Business Continuity
The capability of an organization to continue delivering products or services at acceptable predefined levels following a disruptive incident. Business continuity planning is a core component of both DORA and ISO 27001 requirements.
Business continuity management (BCM) ensures that critical business functions can continue during and after a disaster or significant disruption. It encompasses business impact analysis, recovery strategy development, plan documentation, testing and exercises, and ongoing maintenance and improvement.
Under DORA, financial entities must develop and implement ICT business continuity policies that ensure the continuity of critical or important functions. These policies must include scenario-based testing (at least annually), clear recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs), communication plans for internal and external stakeholders, and integration with overall organizational business continuity plans.
ISO 27001 similarly addresses business continuity through Annex A controls related to information security continuity and redundancies. Organizations pursuing both standards benefit from an integrated approach to business continuity that satisfies both sets of requirements.
Related Terms
Operational Resilience
The ability of an organization to deliver critical operations through disruption. In the context of DORA, it specifically refers to digital operational resilience — the capacity of financial entities to build, assure, and review their technological operational integrity.
DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act)
An EU regulation that establishes uniform requirements for the security of network and information systems in the financial sector. DORA became mandatory on January 17, 2025, and applies to banks, insurance companies, investment firms, and their critical ICT service providers.
ISO 27001
The international standard for information security management systems (ISMS). ISO 27001 provides a systematic approach to managing sensitive company information, ensuring it remains secure through a framework of policies, processes, and technical controls.
ISMS (Information Security Management System)
A systematic approach to managing sensitive company information to keep it secure, consisting of policies, procedures, and technical controls. An ISMS is the core requirement of ISO 27001 and provides the organizational framework for information security governance.
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