Cybersecurity Policy Template

Disaster Recovery Policy (DORA Compliant)

1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose and Scope: This policy outlines the procedures for recovering Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems and data in the event of a disaster. This includes natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes, floods), technological failures (e.g., server crashes, cyberattacks), and human errors. The scope encompasses all ICT systems critical to business operations, including servers, networks, applications, and data. This policy aims to minimize downtime, data loss, and business disruption, aligning with the principles of the DevOps Research and Assessment (DORA) metrics for improved speed, stability, and deployment frequency.

1.2 Relevance to DORA: This policy directly supports DORA's key metrics by:

  • Deployment Frequency: A robust disaster recovery plan ensures that systems can be quickly restored after an incident, minimizing disruption to deployment cycles.

  • Lead Time for Changes: Well-defined recovery procedures reduce the time required to restore services after a disaster, shortening the lead time for changes and recovery.

  • Change Failure Rate: Properly tested recovery procedures minimize the risk of errors during restoration, lowering the change failure rate.

  • Time to Restore Service (MTTR): This policy directly addresses MTTR by establishing clear RTOs and RPOs and outlining detailed recovery procedures. It supports achieving a low MTTR, a key indicator of organizational resilience.

2. Key Components

This Disaster Recovery Policy includes the following key components:

  • Risk Assessment and Business Impact Analysis (BIA): Identifying critical systems and their impact on business operations.

  • Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs): Defining acceptable downtime and data loss limits.

  • Recovery Strategies: Outlining the methods for recovering systems and data (e.g., backup and restore, failover, replication).

  • Recovery Procedures: Detailing step-by-step instructions for each recovery scenario.

  • Testing and Maintenance: Describing the process for regularly testing and updating the disaster recovery plan.

  • Communication Plan: Defining communication protocols during and after a disaster.

  • Roles and Responsibilities: Assigning roles and responsibilities to individuals and teams.

  • Recovery Site: Details on the location and setup of the recovery site (e.g., hot site, cold site, warm site).

3. Detailed Content

3.1 Risk Assessment and Business Impact Analysis (BIA):

  • In-depth explanation: A BIA identifies critical business functions and their dependencies on ICT systems. It assesses the potential impact of downtime on these functions, helping prioritize recovery efforts. This includes quantifying potential financial losses, reputational damage, and legal ramifications.

  • Best practices: Involve stakeholders from all relevant departments. Use standardized methodologies and tools for risk assessment. Regularly update the BIA to reflect changes in the business and ICT infrastructure.

  • Example: A financial institution identifies its core banking system as critical. Downtime of more than 4 hours would result in significant financial losses and reputational damage. The BIA assigns a high priority to its recovery.

  • Common pitfalls: Failing to include all stakeholders, underestimating the impact of downtime, infrequent updates.

3.2 Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs):

  • In-depth explanation: RTO defines the maximum acceptable downtime for a system after a disaster. RPO defines the maximum acceptable data loss in case of a disaster.

  • Best practices: Set RTOs and RPOs based on the BIA, considering business needs and technical capabilities. Regularly review and adjust as necessary.

  • Example: For the core banking system, the RTO might be 2 hours and the RPO might be 15 minutes of data loss. For a less critical system, like an internal communication platform, the RTO might be 8 hours and the RPO 24 hours.

  • Common pitfalls: Setting unrealistic RTOs and RPOs, not aligning them with business needs.

3.3 Recovery Strategies:

  • In-depth explanation: Details the methods used to recover systems and data. This might include:

* Backup and Restore: Regular backups of data and system configurations.

* Failover: Automatically switching to a redundant system in case of failure.

* Replication: Maintaining synchronized copies of data and applications in multiple locations.

* Cloud-based recovery: Utilizing cloud services for backup, replication, and recovery.

  • Best practices: Implement multiple recovery strategies to increase resilience. Test all recovery strategies regularly.

  • Example: The core banking system uses database replication to a geographically diverse location and automated failover to ensure minimal downtime. Less critical systems may rely on daily backups and a manual restore process.

  • Common pitfalls: Relying on a single recovery method, inadequate testing of recovery strategies.

3.4 Recovery Procedures:

  • In-depth explanation: Step-by-step instructions for recovering systems and data for various disaster scenarios. These procedures should be detailed, clear, and easily understandable by all personnel involved.

  • Best practices: Use clear and concise language. Include diagrams and screenshots where necessary. Regularly review and update the procedures.

  • Example: A procedure for recovering the core banking system will detail the steps to fail over to the secondary site, validate the system, and resume normal operations. This might include specific commands, login credentials, and contact information for support personnel.

  • Common pitfalls: Ambiguous or incomplete instructions, lack of testing, outdated procedures.

3.5 Testing and Maintenance:

  • In-depth explanation: The process for regularly testing the disaster recovery plan and keeping it updated. This includes full-scale tests and smaller drills.

  • Best practices: Conduct regular testing at least annually, including full-scale disaster recovery exercises. Document the results and make necessary adjustments.

  • Example: Annually, the bank conducts a full-scale test of its core banking system recovery plan, simulating a complete site failure.

  • Common pitfalls: Infrequent or inadequate testing, failure to update the plan after changes to the ICT infrastructure.

3.6 Communication Plan:

  • In-depth explanation: Describes how communication will be handled during and after a disaster. This includes identifying key communication channels and personnel responsible for communication.

  • Best practices: Establish clear communication protocols, designate communication points of contact, and use multiple communication channels.

  • Example: A dedicated communication team will be responsible for updating stakeholders on the status of the recovery efforts, utilizing email, SMS, and a dedicated website.

  • Common pitfalls: Lack of communication plan, inadequate communication channels, ineffective communication during crisis.

3.7 Roles and Responsibilities:

  • In-depth explanation: Clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of individuals and teams involved in the disaster recovery process.

  • Best practices: Assign specific responsibilities to individuals and teams. Provide training and documentation to all personnel.

  • Example: A specific team is responsible for initiating the recovery process, another for restoring databases, another for network recovery, and yet another for communication with stakeholders.

  • Common pitfalls: Unclear roles and responsibilities, inadequate training.

3.8 Recovery Site:

  • In-depth explanation: Details the location and setup of the recovery site, including infrastructure, connectivity, and security. (Hot, Warm, Cold Site options to be clearly defined).

  • Best practices: Select a recovery site that is geographically diverse and meets the requirements of the critical systems. Regularly test and maintain the recovery site.

  • Example: The bank uses a hot site that maintains a fully replicated copy of the core banking system, ensuring near-zero downtime in case of a disaster.

  • Common pitfalls: Inadequate planning, insufficient infrastructure, lack of testing.

4. Implementation Guidelines:

1. Conduct a BIA: Identify critical systems and their impact on business operations.

2. Define RTOs and RPOs: Establish acceptable downtime and data loss limits.

3. Develop recovery strategies: Choose the appropriate methods for recovering systems and data.

4. Create recovery procedures: Develop step-by-step instructions for each recovery scenario.

5. Establish a communication plan: Define communication protocols during and after a disaster.

6. Assign roles and responsibilities: Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of individuals and teams.

7. Establish a recovery site: Select and prepare a suitable recovery site.

8. Test and maintain the plan: Regularly test and update the disaster recovery plan.

Roles and Responsibilities: A table should be created defining specific roles (e.g., Disaster Recovery Manager, IT Manager, Communications Lead, Team Leads for specific systems) and their respective responsibilities within each stage of the disaster recovery process.

5. Monitoring and Review:

  • Monitoring: Regularly monitor the effectiveness of the disaster recovery plan by reviewing logs, conducting regular backups, and simulating minor failures.

  • Frequency and process: The Disaster Recovery Plan should be reviewed and updated at least annually or whenever there are significant changes to the IT infrastructure, business operations, or regulatory requirements. This review should include a table of changes, reasons for change, and the impact assessment.

6. Related Documents:

  • Business Continuity Plan

  • IT Security Policy

  • Incident Management Policy

  • Data Backup and Recovery Policy

7. Compliance Considerations:

This policy addresses DORA principles by focusing on reducing MTTR and improving system stability. Specific DORA clauses/controls addressed depend on the specific DORA framework adopted, but generally, this policy contributes to:

  • Improved Mean Time To Restore (MTTR): By defining clear RTOs and RPOs and providing detailed recovery procedures.

  • Reduced Change Failure Rate: By thoroughly testing recovery procedures.

  • Improved Security: By incorporating security considerations into the recovery procedures.

Compliance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS) must be integrated into the plan. Specific regulations regarding data retention, notification of breaches, and data security must be adhered to. The plan should outline procedures for complying with these requirements in the event of a disaster.

This template provides a comprehensive framework. Specific details will need to be tailored to your organization's unique circumstances and risk profile. Remember to consult with legal and security experts to ensure compliance with all relevant regulations.

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