At MWC IoT Summit 2026, Kigen made the case that the EU Cyber Resilience Act is not a compliance burden — it is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. For manufacturers who move now, the competitive advantage is structural.
SHANGHAI, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 26 June 2026 – 5.5 trillion dollars. That is the annual cost of cybercrime to the global economy — a figure larger than the GDP of every nation except the United States and China. Behind it lies a single, solvable problem: billions of connected devices shipped without robust security baked in.
At MWC IoT Summit 2026 in Shanghai, Jean-Louis Carrara, SVP Global Sales at Kigen, delivered a keynote that reframed this challenge as an inflection point. The message was clear: the era of voluntary security is over, and the manufacturers who recognise this first will define the competitive landscape for the decade ahead.
The Regulation That Changes Everything
The EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) is the most significant cybersecurity legislation ever enacted. It covers more than 90% of all IoT products containing digital elements — sensors, gateways, industrial equipment, consumer devices. If it connects, it is covered.
Manufacturers must now provide security updates across a five-year product lifecycle, report confirmed security incidents within 72 hours, and demonstrate security by design from the earliest stages of product development. Non-compliance carries penalties of up to €15 million, or 2.5% of global annual turnover.
Documentation requirements and vulnerability management obligations are already in force from September 2026. For any product in development today — any product planned for market entry in 2027 — compliance is not a future consideration. It is a present one.
Market Access as Competitive Advantage
Independent analysis puts the average cost of CRA compliance at approximately €100,000 per product line. Against a potential penalty exposure of €15 million, the arithmetic is straightforward. But Carrara pressed further: as the compliance threshold rises, EU market access becomes selectively available — a structural advantage for those who are ready.
This is the reframe that matters. Security is not a constraint on speed to market. It is the enabler of access to the world’s most demanding — and most rewarding — markets.
Proof at Scale — and Under Pressure
Kigen’s eSIM technology operates across more than 250 terrestrial and satellite networks worldwide. Hundreds of millions of devices. Decades of real-world hardening. But scale, Carrara argued, is not the same as trust.
Trust is demonstrated when the stakes are highest. When significant vulnerabilities were identified in eSIM frameworks used across the industry, Kigen responded within 72 hours — developing and sharing a patch openly, without paywalls, in full coordination with the GSMA and in alignment with ENISA disclosure guidelines.
“We did not wait for regulation to demand it,” Carrara said. “We acted because it was right — and because the industry’s security is only as strong as its weakest point. Our actions supported the coordinated response to develop countermeasures and mitigate the risks and we continue to collaborate on furthering these by contributing back through GSMA and other standards bodies. With certified eSIMs now carrying capabilities to patch, the tools are available for the mandates OEMs must meet on cybersecurity – readily, with our expertise.”
The Platform Already Built
Kigen’s platform delivers autonomous over-the-air security updates — deployable across an entire installed fleet without physical intervention. Native IoT profile management enables secure provisioning at manufacturing scale. Proven interoperability across the global operator ecosystem ensures devices function wherever customers need them.
Kigen also chairs the GSMA eSIM Working Group, actively advancing standards that raise the security floor for the entire industry — not to hold competitive advantage, but to make the ecosystem stronger for everyone.
The Convergence Moment
AI is transforming manufacturing. Advanced connectivity is extending that transformation to every point on the globe. And regulatory-grade security is the condition that makes all of it trustworthy. These forces are converging — and the window for first-mover advantage is open.
The imperative to build every capability in-house belongs to a previous era. The manufacturers who will define this decade are those who identify where deep, specialised expertise already exists — and accelerate their path to market by partnering with it.
The regulatory framework is clear. The technical capability is proven. Trust, at scale, is a durable advantage.
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Kigen (UK) Limited
Kigen is the forerunner in secure eSIM and RSP solutions, enabling manufacturers to adopt and scale cellular IoT with ease. Our award-winning solutions are certified to GSMA eSA (eUICC Security Assurance) and SAS (Security Accreditation Scheme) standards—the highest levels of security assurance in the industry. Our technology delivers freedom to choose from 200+ terrestrial and satellite networks, compliant to EU and China cybersecurity and data regulations for export products, with proven interoperability on leading chipsets and modules.
Backed by Arm, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, SBI Group and Salica Investments, Kigen is trusted by leading global brands in consumer electronics, energy, automotive, logistics, and industrial automation.
Learn more at https://kigen.com/ or follow @kigen for #FutureofSIM matters on LinkedIn.
