Bottom line: Routers are emerging as a previously underestimated security and sovereignty risk, requiring critical examination in supply chain security discussions among European industry associations.
A new study and the manufacturer alliance SAFENet are bringing routers to the forefront of the debate on European digital sovereignty as an overlooked security and dependency risk. To date, the discussion has primarily focused on cloud, AI and semiconductors.
The debate on technological independence and digital security in Europe has long concentrated on major technology fields: cloud infrastructures, artificial intelligence and semiconductor production have been under critical scrutiny for years. The manufacturer alliance SAFENet and current research are now expanding this perspective to include a fundamental, but previously less-observed element: network routers as critical infrastructure components.
Routers form the access layer to networks and are thus exposed components whose security and origin have direct implications for protecting enterprise networks. Dependencies in procurement and lack of control over firmware updates or backdoors can lead to widespread compromises – a particularly relevant issue for CISOs who are responsible for the security of critical networks under NIS2 and other regulatory frameworks.
The subject gains concrete relevance in the context of European regulatory requirements that increasingly target supply chain security and geographic origin of hardware. Stronger focus on European router manufacturers could become an additional approach to reducing technological dependencies.
Source: itwelt.at · Published 25 June 2026
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