DORA Regulations: What You Need to Know

Because a lot of enterprises have started to conduct their business online, issues such as ensuring the security of customer data have emerged. That's why the European Union Parliament has adopted the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). It is designed to systematize the organization of companies in such a way to reduce the risks of cyberattacks, as well as to provide a stable environment for working with sensitive data.

Who Does DORA Apply To?

At the moment, it is known that all financial institutions that want to conduct their business on the territory of the European Union are required to adhere to the DORA regulations. For example:

• banks;
• credit companies;
• organizations dealing with investments;
• insurance companies;
• stock exchanges and others.

In addition, all partners of financial institutions with whom customer data may be exchanged are also subject to the aforementioned act. 

Read also: Everything You Need to Know About eIDAS Regulation

DORA Regulations – Where to Start

Implementing DORA systems into your company's operations is certainly a complex process that requires significant time and planning. Since every organization is different, it is vital to take into account its individuality but also keep in mind key requirements such as sustainability, regular testing, reporting, risk management and an emergency plan. In general terms, the process should be as follows:

• Getting to know the DORA statements
  This point involves familiarizing in detail with all the clauses of this law. It is important to clearly understand what needs to be done to make your company fully compliant with new standards. You can review DORA text in full on this website.
• Analyze the current situation of your company
  The next step is to analyze the current level of cybersecurity, identify problem areas and existing risks. Also, it is worth determining whether you already meet any of the DORA requirements to make it easier to understand how to proceed.
• Develop a detailed work plan and allocate a budget
  Since you already have a clear understanding of what your enterprise is missing to meet the standard, it is time to make a plan. Describe in detail all the points, their timeframes, responsible people, methods of checking the result of the work and so on. Based on this, it is already possible to roughly set a certain amount of budget for all these works. In doing so, it is worth realistically calculating the costs and time required for all processes, so that you have no illusions about it. Now you can start project realization.
• Employee training
  Once the bulk of the work has been done, you should educate your team about the new system and the updated rules. By devoting enough time to this you will minimize potential problems that could be caused by lack of awareness of how to work in the new environment.
• Conduct regular audits and updates
  Perform checks to make sure that all systems are up to date and running smoothly. Also, don't forget about implementing updates that are needed to respond to new types of cyber threats.
• Reporting and documentation
  Since DORA requires companies to be inspected by a third party for compliance with the law, you have to provide that third party with all true reporting and documentation. That's why it's a good idea to start addressing this issue right away, so there's no further confusion or problems.

Read also: PCI DSS Security Standards Council

Managing the Risks with SDH

Want to run a successfully functioning business in the financial sphere that will meet all the current standards? Software Development Hub team is ready to help you with it! In order to do this, we are ready to provide the following services:

• assist in building a team of experts to solve various tasks
• analyze ideas and tell you about their profitability and competitiveness
• develop a project from scratch and take care of technical support of the software, etc.

Start changing your business today to be one step ahead of your competitors tomorrow!

Categories