DEKRA strengthens its cybersecurity business

International expert organization DEKRA is strengthening its product cybersecurity portfolio and acquires security testing and evaluation company Epoche & Espri S.L.U. based in Madrid, Spain. Epoche & Espri serves international ICT market leaders with amongst others “Common Criteria (CC)” evaluations.

The Spanish company, with more than 10 years of experience, specializes in evaluating and testing internationally recognized security standards. Along with conformance testing against international frameworks such as FIPS 140-2 and ISO/IEC 19790, Epoche & Espri focuses on certifications in line with Common Criteria for Information Security Evaluation (CC), the widely recognized methodology for product security evaluations. Amongst its international customers are developers, manufacturers, and service providers, primarily in the IT and telecommunications industry.

“Cybersecurity is essential to enable global digitalization,” says Ivo Rauh, DEKRA SE Management Board member and responsible for the global industrial activities. “People’s safety when using technology is the key challenge of the future. DEKRA has responded to the advances in mobility and the associated connection of vehicles not least by establishing the international testing network with its test sites in Málaga and Klettwitz. Paired with the latest growth in expertise in the field of cybersecurity, DEKRA can in the future offer a wide range of services from a single source for many industries in which wireless and IT components are increasingly being used.”

Bert Zoetbrood, head of DEKRA's global Product Testing and Certification division, comments: “Cybersecurity is an essential part of both safety and connectivity testing that we are increasingly combining for new and smart products. With Epoche & Espri's services, we are extending and speeding up our emerging range of cybersecurity solutions on different levels, also to segments such as consumer products, industrial products, medical, and automotive, with a particular focus on functional safety. Connectivity and safety go hand in hand, and we are continuing to invest into building a safe connected world.”

“Under the DEKRA umbrella, we have found ideal conditions for entering into new markets and becoming even more integrated worldwide”, says Miguel Bañón Puente, Managing Director of Epoche & Espri. “In addition, we can enhance and establish our own IT security testing solutions in DEKRA's strong laboratory network.”

At present, Epoche & Espri holds accreditations in the USA, Spain, Japan and Turkey, covering IT security evaluations, cryptography and security assurance for cellular network elements. It is also a certification body for Trust Service Providers.

Epoche & Espri will be integrated into DEKRA's Product Testing and Certification division under the auspices of DEKRA Testing & Certification S.A.U. (formerly AT4 wireless) in Spain. Its management will continue to hold leading roles within the company.