EU AI Act
In August 2024, the European Union’s AI Act (Act) entered into force — a first of its kind legislation that regulates the development, provision, deployment, and importation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems into the EU. The Act separates AI risks into four categories and sets out different rules for each risk level.
The aim of the Act is to regulate AI to ensure that these risks are properly managed, minimised, and remediated. The Act will be fully enforceable August 2026. However, some parts of the Act will apply sooner.
What do I need to do to comply?
The most important next step, if you have not already started to prepare for the Act, is to check which risk category your company’s products or services fall under. Most businesses will fall under the limited or minimal risk categories.
Prohibited AI
Prohibition of ‘unacceptable risk’ AI systems took effect on 2 February 2025. Chapter 5 discusses prohibited AI practices.
High risk
Companies that develop and deploy high-risk AI systems need to ensure that their systems are compliant with the requirements set out in Chapter 3, Section 2 of the EU AI Act, titled ‘Requirements for High-Risk AI Systems’. This section of the Act sets out the obligations for businesses that fall in the category, including risk management, record keeping, and maintaining human oversight.
Limited risk
Businesses that develop or deploy limited-risk AI systems are required to provide users with transparency disclosures to ensure that users are aware that they are interacting with or consuming content from an AI system. Article 50 of the AI Act includes more detail on the transparency obligations for these kinds of AI systems.
Minimal risk
Be certain that your AI system falls into the minimal, unregulated category. Keep an eye out for any developments that might affect your business.
If you’re not sure which category your business fall into, you can complete this questionnaire on the official EU AI Act website to find out.
What about Barracuda’s products?
Barracuda Products
Barracuda products and services containing AI fall into the “minimal risk” category. Barracuda includes information regarding the use of AI in the Product and Service Descriptions on the Product Guide.
Find out more about the EU’s AI Act, the risk categories, and what you need to do to comply in our e-book, Getting ready for the EU AI Act.
Additional Resources
AI Act e-Books
Links to AI Act Websites
Don’t wait to get protected
Get a free consultation with a cybersecurity expert and see Barracuda's cybersecurity solutions in action.
