Regulation (EU) 2022/2554, known as DORA, establishes a comprehensive and uniform legal framework throughout the European Union to ensure that financial sector entities are able to withstand, respond to, and recover from any type of disruption or threat related to information and communications technologies (ICT). The regulation requires banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions to implement strict frameworks for risk management, oversight of technology providers, reporting of serious incidents, and periodic testing of their systems to prevent isolated technical failures from becoming systemic risks to the economy.
Essentially, DORA shifts the focus from traditional financial supervision to proactive oversight of digital operational resilience, recognizing the sector’s deep technological dependence today. By harmonizing rules on cybersecurity, incident response, and stress testing, the regulation not only imposes stricter requirements on financial institutions but also introduces a framework for direct supervision of critical ICT service providers, ensuring that the entire technology supply chain of the European financial system meets minimum standards for security and reliability.