What Regulators Mean by “Ongoing” Cyber Assurance

Regulators rarely define requirements in technical terms. Instead, they use words like reasonable, proportionate, and ongoing.

Cyber risk assurance is no exception.

“Ongoing” does not mean constant testing or endless reporting. It means the organisation can demonstrate continuous oversight and timely awareness of change.

The Financial Conduct Authority makes this clear through its operational resilience guidance: risks must be monitored as they evolve, not assumed to remain stable.

In practice, ongoing cyber assurance requires:

• Regular reassessment of key risks
  
  
• Visibility of control effectiveness over time
  
  
• Prompt escalation when tolerances are exceeded
  
  
• Evidence that decisions are revisited
  
  

Annual reviews fail this test.
So do static dashboards.

Regulators expect assurance that reflects reality, not last year’s snapshot.

This is particularly important post-incident. Investigations focus on whether leadership knew about risks as they changed, and whether action was taken appropriately.

Ongoing assurance does not need to be complex.
It needs to be repeatable, timely, and evidenced.

That is the standard boards are now measured against.

👉 The Cyber Risk & Compliance Snapshot provides a practical starting point.