Compliance Framework

DORA Audit Logging Requirements

DORA requires EU financial entities and their ICT service providers to implement comprehensive logging for ICT-related incidents, change management, and access control.

Overview

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is an EU regulation that took effect on January 17, 2025. It establishes a unified framework for digital operational resilience in the financial sector, covering banks, insurance companies, investment firms, crypto-asset providers, and critically, their ICT third-party service providers. DORA mandates detailed logging requirements for ICT risk management, incident reporting, and resilience testing. SaaS platforms serving European financial institutions must demonstrate logging capabilities that support incident classification, root cause analysis, and regulatory reporting.

Key facts

DORA applies to over 22,000 financial entities and ICT service providers in the EU

The regulation became effective on January 17, 2025

DORA explicitly requires logging of all ICT transactions and activities (Article 9)

ICT third-party service providers (including SaaS platforms) are directly regulated under DORA

Retention period: 5 years minimum for ICT-related incident records (Article 10)

Audit logging requirements

Article 9 - ICT Systems Logging

Financial entities shall put in place mechanisms to promptly detect anomalous activities, including ICT network performance issues and ICT-related incidents. Detection mechanisms shall enable logging of all ICT transactions and activities.

How AuditKit helps: Real-time event capture with SIEM streaming for anomaly detection

Article 10 - Incident Response and Logging

Implement ICT-related incident management processes including indicators of compromise, classification, logging, and impact assessment.

How AuditKit helps: Structured incident event schemas with cryptographic integrity for forensic analysis

Article 12 - Backup and Recovery Logging

Maintain logs of backup, restoration, and recovery activities. Verify the integrity of backed-up data through regular testing.

How AuditKit helps: Immutable audit trails capture backup and recovery operations with Merkle proof verification

Article 15 - ICT Third-Party Risk Logging

Monitor and log activities related to ICT third-party service providers including access, changes, and incidents.

How AuditKit helps: Tenant-isolated logging enables third-party activity monitoring and reporting

Frequently asked questions

What does DORA require for audit logging?

DORA (EU Regulation 2022/2554) requires financial entities to log all ICT transactions and activities (Article 9), maintain incident records for 5 years (Article 10), log backup and recovery operations (Article 12), and monitor third-party ICT provider activities (Article 15). AuditKit provides the immutable, tamper-proof logging that DORA demands.

Does DORA apply to SaaS companies?

Yes. DORA directly regulates ICT third-party service providers, including SaaS platforms that serve EU financial institutions. If your SaaS handles data or provides services to banks, insurance companies, or investment firms in the EU, you need DORA-compliant audit logging.

Related compliance frameworks

Related resources

Get DORA-ready with AuditKit

Tamper-proof audit logging that satisfies DORA requirements. Start from $99/mo with no lock-in.