Helping Yale prepare connected smart locks for the Cyber Resilience Act
Challenge
Yale wanted to ensure its connected smart lock products aligned with Cyber Resilience Act requirements and identify practical ways to demonstrate cyber resilience throughout the product lifecycle.
Approach
Resillion combined independent product security testing of Yale’s Linus L2 Smart Lock with practical CRA readiness checks, covering Bluetooth and Wi-Fi protocol testing, authentication validation and network resilience, as part of the European CRACY programme.
Results
Yale gained independent insight into product behaviour under realistic conditions and practical evidence to support CRA self-assessment and readiness planning.
About Yale
Yale has been a trusted name in home security for more than 180 years. As part of ASSA ABLOY, the global leader in access solutions, Yale develops innovative smart products, including smart locks, alarms, cameras and connected access device products that help protect millions of homes and businesses worldwide as part of the Yale Smart Family.
As smart home technology continues to evolve, customers expect more than convenience. They expect connected security products to be reliable, resilient and secure, giving them confidence that the technology protecting their homes will continue to perform when it matters most.
THE CHALLENGE
Preparing smart access products for the next generation of cyber security regulation
Yale has built its reputation on delivering trusted security products that protect homes and businesses around the world. As connected devices become increasingly central to everyday life, maintaining that trust means ensuring products remain secure, resilient and ready for an evolving regulatory landscape.
The EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) introduces new cybersecurity requirements for connected products sold within the EU. Manufacturers must not only demonstrate that products are secure by design but also provide evidence that cybersecurity has been considered throughout the entire product lifecycle – from development and testing through to vulnerability management and ongoing support.
For connected access products, resilience is especially important. Customers depend on smart locks to work reliably every day, making cyber resilience as important as physical security.
Yale was already taking a proactive, mature approach to connected product security. The pilot allowed Yale to test practical CRA readiness tools against a real connected product, helping turn emerging regulation into clear, repeatable steps.
OUR APPROACH
Combining product security testing with CRA readiness
As part of the European CRACY programme – “CRA Compliance made easy” – Resillion worked with Yale to test practical tools and checks for the Cyber Resilience Act using one of Yale’s connected smart lock products, the Yale Linus L2 Smart Lock.
CRACY is designed to help organisations, particularly smaller manufacturers, understand CRA requirements and apply them to real products through guidance, tools and self-assessments. For Yale, the pilot was a way to support that wider goal while gaining independent input on testing approaches for connected product resilience.
Working with Resillion through the CRACY programme helped us support the development of practical tools and checks for connected products under the Cyber Resilience Act. This pilot not only provided valuable independent input but also aligned with Yale’s broader strategy of fostering a more secure, safer, and accessible smart home market for all. By supporting clearer and more actionable CRA readiness for manufacturers, we are contributing to a future where smart homes are both reliable and universally accessible
Product resilience testing
Resillion carried out a series of specialist checks to test practical CRA readiness approaches and reviewed how the connected product behaved under realistic operating conditions.
Testing included:
Bluetooth protocol testing
Wi-Fi protocol testing
Protocol fuzz testing
Authentication validation
Network traffic resilience testing
Behaviour under unexpected or abnormal communications
Unlike traditional penetration testing, these assessments focus on product resilience – validating that connected devices continue to operate predictably when exposed to unusual or unexpected scenarios.
The objective was to create practical evidence that could support CRA self-assessment and give manufacturers a clearer way to plan their next steps.
Supporting Cyber Resilience Act readiness
Alongside technical testing, the pilot helped test practical ways for manufacturers to prepare for the Cyber Resilience Act as the legislation is implemented.
Resillion is involved in CRACY because of our experience in product security testing and assurance, and because we lead the workstream focused on tooling. In practice, that means bringing different tool contributions together, testing them through pilots, and using the lessons learned to improve guidance for the wider manufacturing community.
CRACY is about turning the Cyber Resilience Act into something product teams can actually use. By combining practical tools with real-world product testing, we can help manufacturers move from uncertainty to a structured readiness plan, while using pilot learning to improve the guidance available to the wider community.
Why this mattered
The Cyber Resilience Act is about much more than passing a security test.
Manufacturers need to demonstrate that cyber security has been embedded throughout product development and that connected products continue to perform safely and reliably throughout their lifecycle.
By taking part before compliance deadlines, Yale helped show how practical CRA tools and checks can be applied to connected products in a real-world setting.
The engagement also reinforced an important principle of modern product security: manufacturers need practical evidence, repeatable checks and clear guidance to move from uncertainty to a concrete CRA readiness plan.
RESULTS
Working with Resillion enabled Yale to support the development of practical CRA tools and checks, while gaining independent insight into how Cyber Resilience Act readiness can be demonstrated in ways that ultimately support safer, more reliable, connected products for customers.
The engagement delivered:
By taking part in the pilot programme, Yale contributed to the development of practical CRA approaches that can help manufacturers across Europe understand requirements, apply them to real products and build clearer readiness plans.
Looking ahead
As the Cyber Resilience Act moves towards full implementation, manufacturers increasingly need practical ways to understand what compliance looks like in the real world.
Through its leadership role in the CRACY programme, Resillion is helping bridge the gap between legislation and implementation – turning CRA intent into guidance, tools and practical checks that manufacturers can actually use.
