Making sense of EU regulations can feel overwhelming for anyone, especially when trying to distinguish between frameworks like NIS2 and DORA. If your business is trying to understand these frameworks, you’re not alone. Although both focus on boosting cybersecurity and resilience, they each have unique purposes and scopes that impact businesses in different ways.
In this article, we’ll break down the key differences between NIS2 and DORA, explore what they mean for your operations, and highlight how compliance automation software can simplify the compliance process for both frameworks.
Let’s kick things off by exploring exactly what NIS2 and DORA are all about.
Key Objectives and Scope of NIS2 and DORA
First things first, what are NIS2 and DORA?
The Network and Information Systems Directive (aka the EU NIS 2 Directive) is the updated version of the original NIS Directive (2016). This framework focuses on improving the cybersecurity posture of essential and important entities within vital sectors across the European Union (EU), like energy providers, health organizations, and digital service companies. Essentially, the EU has put its foot down and is saying, “Time to level up, everyone! No more playing games when it comes to keeping critical infrastructure and services secure.”
On the other hand, DORA (the Digital Operational Resilience Act) is all about ensuring that financial entities – banks, insurance companies, payment providers, etc. – within the EU can withstand, respond to, and recover from security threats. To put it simply, if NIS2 is about strengthening the broader cybersecurity ecosystem, DORA zooms in on the financial sector and operational resilience. Both play in their own leagues and are equally important given the rise in security threats and data breaches, but their goals and the entities they target differ slightly.
NIS2 vs. DORA: A Detailed Comparison
Here’s a quick snapshot of how these two EU regulations compare:
| Feature | NIS2 (EU NIS 2 Directive) | DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) |
| Focus Area | Cybersecurity for essential and important entities | Operational resilience in the financial sector |
| Key Objective | Enhancing EU-wide cybersecurity standards | Protecting financial entities from cyber threats |
| Applicability | Critical sectors like energy, healthcare, and transport | Financial entities like banks, insurers, and fintechs |
| Key Components | Incident reporting, risk management, governance | ICT risk management, resilience testing, incident reporting |
| Implementation Deadline | October 2024 | January 2025 |
Key Differences Between NIS2 and DORA
We get it – things can get confusing. Let’s take a closer look and break down the main differences between these two security frameworks:
Scope of Coverage
NIS2 applies to a broad range of essential and important services, from water supply systems to online marketplaces. DORA, on the other hand, narrows its focus specifically to the financial sector, addressing the unique risks these organizations face, as well as the critical third parties that provide ICT (Information and Communication Technology) services to these organizations, such as cloud platforms and data analytics.
Resilience vs. Security
While both frameworks address cybersecurity, NIS2 leans more toward securing critical infrastructure against external threats. EU regulation, DORA, takes it a step further, emphasizing operational resilience – ensuring businesses can continue functioning even in the worst-case scenario, such as a cyber crisis.
Testing Requirements
DORA introduces mandatory resilience testing, including penetration testing, where scenarios such as cyberattacks or disruptions caused by security threats are simulated to assess whether an organization can continue providing services despite these disruptions. NIS2, on the other hand, does not require penetration testing but instead focuses on effective risk management practices and governance requirements.
Incident Reporting
NIS2 has stricter timelines for reporting cybersecurity incidents, emphasizing timely and efficient communication across sectors. In contrast, DORA focuses more on standardizing how incidents affecting financial systems are responded to and reported.
Regulated Entities
The list of entities that fall under NIS2 is extensive, covering sectors like energy, transportation and banking, whereas DORA’s scope is limited to financial organizations, including their ICT providers.
What NIS2 and DORA Mean for Your Business
Whether your business falls under NIS2 or DORA, I’m afraid to say these regulations aren’t just items to check off your to-do list – they’re vital for shaping and refining your business’s overall approach to cybersecurity and operational resilience, ultimately helping you enhance your security posture.
Let’s take a closer look at how these frameworks affect your business:
1. Risk Management Becomes Central
Both frameworks demand that you apply a proactive stance on risk management. For NIS2, this means implementing governance structures to mitigate risks effectively. DORA goes further by making sure that financial entities assess and manage ICT risks on a continuous basis.
2. Increased Accountability
Both frameworks put the spotlight on senior management, making sure that they’re held accountable. Whether it’s meeting NIS2’s governance standards or keeping an eye on resilience under DORA, leadership teams are expected to roll up their sleeves, stay in the loop, and take charge.
3. Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
NIS2 is all about teamwork, promoting cross-border collaboration and information sharing to tackle cyber threats together. Cybersecurity regulatory framework DORA, however, calls for the financial sector to work closely with ICT providers, building resilience across the entire supply chain.
4. Adapt or Face Serious Penalties
By now, it should be clear that non-compliance simply isn’t an option. The financial – and even worse, reputational – costs of failing to meet these standards can be devastating to say the least. Penalties under both frameworks are steep, and regulatory scrutiny – from customers, partners, and regulatory bodies – is only expected to increase.
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Streamlining NIS2 and DORA Compliance with Scytale
When it comes to NIS2 vs. DORA, understanding the differences is just the first step toward achieving compliance and earning the trust of both customers and partners. While both aim to create a safer, more resilient digital world, they take different routes to get there. For businesses like yours, that means adapting to these frameworks while building a genuine culture of resilience and security.
Ready for some good news? Your business doesn’t have to tackle the complexities of NIS2 or DORA compliance alone. With Scytale by your side, getting through security and regulatory requirements becomes a lot less overwhelming – and a whole lot more effective. Our compliance automation platform takes the stress out of the process, making it simple to meet both DORA standards and NIS2 requirements. Whether it’s automating tedious, time-consuming tasks like evidence collection and user access reviews, simplifying risk assessments, managing vendor risks effectively, or ensuring continuous compliance, we’ve got you covered.
With Scytale, you get a unified platform to manage compliance across multiple frameworks, backed by personalized support from our expert compliance team. Plus, automation means less hassle – by taking repetitive compliance tasks off your plate, Scytale helps you stay on top of key compliance requirements while letting your team focus on growing your business instead of drowning in paperwork.
