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DORA: Security Controls for Financial Compliance and Operational Resilience
What is the European Union’s DORA regulation?
DORA, the Digital Operational Resilience Act, is a European Union regulation designed to ensure the cybersecurity and operational resilience of financial entities. It mandates strict requirements for access management, incident response, monitoring, and risk management to protect critical systems and sensitive data. In this context, DORA aligns with NIST 800-53 by emphasizing secure, role-based access, continuous monitoring, and resilient ICT systems, providing a framework for financial organizations to safeguard against cyber threats and operational disruptions.
Why is it important?
If your organization operates in the EU financial sector or provides critical ICT services, compliance with DORA is mandatory. Non-compliance can result in significant penalties, regulatory scrutiny, and operational disruptions. DORA also sets a high bar for cybersecurity, requiring organizations to adopt robust access management, monitoring, and incident response practices to avoid costly breaches and ensure operational resilience in an increasingly regulated landscape.
NIST 800-53 Controls Mapped
Access Management (Minimized Privilege and Context-Based Controls)
DORA emphasizes controlling access to sensitive data and systems using the principle of least privilege, meaning that access should only be granted based on role, necessity, and specific context. This approach aligns closely with several NIST 800-53 controls:
- AC-6 (Least Privilege): Both DORA and NIST mandate minimizing access rights to the minimum necessary for an individual’s role, particularly for high-privilege roles. DORA requires that permissions be limited, ensuring only essential access is granted and that it is contextually justified.
- AC-2 (Account Management): NIST 800-53’s Account Management control requires organizations to manage accounts and permissions actively, aligning with DORA’s emphasis on role-based access control and timely deactivation of unused accounts. Regular reviews of user access further support the principle of least privilege.
- AC-3 (Access Enforcement): This NIST control mandates strict enforcement of access policies based on roles and contextual needs. DORA’s focus on specific, role-based access aligns with NIST’s Access Enforcement requirements, ensuring consistent application of access controls across systems.
Secure Remote Access to Applications, Databases, and Workloads
DORA requires secure, controlled remote access to critical ICT (Information and Communication Technology) resources, particularly when accessing sensitive applications, databases, and workloads. These requirements align with several NIST 800-53 controls, including:
- AC-17 (Remote Access): This NIST control emphasizes securing remote access solutions, including the use of multifactor authentication (MFA) and encryption to limit risk exposure. DORA mandates similar measures to ensure secure access when connecting remotely to prevent unauthorized access.
- IA-2 (Identification and Authentication): DORA’s requirement for secure authentication mechanisms, especially MFA, aligns with this NIST control, which requires strong identity verification before granting access to ICT resources.
- SC-7 (Boundary Protection): NIST’s Boundary Protection control mandates measures to protect system boundaries, ensuring secure connections between internal systems and remote devices. DORA’s mandate for secure inter-system connections aligns with this control to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive internal systems.
Continuous Monitoring and Rapid Incident Response
DORA highlights the importance of continuous monitoring and the ability to respond quickly to emerging risks. These requirements align well with several NIST 800-53 controls focused on system monitoring, threat detection, and incident response:
- SI-4 (System Monitoring): This NIST control emphasizes the continuous monitoring of system activities, helping organizations detect anomalies or abnormal access patterns. DORA mandates similar continuous surveillance to identify real-time threats.
- IR-4 (Incident Handling): Rapid incident response is essential to DORA’s mandate for mitigating the impact of security incidents. Likewise, NIST’s Incident Handling control outlines necessary steps for incident detection, reporting, and remediation.
- AU-6 (Audit Record Review, Analysis, and Reporting): This NIST control mandates the regular review of audit logs, which is vital to continuous monitoring and reporting. DORA’s requirement for proactive threat detection aligns with NIST’s approach to tracking and analyzing audit records for actionable insights.
Auditable Access Management (Just-in-Time Access and Review System)
DORA emphasizes auditable access management, including Just-in-Time (JIT) access provisioning and regular review mechanisms. This requirement aligns with NIST 800-53 controls that emphasize auditing access and permission changes:
- AC-2 (Account Management) and AC-3 (Access Enforcement): These NIST controls support JIT provisioning by requiring that access controls align with strict, role-based access policies. DORA’s JIT approach aligns with NIST’s least privilege principle, ensuring that access is granted temporarily and revoked immediately when no longer necessary.
- AU-2 (Auditable Events): NIST mandates auditing specific events, particularly access and permission changes, supporting DORA’s requirement for a transparent access request system with complete auditability.
ICT Risk Management and Operational Resilience
DORA mandates a comprehensive ICT risk management strategy, covering all aspects of operational resilience to handle and recover from potential disruptions. This approach aligns closely with NIST 800-53’s requirements:
- PM-9 (Risk Management Strategy): NIST’s Risk Management Strategy control is similar to DORA’s ICT risk management requirements by emphasizing a holistic approach to identifying, assessing, and mitigating ICT risks.
- RA-2 (Security Categorization): DORA’s emphasis on identifying and protecting critical systems is reflected by NIST’s Security Categorization control, which prioritizes system protections based on organizational impact.
- CP-9 (System and Communications Protection): NIST mandates robust protections for communications channels, aligning with DORA’s requirement to ensure resilient data communications as a cornerstone of operational resilience.
Securing Privileged Access to Critical Systems
DORA requires organizations to protect privileged access to critical systems, minimizing the risks associated with highly privileged users. This approach aligns with NIST 800-53’s controls focused on privileged access management:
- AC-5 (Separation of Duties): This NIST control mandates dividing responsibilities to prevent conflicts of interest or misuse of privileges, supporting DORA’s need to ensure that no single user has excessive permissions that could lead to unauthorized changes to critical systems.
- PE-2 (Physical Access Authorizations): While traditionally focused on physical security, this NIST control aligns with DORA’s focus on protecting privileged access both physically and virtually.
How Teleport Solutions Help Meet DORA and NIST 800-53 Requirements
Teleport provides a comprehensive platform designed to help organizations align with both DORA and NIST 800-53 requirements through powerful solutions for secure access management, identity verification, policy enforcement, and privileged access control.
Teleport Access: Secure, Granular Access Controls
Teleport Access enables organizations to implement fine-grained access controls, supporting DORA and NIST’s emphasis on least privilege and secure remote access. With secure connections across applications, databases, and workloads, Teleport ensures that only authorized users can access sensitive resources, aligning with controls such as AC-6 (Least Privilege) and AC-17 (Remote Access).
Teleport Identity: Integration with Identity Providers
Teleport Identity integrates seamlessly with identity providers, enabling centralized authentication and MFA, ensuring compliance with IA-2 (Identification and Authentication) and supporting DORA’s requirements for secure, controlled access. Identity integration simplifies user management and strengthens access control by enforcing strong authentication protocols.
Teleport Policy: Enforcing Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and Policy Management
Teleport Policy provides robust RBAC capabilities, enforcing strict, role-based access policies as required by AC-2 (Account Management) and AC-3 (Access Enforcement). By enforcing policies that comply with DORA’s JIT and least privilege principles, Teleport helps ensure that users have access only when necessary and that policies can be adjusted dynamically.
Teleport Platform: Security Controls for Privileged Access
Teleport’s security controls for privileged access enable organizations to implement controlled, audited access for privileged roles, minimizing risks from both insider threats and external attacks. This solution aligns with DORA’s requirement to secure critical systems and NIST AC-5 (Separation of Duties) by limiting elevated permissions and monitoring all privileged actions in real time.
Continuous Monitoring and Auditing Capabilities
Teleport’s continuous monitoring capabilities support compliance with SI-4 (System Monitoring) and AU-6 (Audit Record Review, Analysis, and Reporting) by providing audit logs for all access events, allowing organizations to identify potential security incidents and maintain a transparent record for compliance purposes. This capability is essential for meeting DORA’s requirement for proactive threat detection and real-time response.
Conclusion
Teleport’s solutions provide the functionality needed to secure sensitive infrastructures and align with stringent compliance requirements set forth by DORA and NIST 800-53 frameworks. With robust access management, identity verification, policy enforcement, and privileged access management, Teleport enables you to prevent audit failures, protect your brand, and mitigate risks associated with non-compliance.
To learn more about how Teleport can help your organization meet compliance requirements and strengthen your cybersecurity posture, contact us today to explore our full suite of solutions.
White paper
Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA): Navigating Compliance with Teleport
Download this white paper to gain a deeper understanding of DORA’s cybersecurity mandates – and discover how to use Teleport’s secure infrastructure access platform to simplify your journey towards DORA compliance.
