Sandra Feliciano, Dr George Sharkov, and Simon Phipps to lead ETSI’s EUSR Working Group developing European standards for the Act

Sophia Antipolis, France, 16 September 2025

ETSI is pleased to announce it has elected three new officials to lead EUSR Working Group within TC CYBER, a standardisation working group to support the EU Cyber Resilience Act. In response to a request from the European Commission in early June of this year, ETSI is facilitating the harmonisation of cybersecurity standards for digital products across the EU.  Its three new appointments, Sandra Feliciano (Chair), Dr George Sharkov (Vice-Chair), and Simon Phipps (Vice-Chair) bring a wealth of diverse expertise in standardisation, conformity assessment, SMEs and open source software development.

Sandra Feliciano is Adjunct Professor at the School of Management and Technology at Polytechnic of Porto and offers two decades of consulting, auditing and research experience. Recognised for bridging academia and standardisation, she has founded several technical committees and led the development of standards and accredited certification schemes across healthcare, aerospace, education and ICT.

“I am delighted to lead such a diverse team of highly talented experts at CYBER-EUSR,” said Sandra Feliciano. “As ransomware and Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) continue to plague Europe, and the rest of the world, developing robust standards is essential to strengthening cybersecurity across Europe.”

Dr. George Sharkov is Associate Professor at the Institute for ICT at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. He brings 30 years of experience developing complex software, cyber resilient systems and trustworthy AI. George is currently representing European digital SMEs (Small Medium Enterprises) and SBS (Small Business Standards) in ETSI TC CYBER and Securing AI, and ENISA/EC ad-hoc groups.

“I’m excited to join my fellow ETSI members to develop standards that will protect and safeguard businesses across Europe,” said Dr George Sharkov. “SMEs are some of the most vulnerable and targeted organisations by bad actors, so creating standards that can be adopted to mitigate against ever-evolving threats will be essential.”

Simon Phipps is currently the Director of Standards and EU Policy at the Open Source Initiative (OSI) and OSI Europe Foundation. He has previously served as a volunteer board member and board President at OSI. He was also a founding director of the Open Mobile Alliance. Prior to this he worked for IBM and Unisys in networked software and quality assurance roles.

“I’d like to thank my fellow members for the trust they have placed in me as a Vice-Chair of this vital working group,” said Simon Phipps. “We’ll be leveraging all the advantages and threats tied to open source software in the development of secure new standards for the EC.”

ETSI is currently leading technical work for multiple vertical standards under the CRA for nearly 20 different product families. These include items that are exposed to greater risk of compromise such as password managers, anti-virus software, smart home assistants, connected toys and wearables. These standards will help manufacturers demonstrate compliance and ensure consistent implementation across the EU.

Visit the full CYBER-EUSR Work Programme at: https://portal.etsi.org/tb.aspx?tbid=919&SubTB=919#/

About ETSI

ETSI is one of only three bodies officially recognised by the European Union as a European Standards Organisation (ESO). It is an independent, not-for-profit body dedicated to ICT standardisation. With over 900 member organisations from more than 60 countries across five continents, ETSI offers an open and inclusive environment for members representing large and small private companies, research institutions, academia, governments, and public organisations. ETSI supports the timely development, ratification, and testing of globally applicable standards for ICT‑enabled systems, applications, and services across all sectors of industry and society.

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