How Akeyless Helps Enterprises Stay Secure and Compliant With EU Cybersecurity Requirements

Summary

Meeting cybersecurity requirements isn't about checking compliance boxes. It's about protecting your organization against the security risks those regulations are designed to address. From DORA and NIS2 to GDPR, the EU Cyber Resilience Act, PCI DSS, and ISO 27001, organizations are expected to secure identities, secrets, cryptographic assets, and privileged access while maintaining strong governance and auditability. Akeyless helps organizations meet these requirements through a Zero-Knowledge platform for identity security, secrets management, encryption and key management, certificate lifecycle management, and secure access, reducing risk while simplifying compliance.

Meeting Europe's Mounting Security and Compliance Demands

Organizations in Europe and globally face growing pressure to prove that access is controlled, sensitive data is protected, and security controls are auditable and resilient. The specific rules vary by country, sector, and framework, but the direction is consistent: protect credentials, keys, certificates, identities, and privileged access before they become the path into critical systems

Compliance may be the trigger, but security is the point. For financial services, critical infrastructure, healthcare, software, and cloud-native enterprises, these requirements reflect the risks regulators already see: exposed secrets, unmanaged machine identities, weak key governance, expired certificates, excessive privilege, and fragmented audit trails.

Akeyless helps organizations turn those requirements into practical controls through one platform for secrets management, machine identity security, encryption and key management, certificate lifecycle management, multi-cault governance, password management, and secure access.

Why Identity and Secrets Security Sit at the Center of Compliance

Modern attacks rarely begin with sophisticated malware. They start with access: a leaked API key, an unmanaged certificate, an overprivileged token, a compromised service account, or an encryption key that was not properly protected..

As organizations adopt cloud, multi-cloud, Kubernetes, DevOps, and AI-driven environments, they also create a sprawling ecosystem of non-human identities. These identities now authenticate, retrieve data, trigger workflows, and connect critical systems without direct human involvement.

Regulators increasingly recognize this reality. Across virtually every major framework, organizations are expected to demonstrate strong controls around:

• Secrets management
• Access governance
• Credential rotation
• Cryptographic key protection
• Audit logging
• Identity lifecycle management
• Third-party risk reduction

Akeyless centralizes control over secrets, certificates, encryption keys, machine identities, and privileged access while reducing operational complexity.

Securing the Software Supply Chain Starts With Security Identity

Software supply chains depend on a constant chain of machine-to-machine trust. Applications, containers, CI/CD pipelines, APIs, cloud workloads, certificates, and AI agents all need to authenticate, authorize, and access sensitive resources. When that trust is built on hardcoded credentials, unmanaged certificates, long-lived secrets, or excessive privileges, the software supply chain becomes easier to compromise and harder to audit.

Akeyless reduces these risks through a unified platform that automates credential rotation, governs non-human identities, manages certificates throughout their lifecycle, and replaces standing privileges with Just-in-Time access. With Akeyless, organizations strengthen their software supply chain security posture while improving visibility, governance, and auditability across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Cybersecurity Requirements at a Glance

Framework	Security Focus	Akeyless Capability
DORA	Operational Resilience	Dynamic Secrets, Auditability, HA
EU CRA	Secure-by-Design	Zero-Knowledge Secrets Management, Machine Identity Security, Certificate Lifecycle Management, Zero Standing Privilege (ZSP), Audit Logging
NIS2	Cyber Risk Management	Identity Security, Monitoring
C5	Cloud Security Controls	Secrets Management, Audit Trails, Data Residency
GDPR	Data Protection	Zero-Knowledge Encryption
PCI DSS	Cryptographic Controls	Key Management System (KMS), Secrets Management
ISO 27001	Governance & Controls	Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), Audit Trails

Key Regulations and Frameworks to Know

Each regulation has its own scope, language, and enforcement model. But for security leaders, the practical question is often the same: what controls do we need to prove, and where do secrets, identities, keys, certificates, and privileged access fit?

DORA: Strengthening Operational Resilience in Financial Services

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) sets cybersecurity and operational resilience requirements for financial entities in the EU. It focuses on how financial organizations manage ICT risk, maintain continuity, detect and report incidents, and oversee third-party technology providers.

For identity and secrets security teams, DORA raises the bar for access control, auditability, credential protection, and resilience. Financial institutions need to show that critical systems are protected by strong controls and that sensitive credentials, keys, and access paths are not unmanaged or exposed.

Akeyless supports these objectives through centralized secrets management, dynamic credentials, automated rotation, comprehensive audit trails, strong access controls, high-availability architecture, and multi-region deployment capabilities. The platform's Zero-Knowledge architecture ensures organizations maintain exclusive control over their sensitive cryptographic assets.

EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA): Enabling Secure-by-Design Security

The EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) introduces legally binding cybersecurity requirements for products with digital elements sold within the European Union. It requires organizations to embed security throughout the entire product lifecycle, from design and development to deployment, maintenance, vulnerability management, and secure updates.

At its core, the CRA requires organizations to demonstrate that products are secure by design, secure by default, and continuously monitored. That includes protecting sensitive data, preventing unauthorized access, enforcing strong authentication and authorization, maintaining auditability, and reducing reliance on static credentials and hardcoded secrets.

For organizations building cloud-native applications, APIs, AI systems, and automated workflows, CRA makes non-human identity security a core part of secure-by-design compliance. API keys, certificates, encryption keys, tokens, machine credentials, and AI agent access all need to be protected throughout their lifecycle.

Akeyless helps organizations support CRA-aligned security practices through Zero-Knowledge secrets management, machine identity security, automated rotation, encryption and key management, certificate lifecycle management, Just-in-Time privileged access, Zero Standing Privilege, centralized governance, and real-time audit logging.

As AI agents become embedded in business workflows, they introduce a fast-growing category of non-human identity risk. Akeyless SecretlessAI™ keeps secrets out of AI agents entirely, while Agentic Runtime Authority governs AI actions in real time, helping organizations extend secure-by-design controls to autonomous systems.

⇒ For a deeper look at CRA and identity security read our blog.

NIS2: Protecting Critical and Essential Services

NIS2 significantly expands cybersecurity obligations for organizations operating critical and essential services throughout Europe, with requirements focused on cyber risk management, supply chain security, access control, incident handling, business continuity, secure Akeyless helps organizations strengthen these controls through centralized credential management, machine identity protection, automated secret rotation, secure remote access, and comprehensive auditing capabilities. The platform also supports modern Zero Trust initiatives that align with NIS2 security expectations.

C5: Cloud Security Controls for the German and European Market

The BSI Cloud Computing Compliance Controls Catalog (C5) is a German government-backed framework developed by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). It defines baseline requirements for secure cloud computing and is increasingly referenced by BaFin-regulated financial institutions and other organizations across the EU that need to demonstrate cloud security maturity.

C5 focuses on controls around organizational security, physical security, identity and access management, cryptography, operational security, and audit logging. For organizations operating workloads in German or European cloud environments, C5 compliance is often a requirement for engaging enterprise customers and regulated industries.

Akeyless supports C5-aligned security practices through:

• Zero-Knowledge secrets management
• Centralized audit trails and logging
• Encryption and key management
• Data residency flexibility supporting EU-based deployments
• Role-based and attribute-based access controls (RBAC/ABAC)
• Automated credential rotation and lifecycle management

GDPR: Securing Sensitive Data and Encryption Keys

GDPR remains one of the most influential privacy regulations in the world.

While GDPR focuses on personal data protection, it also places strong emphasis on appropriate technical and organizational measures, including encryption, access controls, and data protection by design.

• Akeyless helps strengthen GDPR-aligned security practices through Zero-Knowledge encryption, client-side encryption, encryption key management, fine-grained access controls, audit logging, data residency flexibility, and secure secrets management.]

The Akeyless architecture ensures that customer-controlled encryption fragments remain exclusively under customer control, preventing even Akeyless from accessing customer secrets or encryption keys.

PCI DSS: Protecting Payment Data and Cryptographic Assets

PCI DSS requires strong controls for organizations that process, store, or transmit payment card data, including encryption, credential protection, access management, and audit logging.

Akeyless helps support PCI DSS initiatives with encryption and key management, secrets management, credential rotation, role-based access control, detailed audit logging, and strong cryptographic protections.

Akeyless operates with FIPS 140-3 validated HSMs.

The platform utilizes HSM-backed cryptographic controls and patented Distributed Fragments Cryptography (DFC™) to reduce risks associated with key compromise.

ISO 27001 and SOC 2: Building a Strong Security Foundation

ISO 27001 and SOC 2 remain foundational frameworks for enterprise cybersecurity programs.

Both emphasize:

• Risk management
• Access controls
• Security monitoring
• Asset protection
• Incident response
• Auditability

Akeyless supports these objectives through centralized governance, RBAC and ABAC controls, extensive logging, automated lifecycle management, Multi-Vault Governance, and Zero-Knowledge security architecture. Akeyless maintains SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 compliance programs, helping customers align with their own governance initiatives.

Additional Regulatory Frameworks

Most enterprise security teams do not answer to a single framework. They often need to satisfy overlapping regulatory, industry, and customer-driven requirements.

Akeyless helps support security initiatives associated with:

HIPAA

Protecting healthcare credentials, encryption keys, privileged access, and sensitive data.

FedRAMP-Related Environments

Supporting strong identity, encryption, audit, and access management controls often required in government and regulated cloud environments.

SWIFT CSP

Helping financial institutions strengthen credential security, privileged access controls, monitoring, and cryptographic governance.

PSD2

Supporting secure authentication, access control, certificate management, and operational security requirements for payment service providers.

EU AI Act

The EU AI Act introduces cybersecurity obligations for providers and deployers of AI systems, including requirements for robustness, incident reporting, and protection of AI infrastructure against threats such as data poisoning and adversarial attacks. As AI agents become operational identities within enterprise environments, securing their credentials, access rights, and runtime behavior becomes a direct compliance requirement. Akeyless addresses this through SecretlessAI™, which keeps secrets out of AI agents entirely, and Agentic Runtime Authority, which governs AI agent actions in real time.

The Akeyless Advantage: Zero-Knowledge Security for Regulated Environments

Akeyless is built for regulated environments through  its patented Distributed Fragments Cryptography (DFC™) and Zero-Knowledge architecture.

Unlike traditional vaults that store complete encryption keys, Akeyless splits keys into fragments that are never reassembled. Customers maintain exclusive control over a critical fragment, ensuring that sensitive cryptographic assets remain inaccessible to unauthorized parties, including Akeyless itself.

This architecture helps organizations address growing regulatory expectations around:

• Data sovereignty
• Encryption governance
• Insider risk reduction
• Third-party risk management
• Operational resilience
• Secure-by-design principles

Post-quantum cryptographic resilience: Akeyless supports hybrid TLS 1.3 (ML-KEM768 + X25519), protecting cryptographic assets against 'harvest now, decrypt later' threats increasingly relevant to long-term regulatory data protection obligations.

Build for Highly Regulated Industries

Akeyless supports organizations operating under oversight from authorities such as:

• FCA (Financial Conduct Authority)
• BaFin (Germany)
• ECB (European Central Bank)
• FINMA (Switzerland)
• DNB (Netherlands)
• Other national supervisory authorities and regulatory bodies

From financial services and healthcare to critical infrastructure and technology providers, organizations use Akeyless to strengthen security controls, improve audit readiness, and support compliance across complex regulatory environments..

Compliance Is a Journey, Not a Product

No technology solution can guarantee compliance on its own. But strong controls around secrets, machine identities, encryption keys, certificates, and privileged access can reduce compliance risk and accelerate regulatory readiness.

Akeyless supports compliance with DORA, NIS2, GDPR, the EU Cyber Resilience Act, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA, SWIFT CSP, PSD2, the EU AI Act, and other frameworks  through a unified platform designed to reduce complexity, improve operational resilience, and strengthen security across modern hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Ready to strengthen your organization's compliance and security posture?

Schedule a demo with an Akeyless expert to learn how you can simplify compliance and improve resilience through unified Secrets Management, Machine identity Security, Encryption & Key Management, and Zero-Knowledge architecture.

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