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Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Policy

Document Information
Version {{version}}
Effective Date {{effective_date}}
Document Owner {{document_owner}}
Next Review {{next_review_date}}
Approved By {{approved_by}}

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines for ensuring the secure operation of {{company_name}}, hereafter referred to as "the company", information systems and networks, protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our data.

The Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Policy ensures that the organization can maintain operations and recover from a disaster. This is essential to minimizing the impact of a disaster on the organization\'s operations, customers, and reputation.

The intent of this policy is to establishes the direction and principles for the protection of the {{company_name}}'s operations, customers, and reputation.

Scope

This policy applies to all employees, interns, contractors, and third parties who have access to the company\'s information systems and networks.

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning

Business Continuity Planning is to ensure that the organization has a comprehensive and effective business continuity plan in place. This is crucial to maintaining operations during and after a disaster, thereby minimizing disruption to the organization, its customers, and stakeholders.

  • Identifying Critical Operations and Resources: The organization should identify the operations and resources that are critical to its functioning. This includes key business processes, essential personnel, critical IT systems, important data, and necessary equipment and facilities.

  • Developing Continuity Strategies: The organization should develop strategies to maintain critical operations and resources during and after a disaster. This could include alternative work arrangements, redundant systems, data backups, and arrangements with third-party suppliers.

  • Developing Recovery Strategies: The organization should develop strategies to recover critical systems and data after a disaster. This could include data backups, redundant systems, use of cloud services, and arrangements with third-party disaster recovery services.

  • Assigning Roles and Responsibilities: The organization should assign roles and responsibilities for implementing the business continuity plan. This includes identifying who will activate the plan, who will carry out the continuity strategies, and who will communicate with employees, customers, and stakeholders.

  • Documenting the Plans: The organization should document its business continuity and disaster recovery plan and make it available to all relevant personnel. The plan should be clear, concise, and easy to implement under stressful conditions.

  • Training and Drills: The organization should provide training on the business continuity and disaster recovery plan to all relevant personnel. This should be supplemented with {{bc_plan_test_frequency}} test of the effectiveness of the plan and the readiness of the personnel.

All employees, contractors, and third parties are required to comply with this policy. Non-compliance may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment or contract.

Staff Responsibilities

Staff (including interns and contractors) are expected to uphold the expected standards of professional conduct and comply with this policy in its entirety.

All staff must read, understand, and comply with all components of this policy, and all laws, and regulations that apply to their role.

  • Staff should speak up when seeing possible violations of the policies, and legal and regulatory requirements.

  • Be truthful, and cooperate fully in any internal investigations, and not conceal or destroy information.

  • Staff should ensure they complete training on the policies, and attest that they are understand and commit to comply with them.

  • Failing to read or attest to the policies does not excuse staff from these responsibilities.

Review

This policy will be reviewed {{default_policy_review}} or as needed based on changes to our business, technology, or regulatory environment.

Enforcement & Waivers

These policies are important to us. Violation may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. Only by consent of the {{company_name}}'s {{managing_authority}} a provision of the policies for a staff member may be waivered.

Implementation Check

  1. Who owns this? {{policy_owner}}
  2. Are we doing it? {{implementation_status}}
  3. When will we check again? {{next_review_date}}

Board Oversight

Key Questions for Directors:

  1. Are we meeting our policy commitments?
  2. What are our top risks in this area?
  3. Do we have adequate resources allocated?

Reporting: {{board_reporting_cycle}} review at board meetings