DORA Compliance for U.S. Companies: A Guide for Financial Service Providers and ICT Vendors

Does DORA Apply to US-Based Financial Service Providers A Comprehensive Guide by Secfense

If your U.S.-based company serves EU financial clients, the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) likely applies to you.
This EU regulation reshapes cybersecurity and operational resilience standards for banks, insurance firms, fintechs, and their ICT third-party providers no matter where those providers are based.

This guide explains:

  • What DORA is and why it matters to U.S. businesses
  • Who must comply
  • Key requirements for ICT providers and financial service companies
  • How technology like Secfense can help you align with DORA quickly and without costly system changes

What Is the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA)?

The Digital Operational Resilience Act is an EU regulation aimed at strengthening the cybersecurity and operational resilience of the financial sector. It applies to:

  • Banks, insurance companies, and other regulated financial entities
  • Fintech providers serving EU markets
  • ICT third-party service providers that support those entities

DORA’s goal is to ensure that financial institutions and their suppliers can withstand, respond to, and recover from cyber threats and ICT incidents.

What is DORA, the Digital Operational Resilience Act, and What are its Objectives

Does DORA Apply to U.S. Companies?

Yes – if you provide critical ICT or financial services to EU-based financial entities.
DORA explicitly covers “ICT third-party service providers established in a third country,” meaning any non-EU provider working with EU financial organizations falls in scope.

Examples include:

  • Cloud service providers
  • Cybersecurity vendors
  • Authentication and access management providers
  • Data hosting and processing services

Key DORA Compliance Requirements for U.S. Companies

If you’re a U.S. ICT or financial service provider working with EU clients, you’ll need to meet the following obligations:

1. ICT Risk Management

Implement a robust risk management framework to identify, mitigate, and monitor ICT threats that could impact operational resilience.

2. Incident Reporting

Develop clear processes to detect and report ICT-related incidents to the relevant EU authorities within required timeframes.

3. System Testing and Resilience

Perform regular penetration tests, vulnerability assessments, and operational resilience exercises. Regulators may request results, even from non-EU providers.

4. Contractual Alignment

Ensure all contracts with EU financial clients explicitly define your cybersecurity, risk management, and incident reporting responsibilities.

Analysis of DORA in the Context of Enterprise Cyber Security in the EU

Why DORA Compliance Matters for U.S. Providers

  • Business continuity – Non-compliance could mean losing the right to serve EU financial entities.
  • Competitive advantage – Compliance can differentiate you from non-compliant competitors.
  • Regulatory alignment – Meeting DORA standards often aligns with other global regulations, improving your overall security posture.

How Secfense Helps U.S. Companies Achieve DORA Compliance

Secfense offers a no-code, compliance-ready authentication platform that addresses some of DORA’s toughest technical requirements:

  • Phishing-Resistant MFA – Eliminate passwords and protect against credential-based attacks.
  • Passwordless for Workforce & Customers – Use passkeys and FIDO2 authentication for secure, frictionless logins.
  • Privileged Access & Microauthorizations – Apply per-action authentication for high-risk operations.
  • Zero Trust Authentication – Enforce identity verification at every step, assuming breach by default.
  • Regulatory Compliance Alignment – Meet strong authentication requirements under DORA, NIS2, and PSD2 without replacing legacy systems.

Because Secfense works without modifying application code, U.S. companies can quickly deploy FIDO2 and passkey-based authentication across all applications – cloud or legacy – and demonstrate compliance in audits.

Proof of Value: From Assessment to Compliance in One Week

Secfense’s Proof of Value (POV) program lets you secure one high-value application with phishing-resistant MFA in just one week:

  • No code changes or downtime
  • 10 hours of your team’s time
  • Immediate audit-ready evidence of strong authentication controls
Download-report-about-Digital-Operational-Resilience-Act-DORA-and-The-NIS2-Network-and-Information-Security-Directive

Key Takeaways

  • If your U.S. company serves EU financial institutions, DORA likely applies to you.
  • Compliance requires strong ICT risk management, incident reporting, resilience testing, and contractual alignment.
  • Secfense enables rapid, no-code adoption of phishing-resistant, passwordless authentication – a core DORA requirement.

🚀 Next Step: Secure Your First Application Under DORA Standards

Don’t wait until regulators ask for proof of compliance.
📅 Book your discovery call today and be ready to demonstrate DORA compliance to your EU clients – with phishing-resistant MFA in place in just one week.

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We are faced with new challenges every day. We must always be one step ahead of the attackers and know what they are going to do before they do it. We are convinced that the User Access Security Broker will bring security to a new level, both for those working at the office and from home. For us, working with Secfense is an opportunity to exchange experience with developers who put great value on out-of-the-box thinking.

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As part of the pre-implementation analysis, we verified that users utilize a wide range of client platforms: desktop computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and traditional mobile phones. Each of these devices differs in technological advancement, features, and level of security. Because of this, and also due to the recommendation of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (UKNF), we decided to introduce additional protection in the form of multi-factor authentication mechanisms based on FIDO. As a result, users of our applications can log in safely, avoiding common cyber threats such as phishing, account takeover, and theft of their own and their clients’ data.

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Sandis

We are excited to partner with Secfense to enhance our user access security for our web apps. By integrating their User Access Security Broker, we ensure seamless and secure protection for our applications and systems, delivering superior security and convenience to our customers.

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IT & Infrastructure

Visium Networks

Before investing in Secfense, we had the opportunity to talk to its existing clients. Their reactions were unanimous: wow, it’s so easy to use. We were particularly impressed by the fact that implementing their solution does not require the involvement of IT developers. It gives Secfense a huge advantage over the competition, and at the same time opens the door to potential customers who so far were afraid of changes related to the implementation of multi-factor authentication solutions.

Mateusz Bodio

Managing Director

RKKVC

Even when the network and infrastructure are secured enough, social engineering and passwords can be used to gain control of the system by attackers. Multifactor authentication is the current trend. Secfense addresses this and allows you to build zero trust security and upgrade your current systems to passwordless applications within minutes, solving this problem right away,” said Eduard Kučera, Partner at Presto Ventures and cybersecurity expert – former Director in hugely successful Czech multinational cyber security firm Avast.

Eduard Kučera

Partner

Presto Ventures

One of the biggest challenges the world is facing today is securing our identity online. That’s why we were so keen to have Secfense in our portfolio. They make it possible to introduce strong authentication in an automated way. Until now, organizations had to selectively protect applications because the deployment of new technology was very hard, or even impossible. With Secfense, the implementation of multi-factor authentication is no longer a problem, and all organizations can use the highest standards of authentication security.

Stanislav Ivanov

Founding Partner

Tera Ventures