Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery for InfoSec Managers

xix

Introduction

Introduction: Business Security 101

An area that is typically overlooked in most corporations today is the need

to introduce the executive management team to the business continuity

planning and management process. With senior management buy-in and

direction from the top, this process delivers confidence to all stakeholders

(e.g., customers, employees, suppliers, the local community, and even the

environment) that plans are in place to avert or recover from catastrophe.

The speed of business has changed, and there is very often little time to

allow for a gradual recovery. The emergence of ecommerce and the lack of

loyalty among customers have changed the need for recovery to one of

ensuring continuous availability. The BCP/DRP (business continuity plan-

ning/disaster recovery planning) process described herein includes an assess-

ment of availability and shows you how your plan should be structured to

meet customer expectations. The BCP/DR plan is key to organizations for

which 24/7 availability is critical.

Initially, BCP/DRP was important for organizations to ensure compli-

ance with regulatory requirements. Since September 11, 2001, it has

become critical to protecting their customer’s interests and corporate value.

Without the value and the confidence of their investors, most companies

would be vulnerable in today’s highly competitive marketplace. For that

reason, contingency management is an important process necessary to

ensure business survival. Of course, there is typically a marked contrast

between what managers perceive the threats to their companies to be and

what their continuity plan addresses. We will discuss ways to address these

issues and show you how to develop and manage your BCP in this book.

First, however, a short overview is in order.