David Pashley

Direct Insight to provide CRA vulnerability handling insights at Hardware Pioneers Max

Visit trade show at Excel London from June 10-11 and attend Direct Insight campfire seminar on CRA compliance

Direct Insight, the UK-based technical systems integrator & value-added reseller of system-on-module (SoM) & other embedded systems, will present a session providing insights on how embedded designers and development teams can prepare for CRA readiness and compliance at Hardware Pioneers Max, taking place at Excel, London, from June 10th to 11th 2026. Direct Insight partner, QNX, the provider of safe & secure operating systems, hypervisors & development tools for embedded systems, will also showcase its embedded systems tools at the show on stand #D13.

Hardware Pioneers Max is described as “the UK’s largest exhibition and conference dedicated to cutting-edge electronics, IoT connectivity and embedded systems technologies, solutions and tools for innovation-driven engineering teams”. It is said to be the must-attend event for those building the next generation of smart and connected products. Products and technologies on show include semiconductors, embedded processors & controllers, AI hardware, power electronics, sensor technologies, IoT security, FPGA technology, RF & wireless technology, cellular IoT, electromechanical devices, edge AI, and many more electronic components & embedded development tools.

At the show, Direct Insight’s David Pashley will provide insights on how embedded designers and development teams can prepare for CRA readiness and compliance, focusing on the regulation’s requirement that products must ship without known exploitable vulnerabilities. Delegates can hear from Pashley in his campfire seminar session, entitled ‘“Zero Exploitable Vulnerabilities”: Workshopping how embedded/IoT developers should step up to meet the CRA’s most demanding edict’, taking place on Wednesday 10 June, from 13:00-13:45. Direct Insight partner, QNX will showcase a powerful lineup of mission‑critical innovations, including the software building blocks powering next-generation robotics and physical AI, on stand #D13.

The EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) is one of the most far‑reaching CE‑marking regulations to date – and will impact a wide range of hardware, software and connected products placed on the EU market. Coming into full force in December 2027, the CRA will significantly expand cybersecurity obligations for connected devices – so if you manufacture, design or supply wireless or digital equipment, then understanding CRA will be critical to your business.

“As the CRA’s deadline approaches, attention is turning to the practicalities of compliance,” notes David Pashley, CRA subject matter expert, IoTSF Regulatory Watch expert, and Direct Insight co-founder & Managing Director. “The regulation, expanded by the draft EN40000-3-1 standard, mandates that in-scope devices shall ship with “zero exploitable vulnerabilities” – and that any device must be updated throughout its lifetime to maintain this state. A complete policy, incorporating SBOM generation, and structured vulnerability analysis and mitigation, is required. Development teams relying on open-source components are particularly impacted by this requirement – and my campfire session will explore the work that should begin work right away.”

Obsessed by electronics from an early age, industry veteran, Pashley began his career by developing a commercially successful software development tool at the age of 19. After his Master’s degree at Imperial College London, with a dissertation in safety-critical hardware design, Pashley followed a career in mainly commercial positions, before co-founding Direct Insight in 1992. His work now spans both engineering and business roles, with special interest in how the embedded development cycle adapts to explosively increasing parallel demands for complexity, safety and security.

Register to attend Hardware Pioneers Max and view the conference programme at: www.hardwarepioneers.com

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