Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery for InfoSec Managers

250 8.7 Chapter Summary

Responsibilities for various aspects of BCP maintenance are also estab-

lished. Ongoing responsibilities should be defined to ensure appropriate

BCP maintenance. The groups shown in Table 8.1 have specific BCP main-

tenance responsibilities.

8.7 Chapter Summary

In this chapter, we discussed the importance of maintaining a business con-

tinuity plan. The process of maintaining the business continuity plan

includes the use of change control procedures to make updates to the plan

and keep the plan current with BCP data synchronization. You should

assign responsibilities for maintenance of each part of the plan and test all

changes that are made to it. We recommended that you implement a pro-

cess to advise BCP training staff of plan updates/changes and conduct peri-

Table 8.1 Roles and Responsibilities of Recovery Team Participants.

Role Responsibility

Recovery Coordinator Manages BCP, coordinates recovery teams, provides

updates to Executive Management. Should ensure the fol-

lowing on a semi-annual basis:

 Schedule and coordinate BCP training and testing

 Coordinate BCP document reviews, changes, and

approvals from relevant parties

 Ensure BCP is disseminated to all parties concerned

 Maintain alternate processing site contracts, mainte-

nance, and service level agreements

Recovery Team Execute documented steps in the BCP to recover downed

systems. Annually, the team should:

 Maintain team-specific procedures

 Update reference information pertinent to team pro-

cedures

 Train and test in relevant BCP sections

Users  Identify and ensure key information needed to per-

form job function is stored offsite

 Undergo awareness training

 Participate in BCP training/testing

8.7 Chapter Summary 251

Chapter 8

odic BCP maintenance. The maintenance frequency is often a matter

unique to each business, but we recommend at least a semi-annual review.

When you develop plan maintenance procedures, ensure that scheduled

maintenance and unscheduled maintenance activities are included. It is

important to designate maintenance responsibilities to someone or to some

group who will can adequately manage the task. BCP distribution issues

will need to be addressed by this team. They should also develop and con-

duct regular awareness and training programs. It is necessary to monitor

and review the program to ensure it is effective. For the team maintaining

the plan, it is necessary to outline each member’s roles and responsibilities

for maintaining the BCP plan; follow up to ensure they live up to those

roles and responsibilities.

This book has provided you with the information fundamental to devel-

opment of a solid BCP for your organization. There are abundant resources

readily available to help you review, improve, and exercise your plans once

you get them developed and ready to test. Should the need arise to move

from a test to an actual event, the knowledge and insight you have gained

from this book will, we hope, assist you in your recovery and restoration

process. Remember, every day, potential disasters happen. You have the

knowledge now to be prepared and make the process manageable if you are

ever in that situation. Good luck.

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