Compliance for the financial sector is defined by the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). Your firm must prove it can withstand and recover from ICT-related disruption.
For the majority of financial entities and their ICT providers, DORA compliance hinges on Article 25: Digital Operational Resilience Testing. This mandate requires firms to perform a comprehensive programme of testing to identify vulnerabilities and ensure the continuity of their most vital services.
At Mongoose, we provide the specialist, CREST-accredited penetration testing required to satisfy DORA’s annual testing mandates and protect your critical financial functions.
Meeting the Requirements of DORA Article 25
DORA mandates that all covered entities (except micro-enterprises) conduct appropriate tests on their ICT systems at least annually. We align our services with these specific regulatory goals:
Internal & External Penetration Testing:
We conduct rigorous, manual audits of your perimeter and internal networks to identify the technical flaws that could lead to data exfiltration or system downtime.
Critical Function Validation:
We focus our testing on the systems and applications that support your Critical or Important Functions (CIFs), ensuring that a vulnerability in a non-essential system cannot cascade into a major operational failure.
Network Segmentation Audits:
A core focus of DORA is operational isolation. We test the effectiveness of your internal firewalls and VLANs to ensure that your core financial environment is properly protected from lower-security zones.
Third-Party Connection Testing:
DORA places heavy emphasis on the security of your ICT supply chain. We perform targeted testing of your vendor integrations to ensure they do not introduce unnecessary risk into your environment.
The Mongoose DORA Methodology
Scope & Criticality Mapping
We work with your team to identify the ICT assets that support your critical business functions. This ensures the penetration test is targeted where it matters most for your operational resilience and regulatory standing.
Specialist Adversarial Testing
Our testers do not rely on automated tools. We use manual exploitation techniques to identify the complex pathways an attacker might use to bypass your defences. This provides a realistic assessment of how your systems would hold up against a motivated adversary.
Remediation & Resilience Reporting
A Mongoose DORA report provides a clear, prioritised roadmap for your technical teams. We document the vulnerabilities discovered, the potential impact on your business continuity, and the specific steps required to close the gaps, providing the evidence your board and regulators require.
Why Mongoose for Financial Resilience?
DORA requires that testers be "independent, reputable, and possess sufficient knowledge and skills."
As a CREST-accredited firm, Mongoose provides the verified technical competence and ethical framework required by financial regulators. We understand that in your sector, security is about more than data: it’s about operational uptime. We provide the independent verification you need to prove to your regulators and clients that your business is built on a resilient foundation.
What is the difference between a vulnerability scan and a DORA pentest?
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Ready to see the gaps others are missing?
Don't wait for a real adversary to find the pathway. Contact our team today to discuss a tailored manual assessment for your organisation.
