With the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) coming into effect from the 17th of January 2025, UK financial tech companies are facing new regulatory requirements that aim to bolster digital resilience and strengthen defences against cyber security risks. DORA aims to strengthen the IT security of financial businesses, such as banks, insurance companies, and investment firms, to make sure the financial sector in Europe can stay resilient during severe operation disruption.
This blog provides a step-by-step guide for UK fintech companies to implement DORA compliance measures effectively, helping you navigate this new regulatory landscape with confidence.
Step-by-Step Guide to DORA Compliance for UK Fintech Companies
As the financial industry continues to integrate more advanced cyber security technologies, compliance with DORA is critical for maintaining trust, meeting regulatory standards, and minimising operational disruptions. Let’s walk through this guide to further explore the different elements of DORA:
Step 1: Understand the Requirements of DORA
Before implementing DORA’s compliance measures, it is important to understand what they entail. The regulation focuses on ensuring that financial institutions and tech companies in the EU have robust digital operational resilience, including capabilities for managing ICT risks, incident reporting, and operational continuity. For UK fintech companies, it is essential to familiarise your team with DORA’s specific requirements to help identify any potential gaps in your current risk management strategies.
Step 2: Assess and Strengthen Your ICT Risk Management
One of the main aspects of DORA is effective ICT (Information and Communications Technology) risk management. To ensure compliance, businesses should conduct a comprehensive assessment of their current risk management framework, identifying vulnerabilities, high-risk areas, and their overall readiness to respond to cyber security threats. Additionally, you should consider implementing continuous monitoring solutions that provide real-time insights into potential risks.
Step 3: Develop a Resilient Incident Response Plan
DORA requires financial companies to have a clear and actionable incident response and recovery plan. To ensure your business is compliant with this, develop a structured plan that details the steps that would be taken during a cyber incident, including detection, communication, and resolution strategies. It is important to make sure that your plan includes procedures for reporting incidents to regulators as required by DORA.
Step 4: Build an Operational Resilience Testing Programme
An operational resilience testing programme ensures that your systems can withstand disruptions while continuing to provide essential services. DORA compliance requires regular testing to assess the effectiveness of your resilience measures. This includes stress tests, vulnerability assessments, and scenario-based testing for high-risk situations. An IT support provider can assist you with resilience testing, so you can identify potential weaknesses and address them proactively.
Step 5: Ensure Third-Party Risk Management
DORA mandates that financial companies manage risks posed by third-party providers, particularly those handling sensitive data or providing critical ICT services. Develop a third-party risk management framework that includes vendor assessments, monitoring, and clear contractual obligations for managing cyber risks.
Step 6: Establish Regular Reporting and Governance Practices
To maintain DORA compliance, fintech companies must implement structured reporting and governance practices, allowing them to monitor and communicate their resilience efforts to stakeholders and regulators. Regular reports should cover the state of ICT risk management, resilience testing results, and incident response activities.
Virtual IT: Your Partner in DORA Compliance
Navigating DORA compliance can seem overwhelming, but with our comprehensive IT support and cyber security services, you can rest assured that your business will remain compliant. We provide robust IT support across Essex and London to businesses looking for IT solutions that align with the latest regulatory requirements. From ICT risk management to resilience testing, we provide the expertise and resources to help UK fintech companies achieve full compliance, allowing you to focus on growing your business securely.
Achieving DORA Compliance
DORA compliance is essential for fintech companies looking to strengthen their digital resilience and meet evolving regulatory standards. By understanding DORA’s requirements and assessing ICT risks, developing response plans, and managing third-party providers, your business can build a secure and resilient framework. With our expert support, businesses in Essex and London are provided with the services they need to keep compliant with DORA. Contact us today to discuss how we can support your business with DORA compliance in 2025 and beyond.
