DORA Compliance

Accelerate and simplify DORA compliance

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Let AI driven automation take on the heavy lifting associated with SOC 2.

Through our vCISO consultants, CyberKainos provides expert support in helping financial institutions meet the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). DORA is an EU regulation, but in the real world and for many reasons it also directly impacts UK entities. It requires financial organisations to ensure they can prevent and mitigate cyber threats and withstand, respond to, and recover from all types of information communication technology (ICT) disruptions. 

Proactively managing ICT risks and  vulnerabilities is not just a requirement; it’s a necessity for long-term business success and resilience in an increasingly digital financial ecosystem.

Our vCISO consultants will:

  • Automatically generate custom policy templates and security procedures mapped to DORA
  • Help and guide teams at every turn while returning up to 50% of their time
  • Leverage automation to collect evidence, flag gaps, and implement fixes without relying on manual processes
  • Eliminate task duplication by automatically identifying work that has already been done for other standards that can be used for SOC 2

Speak to a CyberKainos DORA expert today.

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Save time. Improve visibility. Get compliant, fast.

Process automation

Automate and accelerate assessments

By leveraging powerful automation capabilities, your team can run multiple compliance projects at the same time

Eliminate task duplication

Our technologies inform users if a piece of work or evidence can be used against multiple target frameworks

Threat alert

Get real time visibility into compliance gaps

Say goodbye to point in time reporting. We provide all the visibility you need on one, real time dashboard

CyberKainos rapidly guides you step by step through the DORA compliance journey

 

Step 1: Assess & Identify

Run Digital Resilience Assessments Aligned with DORA Articles.

•  Evaluate the current state of ICT governance, risk and monitoring

•  Identify gaps in incident detection, third-party oversight, and resilience planning 

•  Auto-generate risk registers and evidence maps aligned to DORA compliance 

Cybersecurity compliance standards

Win more business

A successful SOC 2 audit will result in your organisation receiving a SOC 2 report.

Organisations are demanding to see evidence of stringent cybersecurity measures in place before agreeing to do business. According to the A-LIGN Compliance Benchmark report, 34% of organisations have reported losing business due to a missing certification.

The technologies we use allow your SOC 2 report to be easily shared with regulators, auditors, as well as prospective and existing customers.

Reduce costs

SOC 2 compliance can reduce your costs, and many organisations will see a positive ROI from the time and resources invested in it due to:

  • Reduced cyber insurance premiums thanks to your now demonstrable risk management practices.
  • Fewer security incidents mean less time and money is spent on remediation.
  • Operations becoming more efficient thanks to standardised processes.
cyber risk likelihood / impact matrix

We help with more than DORA compliance. Our expertise extends to over 20 global regulatory frameworks and standards including:

•  GDPR (a legal framework setting guidelines for the collection and processing of personal information)

•  ISO 27001 (an international standard for information security management)

•  SOC 2 (A standard to ensure third-party service providers store and process client data in a secure manner)

•  ISO 42001 (An important standard to implement that demonstrates responsible and ethical usage of AI)

•  Cyber Essentials (A UK Govt backed certification scheme, helping organisations demonstrate a minimum level of protection in cybersecurity)

•  PCI DSS (a set of guidelines to help organisations that handle credit card information keep that information safe and secure)

•  NIST CSF (the latest evolution of a voluntary framework providing organisations with a structured approach to managing cybersecurity risks)

•  HIPPA (A US law to protect confidentiality and security of healthcare information which also impacts UK organisations)

•  CMMC (a cyber security standard designed to improve the cyber security readiness of businesses that work with the US DoD)

NIST cybersecurity frameworkCyber EssentialsISO 42001General Data Protection RegulationSOC2ISO 27001

DORA compliance FAQs

What is DORA?

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is a legally binding EU regulation. It requires financial entities such as banks, insurers, investment firms, and their critical ICT (information and communications technology) third-party providers to build robust digital operational resilience, covering ICT risk management, incident reporting, resilience testing, and third-party risk oversight. It became fully applicable across the EU on 17 January 2025.

What are the five pillars of DORA?

DORA compliance is structured around five core domains:

  1. ICT risk management and governance: Board-level ownership of a documented digital resilience strategy, risk tolerance, asset inventory, and security policies.
  2. Incident reporting: Classification, response, and timely reporting of major ICT-related incidents to regulators.
  3. Digital operational resilience testing: Including Threat-Led Penetration Testing (TLPT) for the largest, most critical entities.
  4. ICT third-party risk management: Due diligence, contractual safeguards, and ongoing oversight of vendors, including a mandatory Register of Information.
  5. Information and intelligence sharing: Voluntary arrangements for sharing cyber threat intelligence across the sector.

What happens if my organisation doesn't comply with DORA?

Non-compliance can result in significant financial penalties. Figures vary by region, but fines of up to 2% of annual turnover for financial entities, and even higher thresholds for designated critical third-party providers have been cited. Beyond fines, non-compliant organisations face operational restrictions and increased regulatory scrutiny, and individual board members and senior managers can be held personally accountable for failures in ICT risk governance.

What is the DORA Register of Information?

The Register of Information is a mandatory, structured record of every contractual arrangement a financial entity holds with third-party ICT service providers. It must be maintained continuously and submitted to the relevant National Competent Authority annually. It has proven to be one of the more challenging requirements in practice, as many firms initially lacked a centralised view of their vendor contracts across procurement teams and business units. This is a key area where CyberKainos can help.

Does DORA apply outside the EU?

Yes, and in two ways. First, any non-EU financial institution with EU operations or EU-facing services falls within scope. Second, DORA directly regulates critical ICT third-party providers serving EU financial entities, regardless of where those providers are headquartered. A number of major global cloud and technology providers have already been formally designated as critical under the regulation.

Do small businesses need to achieve DORA compliance?

DORA includes a principle of proportionality, meaning requirements scale according to an entity’s size, risk profile, and operational complexity. This means small / micro enterprises and financial entities benefit from a simplified ICT risk management framework under Article 16, so the compliance burden is significantly lighter than they are for large banks or systemically important institutions, but small and micro businesses are not exempt entirely.

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