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Article 26Advanced testing of ICT tools, systems and processes based on TLPT

1. Financial entities, other than entities referred to in Article 16(1), first subparagraph, and other than microenterprises, which are identified in accordance with paragraph 8, third subparagraph, of this Article, shall carry out at least every 3 years advanced testing by means of TLPT. Based on the risk profile of the financial entity and taking into account operational circumstances, the competent authority may, where necessary, request the financial entity to reduce or increase this frequency.

2. Each threat-led penetration test shall cover several or all critical or important functions of a financial entity, and shall be performed on live production systems supporting such functions.

Financial entities shall identify all relevant underlying ICT systems, processes and technologies supporting critical or important functions and ICT services, including those supporting the critical or important functions which have been outsourced or contracted to ICT third-party service providers.

Financial entities shall assess which critical or important functions need to be covered by the TLPT. The result of this assessment shall determine the precise scope of TLPT and shall be validated by the competent authorities.

3. Where ICT third-party service providers are included in the scope of TLPT, the financial entity shall take the necessary measures and safeguards to ensure the participation of such ICT third-party service providers in the TLPT and shall retain at all times full responsibility for ensuring compliance with this Regulation.

4. Without prejudice to paragraph 2, first and second subparagraphs, where the participation of an ICT third-party service provider in the TLPT, referred to in paragraph 3, is reasonably expected to have an adverse impact on the quality or security of services delivered by the ICT third-party service provider to customers that are entities falling outside the scope of this Regulation, or on the confidentiality of the data related to such services, the financial entity and the ICT third-party service provider may agree in writing that the ICT third-party service provider directly enters into contractual arrangements with an external tester, for the purpose of conducting, under the direction of one designated financial entity, a pooled TLPT involving several financial entities (pooled testing) to which the ICT third-party service provider provides ICT services.

That pooled testing shall cover the relevant range of ICT services supporting critical or important functions contracted to the respective ICT third-party service provider by the financial entities. The pooled testing shall be considered TLPT carried out by the financial entities participating in the pooled testing.

The number of financial entities participating in the pooled testing shall be duly calibrated taking into account the complexity and types of services involved.

5. Financial entities shall, with the cooperation of ICT third-party service providers and other parties involved, including the testers but excluding the competent authorities, apply effective risk management controls to mitigate the risks of any potential impact on data, damage to assets, and disruption to critical or important functions, services or operations at the financial entity itself, its counterparts or to the financial sector.

6. At the end of the testing, after reports and remediation plans have been agreed, the financial entity and, where applicable, the external testers shall provide to the authority, designated in accordance with paragraph 9 or 10, a summary of the relevant findings, the remediation plans and the documentation demonstrating that the TLPT has been conducted in accordance with the requirements.

7. Authorities shall provide financial entities with an attestation confirming that the test was performed in accordance with the requirements as evidenced in the documentation in order to allow for mutual recognition of threat led penetration tests between competent authorities. The financial entity shall notify the relevant competent authority of the attestation, the summary of the relevant findings and the remediation plans.

Without prejudice to such attestation, financial entities shall remain at all times fully responsible for the impact of the tests referred to in paragraph 4.

8. Financial entities shall contract testers for the purposes of undertaking TLPT in accordance with Article 27. When financial entities use internal testers for the purposes of undertaking TLPT, they shall contract external testers every three tests.

Credit institutions that are classified as significant in accordance with Article 6(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013, shall only use external testers in accordance with Article 27(1), points (a) to (e).

Competent authorities shall identify financial entities that are required to perform TLPT taking into account the criteria set out in Article 4(2), based on an assessment of the following:

(a) impact-related factors, in particular the extent to which the services provided and activities undertaken by the financial entity impact the financial sector;

(b) possible financial stability concerns, including the systemic character of the financial entity at Union or national level, as applicable;

(c) specific ICT risk profile, level of ICT maturity of the financial entity or technology features involved.

9. Member States may designate a single public authority in the financial sector to be responsible for TLPT-related matters in the financial sector at national level and shall entrust it with all competences and tasks to that effect.

10. In the absence of a designation in accordance with paragraph 9 of this Article, and without prejudice to the power to identify the financial entities that are required to perform TLPT, a competent authority may delegate the exercise of some or all of the tasks referred to in this Article and Article 27 to another national authority in the financial sector.

11. The ESAs shall, in agreement with the ECB, develop joint draft regulatory technical standards in accordance with the TIBER-EU framework in order to specify further:

(a) the criteria used for the purpose of the application of paragraph 8, second subparagraph;

(b) the requirements and standards governing the use of internal testers;

(c) the requirements in relation to:

(i) the scope of TLPT referred to in paragraph 2;

(ii) the testing methodology and approach to be followed for each specific phase of the testing process;

(iii) the results, closure and remediation stages of the testing;

(d) the type of supervisory and other relevant cooperation which are needed for the implementation of TLPT, and for the facilitation of mutual recognition of that testing, in the context of financial entities that operate in more than one Member State, to allow an appropriate level of supervisory involvement and a flexible implementation to cater for specificities of financial sub-sectors or local financial markets.

When developing those draft regulatory technical standards, the ESAs shall give due consideration to any specific feature arising from the distinct nature of activities across different financial services sectors.

The ESAs shall submit those draft regulatory technical standards to the Commission by 17 July 2024.

Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 of Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010, (EU) No 1094/2010 and (EU) No 1095/2010.

DORA, the European Union regulation on digital operational resilience, Article 26

Threat-led penetration testing (TLPT), the advanced testing Article 26 requires. It falls on entities that competent authorities identify, other than those on the simplified framework and other than microenterprises. Those entities must carry out advanced testing by TLPT at least every three years; the authority may, where necessary and based on the entity’s risk profile, ask it to test more or less often. Authorities choose entities on impact on the financial sector, financial stability concerns and the entity’s ICT risk profile.

Each test must cover several or all critical or important functions and be performed on live production systems supporting them. The entity identifies the underlying systems, processes and technologies, including outsourced ones, and assesses which functions the test covers; the authority validates the resulting scope. Where ICT third-party providers are in scope, the entity must secure their participation and stays fully responsible. If a provider’s participation could harm its other customers outside the Regulation, a pooled test run under one designated entity is possible.

At the end the entity provides the designated authority with a summary of findings, remediation plans and documentation showing the test followed the requirements. The authority issues an attestation so authorities can recognise one another’s tests, and the entity notifies its own authority of it. The detailed method, scope and closure requirements sit in the regulatory technical standards under Article 26(11), which follow TIBER-EU: Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1190. Check the current text for amendments.

What is in the packs for this

From DORA ICT Risk & Resilience Readiness. Each one helps with this requirement.

Text: Regulation (EU) 2022/2554, as published in the Official Journal of the European Union, from EUR-Lex. Only the Official Journal text is authentic.