In an era where digital environments proliferate our personal and professional worlds, the European Union (EU) has taken a meaningful step towards fortifying the cybersecurity landscape. In 2020, they introduced the Digital Operational Resilience Act DORA. This legislative framework, planned to go into effect by January 2025, aims to bolster the financial sector’s operational resilience against cyber threats. For [threat intelligence platform TIP and [security orchestration, automation, and response SOAR providers, the implications of DORA are substantial. In this article, we explore the relevance of DORA to TIP and SOAR, shedding light on how these technologies play a crucial role in achieving and maintaining compliance with the upcoming regulations.

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Understanding DORA

DORA is a regulation aimed at strengthening the security of financial entities like banks, insurance companies, investment firms, stock exchanges, etc., ensuring that these institutions in Europe remain resilient in the event of any severe operational disruption. Though the EU is implementing DORA, it holds relevance for financial services institutions around the globe.

DORA places a significant emphasis on information and communication technology (ICT) risk management, incident reporting, resilience testing, and third-party risk management, requiring firms to adopt a more comprehensive view to ensure business continuity in the face of cybersecurity threats.

The regulatory act is designed to ensure that financial entities implement effective measures to prevent, detect, respond to, and recover from cyber incidents. As the threat landscape continues to evolve, DORA represents a proactive preparedness and response to the increasing frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks.

TIP, SOAR, and Their Significance in DORA

Threat intelligence platforms serve as the cornerstone of any proactive cybersecurity strategy, and their significance becomes even more pronounced under DORA. These platforms empower organizations with timely, relevant, and actionable threat intelligence, allowing them to identify and mitigate potential risks. DORA emphasizes the need for comprehensive threat intelligence capabilities so financial institutions can better outpace emerging threats. TIP solutions not only provide real-time insights into the threat landscape but also enable organizations to share threat intelligence collaboratively, fostering a collective defense approach against cyber adversaries.

On the other hand, SOAR solutions simplify and automate incident response processes, a critical requirement DORA highlights. Rapid and effective response capabilities play a crucial role in minimizing the impact of cyber incidents, and DORA underscores the importance of these capabilities. SOAR platforms enable organizations to automate repetitive tasks, orchestrate complex workflows, and respond to incidents with greater speed and efficiency. Modern SOAR solutions go beyond orchestrating incident response, allowing security teams to orchestrate anything in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness across the function. By integrating with various security tools and technologies, SOAR solutions contribute to a cohesive and well-coordinated cybersecurity defense.

Cyware’s Stance on DORA Regulations

Aligning our TIP capabilities — Collaborate and Intel Exchange and SOAR platform—Respond and Orchestrate around DORA, Cyware’s modular solutions provide well-coordinated capabilities for the management of digital operational risks within the financial sector. Cyware can support financial entities beyond the European region in adhering to these uniform requirements, making compliance easier and ultimately, a byproduct of a stronger security program.

We recognize the importance of enhancing operational resilience within the financial sector, and when it comes to the requirements of DORA, we aim to empower organizations to maintain business operations, uninterrupted. Our commitment to empowering organizations with comprehensive threat intelligence capabilities aligns with DORA’s emphasis on timely detection and response to cyber threats. Intel Exchange plays a crucial role in operationalizing and sharing real-time threat intelligence, enabling financial services entities to proactively identify and mitigate potential risks.

For a more concrete understanding, consider a scenario where a financial institution encounters a novel malware strain attempting to exploit vulnerabilities in banking systems. Through our Intel Exchange platform, this institution can instantly share specific indicators of compromise IOCs related to the malware, along with contextual information about its tactics and potential impact, with other financial entities. This collaborative intelligence sharing enables a collective and rapid response, safeguarding not only the institution in question but the entire financial ecosystem.

Additionally, we understand the significance of automated and orchestrated incident response, a key focus of DORA. Our SOAR solutions—Respond and Orchestrate—contribute to the efficient handling of cyber incidents by automating repetitive tasks, orchestrating workflows, and ensuring a well-coordinated response. These solutions ensure that orchestration is not bound to case management and incident response. By decoupling SOAR, we enable independent, vendor-neutral orchestration between diverse security tools and technologies seamlessly fostering machine-to-machine (M2M), human-to-machine (H2M), and machine-to-human (M2H) interactions. This will empower financial services organizations to efficiently automate and optimize all the elements of their security operations.

Below are the requirements laid down by DORA that Cyware fulfills:

Incident Reporting and Response:** DORA mandates the timely reporting of significant cyber incidents. As per [Article 1, Subject Matter 1. (a) (ii) & iii, DORA mandates reporting of major ICT-related incidents and notifying, on a voluntary basis, significant cyber threats to the competent authorities and reporting of major operational or security payment-related incidents to the competent authorities by financial entities, respectively. Collaborate facilitates incident reporting by automatically collaborating with Respond where actual incidents are getting worked upon.

Collaborative Threat Intelligence Sharing: According to [Article 1, Subject Matter 1. (a) v, DORA encourages information and intelligence sharing in relation to cyber threats and vulnerabilities. Collaborate and Intel Exchange enable organizations to share threat intel bidirectionally across their trusted sharing communities, fostering a community-oriented defense approach.

Resilience Testing and Assessment: DORA requires financial entities to regularly test and assess their operational resilience. Orchestrate can automate the testing of incident response processes, ensuring that organizations are well-prepared to handle cyber incidents effectively.

Cyware stands as a strategic partner for organizations seeking to not only comply with DORA but also elevate their cybersecurity posture in the face of evolving digital threats. By aligning our capabilities with the regulatory landscape, we empower financial institutions to more easily navigate the complexities of the cybersecurity landscape and build a resilient defense against cyber adversaries.

Towards Financial Cyber Defense

As the EU moves towards implementing DORA, financial services entities must prepare to meet the cybersecurity requirements outlined in the legislation. For Cyware, the landscape presents both challenges and opportunities. By aligning our offerings with the key features and requirements of DORA, Cyware can team up with financial services entities as a valuable partner in fortifying their digital resilience. As the regulatory landscape evolves, the collaboration between cybersecurity innovators and financial institutions becomes integral to ensuring a secure and resilient digital future for the European Union.