Prepare for DORA with a Cyber Risk Management Platform

3 minute read

April 2023

by Julia Winer

Cyber risk management is now a requirement for financial organizations in the EU and the third parties that they work with. The EU’s Digital Operations Resilience Act (DORA) will soon require these organizations to meet new information and communications technology (ICT) and cyber risk resilience criteria. What does that mean for your organization? It’s time to start implementing and documenting your cyber risk management practices. 

DORA came into force on January 16, 2023, meaning the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) have begun to develop regulatory standards that will later be imposed on the above-mentioned organizations. These standards will be completed and issued in 2024, providing guidance for implementing the new regulatory requirements and giving organizations about a year to achieve compliance. By January 17, 2025, DORA requirements will become enforceable, meaning that is the date organizations should aim for as they prepare for the new regulation. 

DORA’s risk management requirements include: 

  • Establish resilient ICT systems to mitigate the likelihood and impact of risk events 
  • Identify ICT risks throughout the extended enterprise, working in regular cadences to keep up with changing risk environment 
  • Establish processes for quickly detecting possible risk events 
  • Establish business continuity policies and disaster recovery plans to promote resilience and recovery in the case of an ICT-related incident 
  • Implement processes to promote adaptability and growth as ICT incidents occur inside and outside of the organization 

These requirements mean that organizations will need to identify their existing and unknown risks, build a risk register to manage risks by criticality and develop a continuous risk monitoring process. Because these new requirements emphasize the development of systematic processes for risk management and incident response, risk professionals should plan to implement cyber risk management technology that promotes visibility and consistency throughout the extended enterprise.  

In addition to risk management requirements, DORA will also require the following incident reporting actions: 

  • Implement processes to detect and record ICT-related incidents 
  • Organize incident data according to DORA policies, which will continue to be developed by ESAs in the coming years 
  • Report incidents to the appropriate bodies using the format established by the regulatory authorities 
  • Report incidents and incident response data to customers 

These requirements mean that organizations will need to implement risk management systems that allow for configurable reporting so they can build separate reports for both their customers and the regulatory authorities. Cyber risk management technology with flexible dashboards and report generation will be a major advantage for teams looking to adapt to these requirements as they are issued. 

As mentioned above, cyber risk management technology can help organizations meet the new DORA requirements and stay up to date as new rules are issued. The technology your organization chooses should have the following functionality: 

  • Automated evidentiary requests to stay on top of changes in their risk environment, ensuring visibility into possible risk events and promoting prompt responses 
  • Organized risk methodology to categorize and track risks by criticality 
  • Risk and control evaluations to help teams identify the most critical ICT-related risks and verify that the policies they have in place effectively mitigate their impact  
  • Interactive dashboards to provide real-time insight into the state of risk at your organization 
  • Configurable reporting to quickly produce reports that match the exact ramifications put in place by the regulatory authorities 

With the right combination of automation, organization and custom reporting, your team can prepare for upcoming DORA enforcement knowing that it has the tools it needs to stay in compliance. ProcessUnity for Cybersecurity Risk Management is purpose-built to help security teams stay on top of the changing regulatory environment with all the above described functionality and more.  

To learn more about how you can prepare for the upcoming DORA mandates, get in touch with ProcessUnity here. 

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ProcessUnity is a leading provider of cloud-based applications for risk and compliance management. The company’s software as a service (SaaS) platform gives organizations the control to assess, measure, and mitigate risk and to ensure the optimal performance of key business processes. ProcessUnity’s flagship solution, ProcessUnity Vendor Risk Management, protects companies and their brands by reducing risks from third-party vendors and suppliers. ProcessUnity helps customers effectively and efficiently assess and monitor both new and existing vendors – from initial due diligence and onboarding through termination. Headquartered outside of Boston, Massachusetts, ProcessUnity is used by the world’s leading financial service firms and commercial enterprises. For more information, visit www.processunity.com.