What can your ITAM team contribute to DORA compliance?

In January of this year, the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) went into effect. DORA is the legal framework specifically aimed at strengthening digital resilience.

This means that organizations must ensure that their IT systems are resistant to cyberattacks, IT failures, and other incidents. Its main requirements are:

Organizations have to maintain a complete overview of all external suppliers that provide critical ICT services, such as cloud services, data centers, and cybersecurity solutions. This helps identify dependencies and potential vulnerabilities in the chain.

There must be a risk management policy that covers all ICT risks in the supply chain, including those of external service providers. Organizations must proactively monitor and assess risks in order to address potential problems in a timely manner.

Organizations are obliged to record and report incidents and malfunctions in their ICT services. This is essential for complying with the obligation to report serious ICT incidents to supervisors.

Organizations must demonstrate that they meet DORA’s requirements and that they have taken adequate measures to manage their critical ICT services and outsourcing. This includes documenting risk management processes and incident response plans.

Serious ICT incidents must be reported to the regulator within a specified period. This promotes fast and transparent communication in the event of incidents.

Organizations should conduct regular tests on the resilience of their IT systems, such as penetration tests. These tests are designed to detect vulnerabilities and improve overall security.

Organizations have to ensure a careful assessment of the risks associated with outsourcing ICT services to third parties. This includes monitoring the performance and compliance of these suppliers.

Why is ITAM so important when it comes to DORA?

In the complex landscape of regulatory compliance and operational efficiency, there is even more need for synergy between IT Asset Management and DORA. Both frameworks are crucial to protect organizations against the growing number of digital threats.

ITAM and DORA go hand in hand:

• Lifecycle Management: Both ITAM and DORA emphasize the importance of solid management of IT assets throughout their lifecycle. Alignment ensures organizations can manage, track, and retire IT assets systematically, reducing risks associated with outdated or unsupported systems.
• Enhanced Risk Management: Effective ITAM practices underpin DORA’s mandate for comprehensive ICT risk management. Maintaining a detailed inventory and oversight of all IT assets allows institutions to easily identify and mitigate potential vulnerabilities. This greatly enhances resilience against any kind of ICT disruptions.
• Regulatory Compliance: ITAM obviously supports DORA’s compliance requirements by making sure that all software and hardware assets are compliant with licensing and contractual obligations. In doing so, the risk of any regulatory penalties is mitigated.
• Proactive Incident Management: With a robust ITAM framework, organizations are better equipped to prevent and respond to incidents. Being proactive supports DORA’s requirements for rapid incident reporting and effective response strategies.
• Streamlined Vendor Management: Both DORA and ITAM require meticulous management of third-party risks, including those from IT asset suppliers. Effective ITAM facilitates compliance with DORA by verifying that third-party provided assets meet all regulatory and security standards.

What does the synergy between ITAM and DORA bring?

Positioning ITAM to play a crucial and strategic role within an organization is not (and never has been) a nice to have. A proper and mature ITAM program enables an organization to have full visibility into their IT assets. It is an essential process that enables organizations to optimize their IT assets by improving performance, mitigating security risks, and reducing costs.

That means that a solid ITAM practice brings a massive strategic advantage within the DORA framework that enhances operational efficiencies and fosters a culture of resilience and compliance. It takes ITAM beyond a mere regulatory requirement.

By embracing the overlap between ITAM and DORA, organizations can ensure they are not only compliant, but also set the stage for future-proofing their operations against the rapidly changing digital threat landscape. By using ITAM processes as a solid, ISO 19770-1-based foundation and ensuring compliance with DORA-related obligations, organizations can better manage risks. The information provided by the ITAM team is essential to control and mitigate those risks.

So it is time to make certain that ITAM teams are involved in setting the stage in your organization for all DORA-related processes, data and information flows! And based on experience we all know this does not automatically happen. So knock on the relevant doors and present your value-driven ‘business case’ to the table as soon as possible, before everyone starts reinventing the wheel.