Executive Summary
DORA addresses the digital operational resilience of the financial sector in the European Union. This whitepaper describes how IBM Sterling B2Bi and Sterling File Gateway can support organizations in meeting the requirements set by DORA. These IBM offerings facilitate key solutions for secure, scalable, and efficient data exchange and integration, thus helping the financial institutions adapt to regulatory imperatives and ensure continuity of operations.
Introduction to DORA
DORA has established a comprehensive framework and structure for digital operational resilience in the financial sector. For all financial entities, DORA mandates the following:
• Use appropriate security and integrity measures on their respective IT systems
• Ensure continuity and the operational availability of critical functions that depend upon ICT authorizations
• Reduce any adverse impacts of ICT-related risks
• Exercise effective governance in ensuring control over the Third Party Service Provider arrangements
• Have an incident reporting system
IBM Sterling B2Bi and Sterling File Gateway Overview
IBM Sterling B2Bi
IBM Sterling B2Bi is an all-in-one B2B integration solution for secure and efficient information exchange across the extended enterprise. It has a variety of communication protocols and data formats to easily integrate with diverse partners, suppliers, and customers.
IBM Sterling File Gateway
IBM Sterling File Gateway is designed for secure and dependable file transfers within and across enterprises. It simplifies exchanging large-sized files efficiently and securely within the boundaries of security policies and regulatory requirements. Sterling File Gateway supports multiple protocols, encryption standards, and provides detailed tracking and auditing capabilities.
IBM Sterling Solutions Meet the Requirements of DORA
1. Security and Integrity
Sterling B2Bi:
• It has supported higher encryption standards for secure communication protocols such as AS2, SFTP, and HTTPS to protect data in transit.
• Enables strong authentication and authorization, allowing only authorized persons or entities to have access to sensitive information.
• Allows mechanisms for the integrity of data in order to detect changes/damage of data in transport.
Sterling File Gateway:
• Provides end-to-end encryption and secure protocols for file transfers.
• Enables the facility of granular access control and user management: access can be ensured only to files by those personnel who genuinely shall have access.
• It provides audit trails and logging for tracking file movements and unauthorized access detection.
2. Continuity and Availability
Sterling B2Bi:
• Offers high availability and disaster recovery options to make sure continuity, even when some system failures occur.
• Supports load balancing and failover mechanisms in order to maintain performance and reliability during peak loads.
Sterling File Gateway:
• Offers constant file transfers with in-built redundancy and failover for filed transfers.
• Allows dealing with non-delivery/receipt and provides options for automatic retry and recovery in order to minimize business downtime.
3. Managing and Mitigating ICT-related Risks
Sterling B2Bi:
• Provides extensive monitoring and alerting capabilities, ensuring timely action against potential security violations and operations errors.
• It allows applicability of risk management frameworks through reporting in detail and analytics.
Sterling File Gateway:
• It allows for proactive risk management where one monitors or gets alerts in real time about file transfer activities.
• It provides detailed audit logs and compliance reports to address risk assessments and regulatory audits.
4. Effective Governance and Control over Third-party Service Providers
Sterling B2Bi:
• Allows seamless integration with third-party service providers while maintaining strict control over the processes of data exchange.
• It provides support for standardized protocols and data formats for interoperability, thereby adding to the overall industry standard conformance.
Sterling File Gateway:
• Offers centralized governance for file transfers with external partners, ensuring compliancy with security policy and regulatory requirements.
• Helps in managing third-party risks through leading tracking and auditing of file transfer activities.
5. Omnibus Incident Reporting
Sterling B2Bi:
• Mainly offers in-depth logging and reporting for capturing and documenting incidents related to the data exchanges.
• Provides automated alerting and notification mechanisms that ensure incidents related to data exchanges are timely reported to relevant stakeholders.
Sterling File Gateway:
• Offers end-to-end audit trails and logs for documenting incidents of file transfer.
• Enables setting up automatic workflows in incident reporting and escalation processes so that incidents are responded to and resolved in a timely manner.
Conclusion
IBM Sterling B2Bi and Sterling File Gateway are solid solutions that would give financial institutions a head start in meeting the requirements of the Digital Operational Resilience Act by providing secure, reliable, and efficient data exchange and file transfer that undergirds the digital operation resilience of organizations in search of continuity, security, and compliance against ever-changing regulatory landscapes.
By David Heath
References
• IBM Sterling B2B Integrator: IBM Sterling B2Bi Documentation
• IBM Sterling File Gateway: IBM Sterling File Gateway Documentation
• Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA): European Commission DORA
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