economy where business models and regulatory requirements are constantly evolving, the ability to adapt quickly is crucial. The combination of CodeMeter and WinCC OA software allows for the implementation of uniform protection and a fully aligned licensing system across all platforms, from ARM to x86 and from native systems like Windows and Linux to mobile and web interfaces. CodeMeter's agility in ensuring secure licenses in distributed and decentralized configurations offers added value, enabling users to easily handle license upgrades, add or remove features, and scale their WinCC OA projects up or down without having to interact with an ETM representative. 

“We recognize the value of flexibility, particularly for SCADA projects requiring a high degree of client-specific adaptability or imposed by specific system requirements and functions, like those found in energy, oil & gas, and building automation industries." says Stefan Bamberg, Director Sales and Key Account Management of Wibu-Systems. "CodeMeter's ability to ensure secure licenses in distributed and decentralized configurations offers a distinct advantage, giving users unprecedented versatility in managing their licenses.”

The synergy between ETM and Wibu-Systems serves as a guarantee for growth and adaptability over time, making the WinCC OA software solution resistant to technological changes and possible disruptions. This resilience, combined with the software's ability to handle both standard workflows and specific customer requests, significantly contributes to its continued success and customer satisfaction.

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@WibuSystems @siemensindustry #PAuto #Security