What is DORA compliance?
The financial sector is a prime target for cyberthreats, with attacks growing in sophistication and frequency. In recent years, high-profile incidents—including ransomware attacks on banks, data breaches at FinTech companies, and disruptions to payment services—have exposed critical vulnerabilities in the industry's information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure.
Recognizing the potential impacts of such threats on financial stability, consumer trust, and market integrity, the European Union introduced the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). This regulation aims to strengthen the cybersecurity and operational resilience of financial institutions and their ICT service providers by establishing a harmonized framework for risk management, incident response, and third-party oversight.
DORA was adopted in January 2023 and became fully enforceable in January 2025. Financial institutions, including banks, insurance companies, and investment firms, must comply with its requirements to enhance their risk management, incident response, and third-party oversight.
To whom does DORA apply?
DORA applies to a wide range of financial entities and their critical ICT service providers operating within the EU. These include the following:
- Banks and credit institutions
- Insurance and reinsurance companies
- Investment firms and trading platforms
- Payment service providers
- Crypto asset service providers
- Central counterparties and clearing houses
- Third-party ICT service providers, including cloud and software vendors
Even non-EU financial institutions may need to comply with DORA if they operate within or provide services to the EU financial market.
The 5 pillars of DORA
DORA establishes five core pillars that financial institutions must address:
- ICT risk management: Financial entities must implement a robust ICT risk management framework to identify, prevent, and mitigate security threats.
- Incident reporting: Organizations must establish clear procedures for detecting, reporting, and addressing ICT-related incidents.
- Operational resilience testing: Entities must regularly test their systems through penetration testing, vulnerability assessments, and business continuity drills.
- Third-party risk management: Financial institutions must assess and monitor for the risks associated with their ICT service providers.
- Information sharing: Firms are encouraged to share cyberthreat intelligence to enhance the overall security posture of the financial sector.
How to be DORA-compliant
To comply with DORA, financial institutions must:
- Implement a risk management framework to monitor for and mitigate ICT-related threats.
- Establish a structured incident response plan for detecting and reporting cybersecurity incidents.
- Conduct periodic resilience testing to validate system robustness against cyberthreats.
- Assess and manage third-party ICT risks, ensuring vendors meet security and compliance standards.
- Engage in sector-wide information sharing to strengthen collective cybersecurity defenses.
Achieve DORA compliance with ManageEngine Log360
Log360 is a comprehensive security information and event management solution designed to enhance cyber resilience and compliance with regulations. With integrated log management, threat detection, and incident response capabilities, Log360 helps financial institutions monitor for, analyze, and mitigate cybersecurity risks in real time.
| DORA chapter | Log360 reports |
|---|---|
| Chapter 2 - Article 8: Identification |
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| Chapter 2 - Article 9: Protection and prevention |
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| Chapter 2 - Article 10: Detection |
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| Chapter 3 - Article 17: ICT-related incident management process |
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