In today’s volatile business landscape, Business Continuity Planning (BCP) is key. Cyberattack events, such as data breaches, are on the rise, natural disasters are more common, and business losses from these and related catastrophes are increasing exponentially as a result. Yet, there is a way to protect your business: BCP.
In the cybersecurity industry, Business Continuity Planning is a strategic process designed to restore access to compromised systems, data, operations, and infrastructure following a cyberattack, human error, equipment failure, natural disaster, or another catastrophic event. It is a critical component of a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy, helping organizations minimize downtime, protect sensitive data, and ensure business continuity in the face of adversity.
Keys to Business Continuity Planning
Business Continuity Planning is a broad concept that includes establishing plans to ensure an organization’s operations and processes continue during a disaster. Ten critical concepts of BCP and disaster recovery are:
- Business Impact Analysis (BIA): The systematic identification of critical business assets and operations to assess the potential impact of disruptions.
- Risk Assessment: The process of identifying potential risks and threats to the organization’s assets, such as IT systems and data, followed by developing strategies to mitigate risk.
- Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP): A comprehensive list of steps taken in the event of a disaster, including procedures for restoring IT systems, data, and operations.
- Recovery Time Objective (RTO): A metric defining the maximum time an organization can afford to take to restore access to its IT systems and data following a disruption.
- Recovery Point Objective (RPO): A metric specifying the maximum amount of data loss an organization can tolerate during a disaster recovery event.
- Backup and Recovery: The practice of creating regular backups of critical data and systems, with the ability to restore them quickly in the event of a disaster.
- Redundancy: The maintenance of duplicate hardware (such as servers), software and data (such as databases), sites (for example, data centers), and related network infrastructure to ensure that if one system or location fails, another can take its place.
- Disaster Response Plan: A procedure for responding to a major disruption, including crisis communication, containment, eradication, and post-incident activities such as damage assessment and recovery.
- Testing and Training: The implementation of regular BCP testing to identify weaknesses in response procedures. It includes conducting training exercises to practice roles and responsibilities, ensuring the effectiveness and preparedness of personnel when executing a disaster response plan.
- Continuous Monitoring: The policy of monitoring IT systems and data to detect known threats and vulnerabilities, while staying up-to-date on emerging threats.
Benefits of Business Continuity Planning
By implementing robust Business Continuity Planning, organizations can significantly reduce the impact of cyberattacks and other disruptive events, protect their valuable assets, and maintain business continuity. Advantages include:
- Minimized financial and data loss
- Reduced risk of reputational damage
- Improved compliance with regulatory requirements
- Enhanced customer trust and confidence
- Increased business resilience and agility
- Less downtime
Actionable Steps to Implement BCP
Take the initiative to start your own Business Continuity Plan at work. Here are the basics to get you started:
- Get the ‘Thumbs Up’: Share this article with your management team to get them on board!
- Appoint a BCP Team: Assemble a cross-functional team to lead the BCP initiative.
- Conduct a Business Impact Analysis: Identify critical business functions and assess the impact of downtime.
- Develop a Disaster Recovery Plan: Outline the steps to recover from various realistic disaster scenarios.
- Test and Train: Regularly test your BCP; train management and employees on their roles.
- Review and Update: Review and update your BCP annually to ensure it remains effective.
Plan Now to Recover Later
In today’s fast-paced digital environment, Business Continuity Planning is no longer an option, but rather a necessity. By understanding the ten key concepts of BCP, including disaster preparedness and recovery, organizations can protect themselves from the devastating consequences of cyberattacks, natural disasters, and other catastrophic events.
Continuous testing, TRAINING, and monitoring can allow businesses to quickly restore IT systems, data, and operations while minimizing downtime and loss following major organizational disruption.
Resources
There are many reputable organizations devoted to, or regulating, BCP. Here are a few notable ones:
- The Business Continuity Institute (BCI): The BCI is a global organization that provides training, certification, and resources for business continuity professionals. They have a large community of members and offer various certifications, such as the CBCI (Certified Business Continuity Institute) and the CBCM (Certified Business Continuity Manager).
- Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRI): DRI is a non-profit organization that provides training, certification, and resources for business continuity and disaster recovery professionals. They offer various certifications, such as the CBCP (Certified Business Continuity Professional) and the CBCM (Certified Business Continuity Manager).
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO): ISO is an independent, non-governmental organization that develops and publishes international standards for business continuity management, such as ISO 22301 (Societal Security – Business Continuity Management Systems – Requirements).
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): NIST is a US government agency that provides guidelines and standards for business continuity planning, such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and the NIST Special Publication 800-34 (Contingency Planning Guide for Federal Information Systems).
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): FEMA is a US government agency that provides resources and guidelines for business continuity planning, such as the FEMA Business Continuity Planning Suite.
- International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM): IAEM is a global organization that provides training, certification, and resources for emergency management professionals, including business continuity planning.
- The British Standards Institution (BSI): BSI is a UK-based organization that provides standards and guidelines for business continuity management, such as BS 25999 (Business Continuity Management – Part 1: Code of Practice).
- The American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS): ASIS is a global organization that provides training, certification, and resources for security professionals, including business continuity planning.
These organizations provide a range of resources, including training, certification, and guidelines, to help organizations develop and implement effective business continuity plans.
