ENISA 2026: Exercise Methodology to Operationalize DORA Article 24

On 16 February 2026, ENISA released “The ENISA Cybersecurity Exercise Methodology,” a guide and toolkit (scenarios, injects, evaluation sheets) to plan, run, and assess exercises from technical to executive level. ENISA source. Meanwhile, service disruptions and ransomware extortion continue to rise, as illustrated by Autovista on 15 April 2026. The Register.

The applicable legal framework

• DORA — Article 24: mandates a risk-based testing programme with regular scenario-driven exercises covering critical functions, including assessment and continuous improvement. EUR‑Lex – Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 and Article 24 details.
• In Luxembourg, the CSSF reaffirmed in 2026 the priority of embedding DORA and risk-based supervision. CSSF – 2026 Priorities. For a local view, see DORA in Luxembourg.

Operational takeaway: a board-approved exercise programme covering ICT continuity, backups and DRP, crisis organisation, coordination with ICT providers and regulatory communications — with execution evidence, results, and improvement.

The technical solution to deploy

Objective: implement structured tabletop exercises aligned with DORA Art. 24, leveraging the 2026 ENISA methodology.

How it works in practice

• Risk-based planning: map critical services, internal/external dependencies, RTO/RPO, and threat scenarios (ransomware encrypting ERP with exfiltration, loss of a critical SaaS, supplier compromise). ENISA – Methodology + templates.
• Scenario and inject design: use ENISA templates to draft 1–3 realistic scenarios with technical injects (EDR logs, SIEM alerts) and business injects (payment outage, client requests, media). ENISA – ready-to-use tools.
• Multi-team tabletop execution: bring together IT/SEC, business, legal, comms, and ICT providers; simulate for 2–3 hours; time decision-making, escalation, and communications (clients, authorities, CSSF where applicable).
• Assessment and evidence: apply ENISA evaluation sheets; issue a gap report and action plan tracked in the DORA register (actions, deadlines, owners).

Exercises should align with the business continuity and disaster recovery plan to validate backups, restoration, and failover procedures.

Reference controls

• ISO/IEC 27001:2022 – A.5.30, A.5.29, A.8.16.
• ISO 22301 (BCMS) and ISO 22398 (exercises).
• NIST CSF 2.0 – PR‑IP, RS‑RP, RC‑IM.

How Luxgap delivers

• ISO 27001 governance: scope the DORA Art. 24 programme, a coverage matrix (processes/functions/third parties), and a consolidated crisis runbook.
• 24/7 managed SOC: inject realistic signals (EDR/XDR alerts, IOCs) and measure detection/triage/escalation to tie the exercise to operations. Explore our incident detection capability.
• PECB trainings: upskill the management body and IR teams (gold/silver/bronze roles, DRP, regulator communications).

1. Half‑day scenario design workshop with business and IT.
2. Draft injects and participant booklets using ENISA templates.
3. Run the 2–3h exercise, time decisions, capture evidence.
4. Issue a gap report and prioritised action plan, audit‑ready for CSSF/internal.
5. Targeted re‑test after 4–8 weeks.

EU/Luxembourg case study

A DORA‑subject management company completed a six‑week cycle combining a ransomware tabletop and a critical SaaS loss scenario based on ENISA’s methodology. Outcomes: 40% faster DRP decision, pre‑approved major incident notification templates, validated client messaging. The re‑test confirmed remediation (immutable backups failover, clarified legal/comms roles). [Anonymised example]

First concrete steps

• Download the ENISA methodology and templates; pick one priority scenario and schedule an exercise before end‑June 2026. ENISA guide + toolkit.
• Map five critical services, their RTO/RPO and dependencies (ICT providers, identities, backups).
• Pre‑draft three ready‑to‑use documents: crisis checklist, client email, DORA major incident report template.
• Test a cold restore of a critical system and record the actual time (DORA evidence).
• Appoint an Exercise Controller and a Scribe to log decisions and actions.

Official sources

• ENISA — The ENISA Cybersecurity Exercise Methodology (16 Feb 2026): https://www.enisa.europa.eu/publications/the-enisa-cybersecurity-exercise-methodology
• DORA — Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 (Art. 24): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32022R2554 and https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2554/oj
• CSSF — 2026 Priorities (ICT resilience/DORA): https://www.cssf.lu/en/2026/03/the-cssfs-2026-priorities-for-supervising-the-investment-fund-sector/
• News — Autovista ransomware (15 Apr 2026): https://www.theregister.com/security/2026/04/15/autovista-blames-ransomware-for-service-disruption/

In short: use ENISA’s 2026 methodology to industrialise exercises, produce DORA Article 24 evidence, and shorten decision times when it matters. To speak with our team: get in touch.