The new EU regulations are coming! From August, 2025, radio equipment must meet the EN 18031 series network security standards

On January 30th, 2025, the European Commission announced in its official journal "Office Journal" (hereinafter referred to as OJ) that the series of EN 18031 standards have been included in the harmonized standards of the Directive 2014/53/EU, which indicates that this series of standards will become an important basis for the network security compliance of radio equipment in the EU.

The new regulations will be enforced from August 1, 2025. This means that all wireless devices sold in the EU market must meet the mandatory requirements of this new network security regulation from August 1, 2025. Products that fail to meet the standards will face market access restrictions, and manufacturers need to speed up the layout of compliance strategies.

Composition of EN 18031 series standards

The EN 18031 series standard consists of three parts, each part is aimed at different types of radio equipment and their security requirements. In 2022, the European Commission also introduced network security requirements according to Article 3(3), as follows:

★ EN 18031-1:2024

Scope of application: Internet-connected radio equipment.

Support requirements: It meets the basic requirements of Article 3(3)(d) of the Radio Equipment Directive (network security requirements of "preventing network damage and service degradation" are introduced).

★ EN 18031-2:2024

Scope of application: including Internet connection equipment, child care equipment, toy equipment and wearable equipment.

Support requirements: meet the basic requirements of Article 3(3)(e) of the Radio Equipment Directive (network security requirements of "protecting personal data and user privacy" are introduced).

★ EN 18031-3:2024

Scope of application: Radio equipment for handling virtual currency or monetary value.

Support requirements: It meets the basic requirements of Article 3(3)(f) of the Radio Equipment Directive (the network security requirements of "measures to prevent the fraud of wireless equipment handling virtual currency" are introduced).

Main restrictive clauses of EN 18031 series harmonized standards in OJ

★ Limit 1: About "Reason" and "Guide"

Scope of application: en 18031-1: 2024/en 18031-2: 2024/en 18031-3: 2024.

Content: These parts only provide reference information for manufacturers and do not give presumption of compliance. The manufacturer does not need to carry out third-party conformity assessment, but it should be noted that these contents are not required by the specification.

★ Limit 2: Default Password Problem

Scope of application: en 18031-1: 2024/en 18031-2: 2024/en 18031-3: 2024.

Content: The standard allows users not to set passwords, but this may lead to authentication risks. If the manufacturer ignores this clause, it may not be able to meet the basic requirements of the RED directive.

★ Limit 3: Access control of toys and child care equipment

Scope of application: EN 18031-2:2024

Content: The standard involves the access control mechanism of toys and child care equipment. If the manufacturer does not implement parental or guardian control, it may not be able to solve the authentication risk, thus affecting compliance.

★ Limit 4: Evaluation criteria for security updates

Scope of application: EN 18031-3:2024

Content: The standard involves the evaluation of security updates, but using any method (such as digital signature or access control) alone is not enough to deal with financial asset risks. Therefore, manufacturers must carry out third-party conformity assessment.

Main evaluation items of EN 18031 series standards

Warm tips

As RED's network security requirements will be enforced on August 1, 2025, and products entering the EU market after the enforcement date need to meet the requirements, ZRLK testing suggests relevant enterprises to improve their product risk awareness, take action as soon as possible, and complete relevant testing and certification to ensure that wireless products meet the network security requirements. Our company has a professional technical team and rich experience in product testing, which can help enterprises easily understand whether the products are safe and compliant. If you need it, please feel free to contact us, and our engineers will serve you at the first time!