Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Planning

Business Continuity Planning (BCP) and Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP)

Overview:

BCP and DRP ensure the preservation of business operations during major disruptions.

Key Elements:

Preparation, Testing, and Updating: Develop and regularly test plans to protect critical business processes.
Protection from Failures: Safeguard business processes from system and network failures.
Identification of Threats: Identify internal and external threats to the organization.
Prevention and Recovery: Implement measures to prevent disruptions and recover quickly.
Maintain Competitive Advantage: Ensure the organization retains its competitive edge and integrity.

Business Continuity Planning (BCP):

Counteracts Interruptions: Available to protect critical business processes from major failures or disasters.
Deals with Events: Addresses both natural and man-made events and their consequences.

Business Impact Analysis (BIA)

Purpose:

Determines the impact on business units following a significant interruption of services.
Impacts can be financial (monetary loss) or operational (inability to deliver services).

Disaster Recovery Plans (DRP)

Content:

Procedures for emergency response, backup operations, and post-disaster recovery.
Ensures mission-essential applications can operate in a degraded mode and return to normal within a reasonable time.

Goals:

Minimize the effects of a disaster.
Ensure resources, personnel, and business processes can resume timely operations.

Differences Between BCP and DRP

BCP:

Scope: Project scope and planning, business impact analysis, recovery strategies, recovery plan development, and implementation.
Focus: Broader approach to maintaining overall business operations.

DRP:

Scope: Recovery plan development, implementation, and restoration.
Focus: Specific actions to recover IT systems and data after a disaster.

Summary

BCP: Comprehensive strategy for maintaining business operations during disruptions.
DRP: Focused on restoring IT infrastructure and data after a disaster.

Business Disruption

Overview:

Dependency on Resources: Organizations rely on resources, personnel, and daily tasks to maintain health and profitability.
Impact of Disruption: Loss or disruption of these resources can cause significant damage or even lead to the business's complete destruction.

Necessity of Planning:

Unforeseen Events: Businesses must have plans in place to handle unexpected events and disruptions effectively.

Why a Business Requires BCP?

• Provide an immediate response to emergency situations

• Protect lives and ensure safety

• Reduce business impact

• Resume critical business functions

• Reduce confusion during a crisis

• Ensure survivability of the business

• Get up and running ASAP after a disaster

IT Contingency Planning

Cyber Incident Response plan is a specific BCP that establishes procedures to address cyber attacks against an organization’s IT system(s).

• Disaster recovery planning (DRP) addresses the recovery of a damaged facility or components back to normal business operations.

• Disaster recovery plan is a set of procedures that enables an organization to:

– Respond to disaster in accordance to a pre-defined disaster level.

– Assess damage & estimate time required to resume operations.

– Perform salvage & repair.

Terms & Definitions

Business Continuity Plan – a document describing how an organization responds to an event to ensure critical Business functions continue without unacceptable delay or change.

• Business Continuity Planning – Planning to help organizations identify the impacts of potential data processing and operation disruptions and data loss, formulate recovery plans to ensure the availability of data processing and operational resources.

• Business Impact Analysis – Process of analyzing all business functions within the organization to determine the impact of a data processing outage.

• Business Resumption Planning– BRP develops procedures to initiate the recovery of business operations immediately following and outage or disaster.

• Contingency Plan – a document providing the procedures for recovering a major application or information system network in the event of an outage or disaster.

• Continuity of Operations Plan – A document describing the procedures and capabilities to sustain an organization’s essential strategic functions at an alternate site for up to 30 days.

• Critical Business Functions – The business functions and processes that MUST be restored immediately to ensure the organization’s assets are protected, goals met and that the organization is in compliance with any regulations and legal responsibilities.

• Cyber Incident Response Plan – strategies to detect, respond and limit the consequences of cyber incidents.

• Disaster Recovery Plan – A plan that provides detailed procedures to facilitate recovery of capabilities at an alternate site.

• Disaster Recovery Planning – The process to develop and maintain a disaster Recovery Plan

Business Continuity Life Cycle

Life Cycle of Business Continuity

Sustain Business Operations:

Ensure that daily operations continue smoothly, even in the face of disruptions.

Recover / Resume Business Operations:

Implement strategies to restore and restart business activities as quickly and efficiently as possible after an interruption.

Protect Business Assets:

Safeguard the company's people, reputation, and tangible assets from potential threats and damage.

Creating a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) involves several key phases:

Process for Creating a BCP

Phase I: Project Initiation

Initiate the BCP project, define objectives, and obtain management support.
Establish a BCP team and allocate resources.

Phase II: Business Impact Analysis (BIA)

Identify critical business processes, functions, and resources.
Assess the potential impact of disruptions on these critical areas.
Prioritize business functions based on their criticality and sensitivity to disruptions.

Phase III: Recovery Strategy

Develop strategies and approaches for recovering critical business functions.
Define recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs) for each function.
Identify alternate facilities, resources, and suppliers to support recovery efforts.

Phase IV: Plan Design & Development

Design the actual BCP document outlining strategies, roles, responsibilities, and procedures.
Document step-by-step processes for activating and executing the BCP during a disruption.
Ensure the plan aligns with regulatory requirements and industry standards.

Phase V: Implementation

Implement the BCP across the organization.
Train personnel on their roles and responsibilities during a business disruption.
Ensure necessary resources and technologies are in place to support the BCP.

Phase VI: Testing

Conduct regular testing and exercises of the BCP to validate its effectiveness.
Identify weaknesses and areas for improvement through testing.
Involve key stakeholders and departments in the testing process.

Phase VII: Maintenance, Awareness, and Training

Regularly update and maintain the BCP to reflect changes in business processes, technologies, and risks.
Raise awareness about the BCP among employees and stakeholders.
Provide ongoing training and education on the BCP to ensure readiness.

The Systems Engineering approach for creating a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) aligns with a structured methodology to ensure comprehensive readiness and resilience:

Systems Engineering Approach for Creating a BCP

Phase I: Project Initiation

Understand the BCP Needs: Initiate the project, define scope, objectives, and stakeholders. Understand organizational requirements and goals related to business continuity.

Phase II: Business Impact Analysis

Define the BCP Requirements: Conduct a Business Impact Analysis (BIA) to identify critical business functions, dependencies, and potential impacts of disruptions. Establish priorities based on criticality and recovery objectives.

Phase III: Recovery Strategy

Design the BCP: Develop strategies and recovery approaches based on findings from the BIA. Define recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs) for critical business functions. Identify necessary resources, alternate facilities, and recovery procedures.

Phase IV: Plan Design & Development

Develop the BCP: Create the BCP document detailing roles, responsibilities, procedures, and escalation protocols. Design step-by-step processes for activating and executing the BCP during a disruption. Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards.

Phase V: Implementation

Implement BCP: Roll out the BCP across the organization. Train personnel on their roles and responsibilities. Implement necessary technologies and resources to support the BCP.

Phase VI: Testing

Assess BCP Effectiveness: Conduct regular testing and exercises to evaluate the effectiveness of the BCP. Identify weaknesses, gaps, and areas for improvement through simulation of various disruption scenarios. Involve stakeholders in testing activities.

Phase VII: Maintenance

Support BCP: Maintain and update the BCP regularly to reflect changes in business processes, technologies, and risks. Ensure ongoing awareness and education on the BCP among employees and stakeholders. Continuously improve the BCP based on feedback and lessons learned from testing and real incidents.

BCP Overview

Project Initialization
Establish a project team and obtain management support: Formulate a dedicated team responsible for BCP development and secure commitment from senior management.
Conduct BIA (Business Impact Analysis)
Identify time-critical business processes and determine maximum "outages": Assess and prioritize critical business functions and processes. Determine acceptable downtime thresholds for each.
Identify Preventative Controls
Implement measures to prevent disruptions: Identify and implement controls to minimize the likelihood of disruptive events.
Recovery Strategy
Identify and select recovery alternatives: Develop strategies and plans to recover critical operations within specified recovery time objectives (RTOs).
Develop the Contingency Plan
Document BIA findings and recovery strategies: Compile all BIA results and recovery strategies into a comprehensive written plan detailing procedures and responsibilities.
Testing, Awareness, and Training
Establish processes for testing and maintaining the BCP: Conduct regular testing and exercises to validate the effectiveness of recovery strategies. Ensure ongoing awareness and training for personnel involved in executing the BCP.
Maintenance
Regularly update and maintain the plan: Continuously review and update the BCP to reflect changes in business operations, technology, and risks. Ensure compliance with evolving regulatory requirements.

Phase I: Project Management and Initiation

Establish the Need for BCP:

Perform a focused risk assessment.
Identify and document potential contingencies.

Obtain Management Support & Plan Project:

Develop a Continuity Planning Policy Statement.
Identify a Business Continuity Coordinator.
Establish a BCP team and define roles.

Phase II: Business Impact Analysis (BIA)

Purpose of BIA:

Assess business impact of potential outages.
Prioritize critical information systems.
Determine recovery time objectives (RTO) for each function.

Steps in BIA:

Determine information gathering techniques.
Select interviewees and customize questionnaires.
Analyze impact information and determine MTD.
Prioritize critical business functions.

Phase III: Recovery Strategy

Purpose of Recovery Strategy:

Implement predefined actions in response to business interruption.
Focus on meeting recovery time objectives.
Maintain critical business functions.

Types of Recovery Strategies:

General recovery vs. disaster recovery.
Elements include business, facility & supply, user, technical, and data recovery strategies.

Phase IV: Plan Design & Development

Procedure for Developing BCP:

Determine management concerns and priorities.
Define planning scope and assumptions.
Establish prevention and resumption strategies.
Develop recovery and response procedures.

Phase V: Implementation

Execute BCP as an Integrated Program:

Implement Business Resumption Plan, COOP Plan, IT Contingency Plan, etc.
Sustain, recover, and protect business operations and assets.

Phase VI: Testing

Types of Tests:

Structured walk-through, checklist test, simulation, parallel test, full interruption test.
Ensure readiness and effectiveness of the BCP.