Why are we talking so much about NIS2 and DORA?
Two European texts, two related objectives: reduce the impact of digital incidents and make organizations controllable.
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NIS2 targets "essential" and "important" sectors (energy, health, transport, water, digital, public administration, etc.).
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DORA targets the financial sector and its critical ICT providers.
In both cases: governance at management level, risk management, incident preparation, evidenceavailable... and deadlines/format authorities.
NIS2 in brief (what the authorities expect of you)
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Who's concerned? Essential" entities with +50 employees or +10M sales.
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What needs to be demonstrated :
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Governance with explicit management responsibility.
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Risk management (including supply-chain).
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Continuity & response procedures, exercises, proofs.
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Incident notification in controlled deadlines (early warning, notification within 72 h, final report).
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Daily changes : traced decisions, formalized supplier requirements, ready messages for reporting incidents, possible controls by the authority (heavy fines in the event of non-compliance).
DORA at a glance (finance specific)
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Who's concerned? Banks, insurance companies, investment firms, related entities... and certain ICT service providers reviews.
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What needs to be demonstrated :
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ICT governance by management.
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Incident management with harmonized reporting financial authorities.
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Third-party ICT : register, clauses, monitoring, exit strategy.
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Resilience testing (up to advanced scenarios).
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Continuity & crisis communication.
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Daily changes : formats and channels reporting defined, contractual supplier relationships, testing and exercise schedule.
NIS2 vs DORA: same foundations, different accents
| Theme | NIS2 | DORA |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | Essential/Important Sectors Directive | Règlement finance (applicable as is) |
| Management | Explicit role, traceable decisions | Ditto, + responsibility for ICT governance |
| Incidents | Early warning, notification, final report | Harmonized reporting + short lead times possible |
| Third parties | Supplier/supply-chain requirements | ICT service providers strong contractualization & exit |
| Tests | Regular exercises (IR/BCP) | Resilience testing structured, including advanced |
In practice : a Structured ISMS (such as ISO 27001) covers most of the base; we add the bricks deadlines/reporting and the third-party layer specific to NIS2/DORA.
How to prepare intelligently (without multiplying the number of jobs)
Status & scope
Check if/what applies, map activities, entities and suppliers concerned, identify the competent authority (and its formats).
Governance & proof
Appoint people in charge, document how decisions are made, keep records and mark out milestones. periodical magazines.
Incidents & communication
Write the instructions for use detection, qualification, who alerts whom, message templates, delivery channels, time clocktraining sessions.
Third parties & contracts
Segment suppliers according to criticality, define minimum requirementsintegrate clauses (notification, audits, safety, exit plan), and to establish a follow-up regular.
Continuity & testing
Realistic Plan B, exercises, resilience testing (more advanced in DORA), logging results and decisions.
Conclusion
NIS2 and DORA are not so much about promises as about facts evidence We're committed to ensuring that our customers' needs are met: clear governance, incidents managed and reported on time, third parties under control, tested continuity. With a ISO 27001 and an update on deadlines/reporting/tiersYou're all set... including the day of the inspection.
You want a NIS2/DORA blank test and a prioritized roadmap? Let's talk about it.
