Calamity occurrence in any area, arising from natural or man-made causes, or by accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of asset or business, Flood: Any unplanned event that requires immediate redeployment of limited resources is defined as cyber Disaster Recovery Plan.

Types of Cyber Disaster:

Natural Forces:

• Fire
• Environmental Hazards
• Flood / Water Damage
• Extreme Weather

Technical Failure:

• Power Outage
• Equipment Failure
• Network Failure
• Software Failure

Human Interference:

• Criminal Act
• Human Error
• Loss of Users
• Explosions

Also Read Most Important Consideration for Industrial Control System(ICS) Cyber Defense

What is a Disaster Recovery Plan?

A management document for how and when to utilize resources needed to maintain selected functions when disrupted by agreed-upon incidents.

Other commonly used names:

• Business Continuity Plan
• Contingency Plans
• Continuity Plans
• Emergency Response Plans
• Business Recovery Plans
• Recovery Plans

When an incident occurs, the Disaster Recovery response activities are likely to be the following (at a high level).

Types of Controls:

• Integrity Controls
• Confidentiality Controls
• Availability Controls

Integrity Controls:

• Policy
• Methodology
• Staffing
• Education
• Division of Responsibility
• Audit
• Error and Change Control
• Reporting and Resolution
• Test
• Quality Assurance

Confidentiality Controls:

• Proprietary Information Policy
• Ethics Statement
• “Need to Know”, “Need to Withhold”
• Records Management
• Handling Procedures
• Physical & Electronic
• Security Measures

Availability Controls:

• Asset Identification
• Controls Review
• Impact Analysis
• Data Backup
• Off-site Storage
• Avoidance Strategies
• Mitigation Strategies
• Early Detection & Notification
• Recovery Strategies
• Alternate Locations
• Plans and Procedures
• Vendor Relationships
• Training
• Testing

An Example of Disaster Recovery Team:

Case Study- The CFlood: Impact

• One of the worst business disasters
• 230 buildings lost power for a couple of days
• Valuable government records were in jeopardy
• Extensive impact on electrical and computing systems
• The greatest financial impact on the CBOT, losing 25 billion in trading of 36 products

Case Study- The Chicago Flood: Disaster Recovery

• Using Alternate Site Services approach
• Providing the alternate site nearly identical to the customer’s damaged site
• Implemented by Comdisco Continuity Service

Case Study- The Chicago Flood: Recovery Result

• Helped 2 Chicago banks resume operation within hours of evacuation
• 17 customers from the financial, brokerage, government and service/ distribution industries, were supported at their hot sites within half a day.

Case Study- The World Trade Center Explosion: Impact

• Building-wide power outage
• Structural damaged and employee trauma, Businesses were down
• Water problem due to pipes was severed
• Injured and Dead reports, the building was considered a crime scene

Also Read An approach to Tackle Internet Security Issues at Work

Case Study- The World Trade Center Explosion: Recovery

• Fiduciary Trust, a banking and financial institute’s Recovery Plan
• The data center switched automatically to their secondary power system
• Moved the operation to their alternate site in NJ which equipped with a computer network nearly identical to that of the bank

Case Study- The World Trade Center Explosion: Recovery Result

• The system was down for Friday afternoon and was up and running by Monday morning as if nothing had happened
• Employees retained their usual telephone numbers
• Transactions went through the same as always
• Customers couldn’t even detect that the bank was no longer operating from the World Trade Center.

Examples of Cyber Disaster Recovery Services:

Alternate Sites

• Provide alternate site nearly identical to the customer’s damaged site

Business Impact Analysis

• Provide services such as defining disaster plans and addressing exposures to business and recovery administrators

Certification

• Provide services such as certifying qualified individuals in the discipline and promoting the credibility and professionalism of certified individuals

Education Classes

• Creating a base of common knowledge for the business continuity/disaster recovery planning industry through education, assistance, and the promotion of international standards

On-Site Recovery Facilities

• Manage the mobilization of an on-call response team, prepare a pre-designated site, erect temporary pre-engineered structures, install mechanical and electrical systems and coordinate move-in activities

Satellite Communication

• Provide satellite telecommunications products and services.

The business continuity plan is a more proactive approach, as it describes how an organization can maintain operations during an emergency.

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