What is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)? Cyber Security Preparation Guide

A Business Continuity Plan is your companies operational insurance policy against cyber disruptions. Discover how to create a BCP that reduces downtime, financial losses and reputational damage when cyber incidents occur.

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The Commodore
Written By:
The Commodore
Cyber Intelligence

What is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) in Cybersecurity?

A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is a comprehensive document that outlines how a company will maintain essential functions during and after a disaster or significant disruption, including cybersecurity incidents. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an effective BCP defines procedures, identifies critical systems and processes, establishes recovery time objectives and assigns key responsibilities to ensure operational resilience. In the context of cybersecurity, a BCP specifically addresses how a business will maintain operations during digital disruptions such as ransomware attacks, data breaches, DDoS attacks or critical system failures.

Business Continuity Plan Definition & Purpose

A Business Continuity Plan serves as the operational insurance policy, providing a systematic and coordinated approach to maintaining critical business functions during disruptive events. Unlike disaster recovery plans (which focus primarily on IT systems recovery), a comprehensive BCP addresses all aspects of business operations including personnel, facilities, communications, and technology. The primary goal is to reduce downtime, financial losses and reputational damage while ensuring the business can continue serving customers and stakeholders despite adverse circumstances.

Key Components of a Cybersecurity BCP

Planning & Preparation Elements

  • Business Impact Analysis (BIA): Identification of critical business functions and the impact of their disruption
  • Risk Assessment: Evaluation of potential threats, vulnerabilities, and their likelihood
  • Recovery Strategies: Defined approaches for restoring operations with clearly established priorities
  • Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs): Maximum acceptable downtime for critical systems and processes

Operational Components

  • Emergency Response Procedures: Immediate actions to contain and respond to incidents
  • Crisis Communications Plan: Protocols for internal and external communications during disruptions
  • Alternate Processing Strategies: Secondary systems, facilities, or manual procedures
  • Succession Planning: Defined backup personnel for key roles and responsibilities

Technology & Data Components

  • Data Backup & Recovery: Procedures for accessing and restoring critical data
  • System Redundancy: Failover systems, cloud resources, or alternative processing capabilities
  • Cyber Incident Response: Specific procedures for managing cybersecurity events
  • Offline Capabilities: Methods to continue operations with limited or no IT functionality
"Companies with tested business continuity plans recover from ransomware attacks 4 times faster and pay 82% less in recovery costs than those without established BCPs, with the average recovery time reduced from 22 days to just 5 days."
– IBM, Cost of a Data Breach Report

Key Points for SMBs, Business Owners and IT Managers

Business Impact Considerations

  • 43% of businesses that experience major data loss never reopen, and 51% close within two years
  • The average cost of downtime for small businesses ranges from $8,000 to $74,000 per hour
  • Ransomware attacks cause an average of 16 days of downtime for companies without BCPs
  • Insurance providers increasingly require BCPs as a condition for cyber insurance coverage
  • Regulatory compliance in many industries mandates business continuity planning

Essential BCP Components for SMBs

  1. Identify Critical Functions: Determine which business processes must continue with minimal interruption
  2. Establish Recovery Priorities: Create a tiered recovery approach based on business impact
  3. Document Manual Workarounds: Define how to operate when systems are unavailable
  4. Implement Data Backup Strategy: Ensure critical data is recoverable from isolated backups
  5. Create Communication Templates: Prepare messaging for customers, employees, and stakeholders

Cost-Effective Implementation Strategies

  • Focus initial BCP efforts on the most critical business operations
  • Leverage cloud services for data backup and alternative processing capabilities
  • Use tabletop exercises instead of full-scale testing to validate plans
  • Implement free or low-cost communication tools with offline capabilities
  • Create digital and physical copies of contact lists and critical procedures

Key Points for Digital Agencies and Cyber Advisors

Client Support Framework

  1. BCP Assessment Methodology: Develop standardized approaches to evaluate client continuity readiness
  2. Industry-Specific Templates: Create customizable BCP frameworks for different business sectors
  3. Testing Protocols: Establish procedures for validating BCP effectiveness
  4. Integration Strategy: Align BCP with existing cybersecurity and disaster recovery initiatives

Advanced BCP Considerations

  • Incorporate BCP elements into managed service offerings and security packages
  • Develop metrics to demonstrate BCP effectiveness and ROI to clients
  • Address supply chain and third-party dependencies in continuity planning
  • Create specific BCP components for cloud service disruptions and vendor outages
  • Implement automated recovery technologies to reduce recovery time objectives

Why Business Continuity Planning Matters

Effective business continuity planning is no longer optional in today's threat landscape. With ransomware, supply chain attacks, and infrastructure failures becoming increasingly common, companies of all sizes must be prepared to maintain operations during disruptions. A well-designed BCP not only reduces financial losses during incidents but also provides competitive advantage through demonstrated resilience. For small and medium businesses particularly, the ability to continue serving customers during disruptions that affect competitors can create lasting customer loyalty and preserve hard-earned market position.