Secure Your FCA Operational Resilience PS21/3 Evidence Pack Today
With the 2024 DSIT Cyber Breaches Survey reporting that 50% of UK businesses experienced a breach, meeting PS21/3 standards is no longer optional. Gridisys provides the managed infrastructure and documentation required to secure your firm’s compliance.
Mastering the FCA PS21/3 Regulatory Framework
The FCA’s PS21/3 policy on operational resilience marks a seismic shift for UK financial services. It is no longer enough to have a basic disaster recovery plan; firms must now demonstrate how they maintain Important Business Services (IBS) under severe stress. At Gridisys, our cybersecurity consulting team helps you define your IBS list and map the supporting people, processes, technology, and facilities required. We translate complex regulatory language into actionable security architecture, ensuring your firm stays ahead of NCSC guidelines and FCA audit requirements.
- ▸Identification and documentation of critical IBS
- ▸Mapping of interdependencies across third-party supply chains
- ▸Formalisation of operational resilience governance structures
- ▸Alignment with UK GDPR and NIS2 compliance standards
Setting and Monitoring Impact Tolerances
A critical component of your PS21/3 evidence pack is the definition and testing of impact tolerances. You must specify the maximum tolerable level of disruption for each IBS. Gridisys provides a managed SOC that delivers real-time visibility into your infrastructure, allowing you to monitor these tolerances continuously rather than retrospectively. By leveraging AI-driven threat detection, we identify potential failures before they breach your thresholds, providing the data-backed evidence needed to prove resilience to the regulator.
- ▸Quantifiable data for maximum tolerable disruption periods
- ▸Automated alerts triggered by near-tolerance performance issues
- ▸Periodic review cycles integrated with security operations
- ▸Dashboards tailored for senior management and compliance reporting
Advanced Scenario Testing for Financial Resilience
FCA requirements demand that you test your ability to remain within impact tolerances under severe, but plausible, scenarios. This includes sophisticated cyber attacks like ransomware (e.g., LockBit, Cl0p) or large-scale data breaches. Gridisys conducts bespoke stress testing that mimics real-world threat actor methodologies targeting UK SMEs. We document these tests, the outcomes, and your subsequent remediation strategies to create a robust audit trail that serves as the backbone of your evidence pack. This process directly supports your Cyber Essentials status while satisfying deeper FCA scrutiny.
- ▸Simulated ransomware and service degradation scenarios
- ▸Technical documentation of recovery time objectives (RTO)
- ▸Evidence logs for auditor review and regulatory disclosure
- ▸Post-incident remediation strategy development
Signed-off Accountability and Governance
Regulatory accountability requires clear board-level ownership. A comprehensive PS21/3 evidence pack must show that senior management has actively reviewed and signed off on your operational resilience frameworks. Gridisys acts as an extension of your compliance team, preparing executive-ready reports that simplify complex security data into clear risk assessments. Whether your firm needs to integrate Microsoft Entra security protocols or secure bespoke applications, our documentation ensures your board has the evidence needed to sign off on your compliance posture with absolute confidence.
- ▸Executive summaries for board-level compliance reviews
- ▸Evidence of senior management oversight and sign-off
- ▸Simplified tracking of accountability and responsibility matrices
- ▸Audit-ready documentation folders for FCA submission
Secure Your FCA Operational Resilience PS21/3 Evidence Pack Today
With the 2024 DSIT Cyber Breaches Survey reporting that 50% of UK businesses experienced a breach, meeting PS21/3 standards is no longer optional. Gridisys provides the managed infrastructure and documentation required to secure your firm’s compliance.