The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) compliance deadline is here. For risk management leaders, this isn’t just another compliance challenge—it’s a critical opportunity to fortify their organization’s digital infrastructure against evolving cyber threats and ensure sustained operational resilience.
With financial services organizations under increasing pressure from cyberattacks, DORA mandates that businesses implement robust, proactive risk management frameworks. But amidst myriad preparations, have you included the mainframe in your strategy?
In this article, you will learn what you need to know to meet DORA’s requirements seamlessly when it comes to the mainframe, in addition to a helpful mainframe compliance checklist.
Key DORA requirements and why your mainframe is integral
DORA mandates that financial institutions meet stringent standards across several fronts, all aimed at mitigating risks and enhancing resilience. When it comes to your mainframe, here are the critical areas to focus on:
1. Vulnerability management
- What DORA requires: Establish a comprehensive vulnerability management program that includes regular vulnerability assessments, scanning for code and configuration vulnerabilities, management of open-source vulnerabilities, and annual penetration testing.
- Mainframe relevance: Mainframes can harbor undetected vulnerabilities, some of which include code-based, configuration-based, and open-source. Regular scanning and patch management are essential to prevent exploits that could compromise your organization’s operations.
2. Data recovery and resilience
- What DORA requires: Implement robust data recovery solutions capable of restoring operations within a two-hour recovery window by design.
- Mainframe relevance: DORA’s recovery time objective (RTO) highlights the need for precision recovery at the dataset level. Without a targeted data recovery plan for your mainframe, achieving compliance—and protecting critical business functions—becomes nearly impossible.
3. Open-source support
- What DORA requires: Provide full support for open-source code and tools to efficiently address vulnerabilities.
- Mainframe relevance: Unsecured open-source technologies within your mainframe ecosystem may introduce significant risks. Leveraging rapid and reliable support aligned with the NIST National Vulnerability Database ensures swift action against potential risks to prevent exploitation.
By anchoring your DORA compliance plan around these mainframe-specific challenges, you can optimize cybersecurity practices while reducing operational risks.
Protect your business and meet the DORA deadline. Continue reading here for a 6-point checklist to guide your DORA compliance roadmap.
And when you’re ready to build a DORA-compliant strategy that addresses all critical vulnerabilities, recovery requirements, and incident response measures, contact a Rocket Software security specialist.