Business Continuity Plan (BCP) and Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP)
1. Purpose and Scope
The Business Continuity Plan (BCP) defines procedures enabling the organisation to continue or rapidly restore delivery of key services following a disruptive event. The Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) is the technical component of the BCP.
2. Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
Based on the BIA, service criticality and recovery time objectives have been determined:
| Key Service | Criticality | MAD (Max Allowable Downtime) |
RTO (Recovery Time Obj.) |
RPO (Recovery Point Obj.) |
Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ▸ [Service name 1, e.g. OT/SCADA system] | ▸ [Critical] | ▸ [e.g. 4h]per NIS2 | ▸ [e.g. 2h] | ▸ [e.g. 15 min] | ▸ [First Last Name] |
| ▸ [Service name 2] | ▸ | ▸per NIS2 | ▸ | ▸ | ▸ |
| ▸ [Service name 3] | ▸ | ▸ | ▸ | ▸ | ▸ |
| Internal email | ▸ [Important] | ▸ [e.g. 24h] | ▸ [e.g. 4h] | ▸ [e.g. 1h] | ▸ [IT Administrator] |
| ERP management system | ▸ [Important] | ▸ | ▸ | ▸ | ▸ |
RTO = Recovery Time Objective (from failure to full operation) | RPO = Recovery Point Objective (max. data loss looking back) | MAD = Maximum Allowable Downtime
3. Threat Scenarios and Response Procedures
| Scenario | Likelihood (1–5) | Impact (1–5) | Emergency procedure ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ransomware attack on IT systems | ▸ 4 | ▸ 5 | DOC-007 PB-001 + section 4 below |
| Data centre / server room failure | ▸ 2 | ▸ 5 | Section 4.2 below |
| Extended power outage | ▸ 3 | ▸ 4 | Section 4.3 below |
| Internet / WAN link failure | ▸ 3 | ▸ 4 | Section 4.4 below |
| Key IT staff unavailable | ▸ 4 | ▸ 3 | Deputy list (DOC-004) |
| Natural disaster / physical catastrophe | ▸ 1 | ▸ 5 | Evacuation procedure + DR site (section 4.5) |
4.1 Procedure – Critical system failure (general)
- Detection and reporting to IT administrator and CISO → activate incident register (DOC-005).
- Assessment: which service is unavailable, what impact, is RTO at risk?
- If yes → BCP activation: notify crisis team (DOC-004).
- Activate backup / failover procedure (DOC-012).
- Status communication to users and management.
- Recovery → testing → return to production.
- Event documentation, PIR.
4.2 Procedure – Data centre failure
Primary DC: ▸ [address, contact details]
DR site (secondary DC): ▸ [address / cloud / colocation – provider name, address]
Replication type: ▸ [cold / warm / hot standby]hot – RTO <1h; warm – 1–4h; cold – >4h
RPO to DR site: ▸ [e.g. 15 min, 1h, 24h]
4.3 Procedure – Power outage
- UPS providing power for at least ▸ [30 minutes]min. 15 min for controlled shutdown.
- Generator: ▸ [available / not available / required] – start-up time: ▸ [e.g. 30 sec].
- Controlled server shutdown procedure during extended power failure.
4.4 Procedure – Internet link failure
Primary provider (link 1): ▸ [ISP name, bandwidth, contract number, support telephone]
Backup link (failover): ▸ [ISP name / LTE/5G backup / MPLS]
Switchover time to backup: ▸ [e.g. automatic / manual within 15 min]
4. BCP and DRP Testing
| Test type | Frequency | Scope | Responsible |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tabletop exercise (simulation) | ▸ [annually]min. 1×/year – NIS2 | Failure scenario with management participation | ▸ CISO |
| Technical recovery test (DRP test) | ▸ [every 6 months]min. 1×/year | Failover test, recovery from backup (DOC-012) | ▸ IT Administrator |
| Emergency communication test | ▸ [quarterly] | Verification of contacts and communication channels | ▸ CISO |
Test results are documented. Identified gaps result in plan updates within ▸ [30 days] of the test.
5. Crisis Communications – Contact Tree
| Role | Name | 24/7 Telephone | Deputy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crisis Coordinator (CISO) | ▸ | ▸ | ▸ | ▸ |
| CEO / President | ▸ | ▸ | ▸ | ▸ |
| IT Administrator | ▸ | ▸ | ▸ | ▸ |
| Legal Counsel / DPO | ▸ | ▸ | ▸ | ▸ |
| Press Officer | ▸ | ▸ | ▸ | ▸ |
6. Change History and Tests
| Version | Date | Author | Description | Approved by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ▸ 1.0 | ▸ DD/MM/YYYY | ▸ | ▸ Initial release | ▸ Board |