In today's digital landscape, where technological threats are pervasive and continuously evolving, the establishment of a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is crucial for ensuring corporate resilience in the face of IT crises.
Our three-part article series addresses the key components of an effective BCP.
In the first installment, we examined the foundational elements to consider when developing a BCP, providing a comprehensive overview of the necessary preparations to anticipate and manage technological disruptions. The second article presented practical guidance from Blair for constructing a robust BCP, including a detailed checklist designed to safeguard your organization against digital risks.
Read the first article on the fundamentals of BCP
Our tips for building a solid BCP
However, merely having a BCP is insufficient; it is essential to regularly assess its robustness to ensure ongoing effectiveness. Therefore, this third article focuses on the four key steps necessary to evaluate your BCP’s resilience against technological threats.
With only 43% of companies having a BCP in place as of 2024, it is imperative not only to establish this plan but also to rigorously test it to maintain effectiveness in an ever-evolving technological landscape.
How can you initiate this process? How can you demonstrate the significance of these tests to your organization? What insights can be gleaned from these assessments?
In this final article of our BCP blog series, Blair provides comprehensive guidance. We will outline four essential steps to enhance the robustness of your BCP.
What tests can I carry out at my company?
At Blair, we recommend 2 types of exercise to fully assess the continuity of your business:
- Operations tests
- Technology tests or drills
Find out what they are and how they can help your company become more cyber-resilient.
Step 1: Operations Tests
Among operational tests, we distinguish two types of exercise:
- Tabletop exercises
- Simulations
Operational testing involves every business unit within a company, including IT, to assess whether the BCP meets all the essential requirements for continued business operations in the event of technology unavailability.
Tabletop exercises
Tabletop exercises are structured simulations designed to evaluate your Business Continuity Plan in response to a specific, predefined scenario. These exercises engage all members of the incident management team identified during the BCP development process.
Key components of these exercises include:
- Simulating Hypothetical Crisis Scenarios: Creating realistic, fictitious situations to challenge the BCP
- Facilitating Stakeholder Discussions: Encouraging dialogue among participants to identify necessary actions and responses
- Identifying Gaps in Crisis Management Procedures: Analyzing the effectiveness of current protocols and pinpointing areas for improvement
Simulations
Based on actual experiences from your organization or comparable companies, these realistic tests are designed to evaluate team response and coordination during emergencies.
These exercises engage all internal members relevant to the Business Continuity Plan (including the incident management team and other pertinent employees) and may also involve external partners in certain cases.
In this context, we will focus on:
- Executing Realistic Business-Critical Scenarios: Developing and implementing scenarios that reflect genuine challenges
- Simulating the Implementation of the Business Continuity Plan: Testing the BCP in a controlled environment to assess its practicality
- Identifying Challenges During Implementation: Analyzing obstacles encountered during the simulation to enhance future performance
How often should these operational tests be conducted?
Ideally, these two tests should be carried out once a year. However, as an IT firm, we support many customers and understand that it may not always be realistic to respect this recommendation: you have other responsibilities in the company, and these tests can sometimes affect your company's operational efficiency.
Roger Ouellet, Director of Security Practice at NOVIPRO (Blair’s sister company), suggests another approach:
“An alternative could be to vary your tests each year between a tabletop exercise and a simulation. This would allow you to test your BCP while benefiting from sufficient time for planning and, of course, focusing on your core business.”
Step 2: Technological Tests or Drills
These tests will evaluate the practicality and technological capabilities of your organization, ensuring that your IT infrastructure operates effectively in the event of an incident.
Cyberattacks often manifest several months after an initial system breach, and such threats can take significantly longer for IT teams to resolve. Therefore, your technological preparedness and your ability to analyze, contain, and recover from an attack are critical factors in restoring your information technology (IT) systems.
These assessments are essential for determining the effectiveness of your Business Continuity Plan and for ensuring that your IT environment possesses the necessary resilience to withstand incidents.
Its main difference from operational testing lies in its focus on technology and the efficiency of the IT team.
For example, technology tests can take the form of an exercise such as:
- Conducting failure or incident test scenarios, such as simulated cyber-attacks or deliberate breakdowns, to assess the IT system's response
- Implementing data backup and recovery procedures to ensure proper operation in case of data loss (optional, depending on a company's pre-established business continuity needs)
- Identifying faults and vulnerabilities in the technological environment
These exercises are created to address specific important questions:
If the company were to be hacked, how long would it take to access a second copy of the data? How long would it take IT technicians to detect a flaw in the system? Is my IT system strong enough to handle disruptions?
By design, this type of testing is internal, involving only your IT team and your technologies.
How often should these technological tests be conducted?
These exercises should be conducted annually to ensure that the Business Continuity Plan and data recovery strategies remain aligned. By doing so, you can have confidence in the preparedness of your IT team in the event of a cyberattack or technology failure.
Why do I need to test my BCP regularly?
If you are planning to evaluate your Business Continuity Plan this year but are uncertain about the necessity of conducting this exercise annually, it is important to recognize that these periodic assessments are essential to ensure the plan functions effectively during a real crisis.
Here are key reasons why regular BCP testing is crucial for your organization:
- Building Confidence Among Employees:
- Clarifies the roles and responsibilities of each business unit
- Ensures relevant parties are familiar with tools and plans
- Fosters better synergy among various teams and departments
In times of crisis, your teams may face significant pressure; rigorous preparation can simplify their tasks and enhance overall effectiveness.
- Reinforcing the Robustness of Your BCP:
- Identifies technological or procedural shortcomings within the BCP
- Encourages open dialogue to facilitate continuous improvement
- Enhances business continuity readiness within the IT framework
These regular exercises guarantee that your BCP remains current and effective in the face of ever-evolving risks and technologies:
“The business continuity plan is a living document as companies' technological and operational environments and the members of their response unit evolve. So, it's vital to keep it updated.” explains Roger Ouellet.
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My staff are reluctant to carry out these tests. What can I do?
While these tests are instrumental in validating or refining the BCP, it is important to consider the time required for their execution.
For instance, a simulation exercise may take a full day; however, extensive internal preparation is necessary beforehand to ensure maximum effectiveness. This preparation includes selecting the incident scenario, planning logistics, and establishing performance indicators.
You may encounter resistance from employees, as these tests can be time-consuming and may disrupt productivity. To address this, it is essential to raise awareness and present the testing process in a more engaging manner.
You could frame these tests as an enjoyable and educational annual activity. For employees, this would be perceived as a valuable training opportunity that fosters team cohesion and collaboration. For management, it serves as a critical resource for enhancing the action plan and validating the roles of participants.
These drills help assess how well the plan works and are critical to ensuring swift recovery in the event of a cyberattack or technological failure.
I've completed my BCP assessments, now what?
Step 3: Test Analysis
Now that you have conducted your tests, it is essential to analyze the factors that may have hindered the effective functioning of your BCP.
For each component of the BCP, consider the following questions to identify areas for improvement. This section draws inspiration from our second BCP blog, where we provide a downloadable list of questions to assist you in enhancing your BCP.
Establishing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is crucial for determining the success criteria of your BCP tests. These indicators should be measurable and objectively defined to facilitate effective evaluation.
Choice of Incident Management Team members
These individuals play a decisive role in crisis management. Therefore, this information must be updated in the dedicated document whenever a relevant change occurs (retirement, resignation, promotion, etc.).
To edit the list of cell members, you can:
- Notify the designated individual to update the list
- Edit the list yourself, ensuring to include your name and the modification date in the designated section
Business Units (BU) Needs Assessment
For this assessment, you need to understand and conceive how all your business units would function without access to technology:
- Are there any significant tasks that are not supported by the technology?
- Have all business units been adequately considered?
Activity Impact Assessment
Consider how an incident would affect your business in two ways:
1. Misunderstanding:- Did you misinterpret your business model?
- Is there a lack of understanding regarding the issues associated with an incident (legal, technological, etc.)?
- Does your company experience stable growth?
- Have you identified any new critical systems?
- Are your emergency contacts still current?
- Have you made any changes to your technological infrastructure?
- Has your company recently undergone a relocation?
Risk Assessment
Have you underestimated the risks of an incident for your company?
Incident Response Structure
- Have you established the appropriate priorities for each potential crisis?
- Have you ensured that your technologies are prepared for all types of emergencies?
- Are your incident response guides readily available to the relevant personnel?
- Have you implemented a communications plan for each possible scenario?
- Do you possess the necessary internal and technological resources to recover data and respond to incidents?
Continuity Strategies
Has your company undergone any significant changes (new backup system, infrastructure upgrade, IT firm intervention, etc.)?
These continuity strategies must be aligned with the needs of business units, cyber insurers, investors and any other stakeholder previously identified.
Business Continuity Training and Exercise Program
- Do any of your employees require additional training?
- Have you experienced any staff turnover, including departures or promotions?
- Should you prioritize training for risks that are more likely to occur in your sector?
- Have you set success indicators that may be overly ambitious?
Find out more ideas in our free checklist for a robust BCP
Step 4: Updating your BCP
Once you have identified the areas for improvement, adjust your BCP so that it matches your reality as closely as possible. This way, you will be better prepared for any incident as you will have learned from your mistakes and shortcomings.
In Short
A robust BCP involves:
- Operational tests to evaluate the logistics of the plan
- Extensive technology tests, practicing technology response
- In-depth analysis of the testing process
- Regular plan updates to match your company's reality as closely as possible
- Ideally, these tests should be conducted annually. If your employees' schedules are full, you can:
- Alternate between the two types of operational exercises on an annual basis
- Conduct an annual technology review with your IT staff
- Regularly train your teams: This will help them feel more confident and develop appropriate reflexes in the event of a real emergency
- Your BCP is a living document that requires frequent updates: It must adapt to the ongoing changes in your technological environment
- BCP assessments are crucial for identifying potential vulnerabilities and ensuring business continuity in the event of an incident
Don't neglect BCP testing: it's an investment in your company's viability.
Do you need professional advice?
Contact us to test your business continuity plan
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Looking to explore this topic further?
Protecting Your Operations: The Essentials of Business Continuity Plans
Blair's ABC for a Successful Business Continuity Plan
