DORA (Digital Operational Resilience)

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) has reshaped how the European financial sector procures technology. While previous regulations focused heavily on capital requirements, DORA acknowledges that cyber risk is the new systemic threat. As of January 2025, financial entities—banks, insurers, and investment firms—are strictly liable for the resilience of their entire tech stack. Most importantly, DORA establishes an EU oversight framework for critical third-party Information and Communication Technology (ICT) service providers. If you sell software or cloud services to a European bank, you must prove DORA compliance, or your contract will be terminated.

DORA compliance requires far more than an ISO 27001 certificate. ICT vendors must map their concentration risk, establish board-approved ICT risk management frameworks, conduct Threat-Led Penetration Testing (TLPT), and implement strict incident reporting mechanisms that trigger within hours of a breach. Furthermore, you must map your own sub-contractors to ensure vulnerabilities do not cascade up to your financial clients.

Sustalium bridges the gap between your engineering teams and your banking clients' procurement departments. Instead of filling out massive, bespoke security questionnaires for every prospect, Sustalium allows you to build a centralized DORA compliance dossier. You can map your ICT assets, document your backup strategies, and securely link your penetration test results. When an EU banking client asks for your resilience posture, you simply generate a complete, structured DORA evidence pack.