Developing a Business Continuity Plan (BCP): The Initial Step

D.

When developing a business continuity plan (BCP), the FIRST step that should be completed is to carry out a risk assessment.

A risk assessment is the process of identifying, analyzing, and evaluating risks to an organization's operations and assets. It is essential to determine the organization's critical business functions, processes, and systems to understand which parts are most vulnerable to disruption. A risk assessment helps to identify potential threats that could harm the organization and determine the likelihood and impact of such events occurring.

Once a risk assessment is carried out, the next step is to develop strategies to mitigate the identified risks. This could involve implementing preventive measures, such as redundancy, backup systems, or firewalls, or developing response plans, such as evacuation procedures or backup power supply plans.

After risk mitigation strategies have been developed, the organization can then identify alternatives to critical applications and ensure that offsite backups can be efficiently restored. This will involve identifying backup locations and testing the restoration of data to ensure that it can be retrieved promptly and accurately.

Finally, the organization should review its business continuity insurance policy to ensure that it adequately covers potential losses and liabilities. This will help to mitigate financial risks associated with a disaster or other disruptive event.

In summary, the steps involved in developing a business continuity plan are:

1. Carry out a risk assessment
2. Develop strategies to mitigate identified risks
3. Identify alternatives to critical applications
4. Ensure that offsite backups can be efficiently restored
5. Review the business continuity insurance policy