Article 27Requirements for testers for the carrying out of TLPT
1. Financial entities shall only use testers for the carrying out of TLPT, that:
(a) are of the highest suitability and reputability;
(b) possess technical and organisational capabilities and demonstrate specific expertise in threat intelligence, penetration testing and red team testing;
(c) are certified by an accreditation body in a Member State or adhere to formal codes of conduct or ethical frameworks;
(d) provide an independent assurance, or an audit report, in relation to the sound management of risks associated with the carrying out of TLPT, including the due protection of the financial entity’s confidential information and redress for the business risks of the financial entity;
(e) are duly and fully covered by relevant professional indemnity insurances, including against risks of misconduct and negligence.
2. When using internal testers, financial entities shall ensure that, in addition to the requirements in paragraph 1, the following conditions are met:
(a) such use has been approved by the relevant competent authority or by the single public authority designated in accordance with Article 26(9) and (10);
(b) the relevant competent authority has verified that the financial entity has sufficient dedicated resources and ensured that conflicts of interest are avoided throughout the design and execution phases of the test; and
(c) the threat intelligence provider is external to the financial entity.
3. Financial entities shall ensure that contracts concluded with external testers require a sound management of the TLPT results and that any data processing thereof, including any generation, store, aggregation, draft, report, communication or destruction, do not create risks to the financial entity.
DORA, the European Union regulation on digital operational resilience, Article 27
Who may run a threat-led penetration test. Testers must be of the highest suitability and reputability; have technical and organisational capability and specific expertise in threat intelligence, penetration testing and red team testing; be certified by an accreditation body in a Member State or adhere to formal codes of conduct or ethical frameworks; provide independent assurance or an audit report on the sound management of the risks of carrying out TLPT, including protection of the entity’s confidential information and redress for its business risks; and be duly and fully covered by professional indemnity insurance, including against misconduct and negligence.
Internal testers are allowed only if the competent authority (or the designated single public authority) has approved their use, the authority has verified sufficient dedicated resources and that conflicts of interest are avoided throughout, and the threat intelligence provider is external to the entity. Separately, Article 26(8) requires an external tester to be contracted every three tests where internal testers are used, and significant credit institutions may use only external testers meeting the first list.
Contracts with external testers must also require sound management of the test results, so that handling the data does not create risks for the entity. The first list applies to every tester; internal testers must also meet the further conditions.
What is in the packs for this
From DORA ICT Risk & Resilience Readiness. Each one helps with this requirement.
DORA Article-to-Control Mapping LibraryExcel
Requirement Library rows RQ-39: each gives the provision in plain words, what an entity must be able to show and the documents that help.
DORA Readiness Self-AssessmentExcel
Readiness items RT-03 rate how ready the entity is for the provision, with the evidence behind each rating and the gap.
Digital Operational Resilience Testing ProgrammeExcel
The TLPT sheet records the tester selection against each criterion and the contract terms for testers.
DORA Documentation & Evidence ChecklistExcel
Evidence records EV-24: the records a supervisor can ask for under the provision, with who keeps them and for how long.
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.