DORA Compliance: Ensure Your Financial Institution Is Prepared

In today's digital world, financial institutions must be prepared to handle cyber threats and technology failures. The European Union introduced the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) to help financial institutions stay strong, recover quickly, and keep running smoothly despite ICT-related problems.

Starting in January 2025, DORA compliance will be mandatory for financial institutions across the EU, changing how these organizations manage digital risks.

What Is DORA Compliance?

DORA requires financial institutions to set up strong ICT risk management systems, test them regularly, report incidents, and manage third-party risks effectively. The law applies to many financial entities, including banks, payment institutions, and investment firms. The goal is to ensure that the financial sector remains strong and operational, even as cyber threats become more advanced.

The Challenges of Compliance

Meeting DORA’s requirements is not easy. Financial institutions must have strict controls over their ICT systems, which means mapping and monitoring their entire digital ecosystem, including third and fourth-party service providers.

The challenge is that many financial institutions don’t have a clear view of their digital supply chains, making it hard to manage and reduce risks.

Here are some common challenges:

• Complex ICT Environments: Financial institutions often work with many different vendors, making it hard to see all the risks.
• Managing Third-Party Risks: Keeping track of third-party providers to ensure they meet DORA’s standards requires ongoing monitoring.
• Incident Reporting and Response: Institutions need to detect, report, and respond to ICT-related incidents quickly.

How to Overcome These Challenges

To meet DORA’s requirements, you need a solution that gives you full visibility into your digital ecosystem, including all first, third, and fourth-party applications.

Here’s how you can support your DORA compliance efforts:

• See Your Entire Digital Ecosystem: Map your whole digital ecosystem to identify all active third and fourth-party components. This visibility is crucial for managing ICT risks, as it helps you find weaknesses and potential threats in your digital supply chain.
• Manage Third-Party Risks: Continuously monitor third-party applications to ensure they meet your security standards. Use a platform that identifies and flags non-compliant vendors so you can address risks before they become bigger problems.
• Prioritize and Fix Risks Automatically: Prioritize risks based on their potential impact on your organization. This helps your security team focus on the most critical vulnerabilities and speeds up the process of fixing them.
• Detect and Report Incidents Proactively: Use real-time monitoring to detect and respond to incidents, ensuring you meet DORA’s strict incident reporting requirements.

Be Ready for DORA Compliance

With DORA becoming a crucial regulation, financial institutions need to act now to ensure compliance. For financial entities, DORA compliance is more than just a legal requirement- it’s a chance to strengthen your digital defences and build long-term resilience in an increasingly digital world.