week 7

K1.7 The role and implementation of a disaster recovery plan in protecting the digital security of an organisation:

A Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) is a formal set of procedures and controls used by an organisation to recover and restore IT services after a disaster such as:

• Cyber attacks (e.g. ransomware)

• Natural disasters (e.g. fire or flood)

• Technical failures (e.g. server breakdown)

• Power outages or building evacuations

The main role of a DRP is to:

• Recover critical systems and services

• Maintain service availability to users

• Protect data integrity

• Ensure that business operations continue with minimal interruption

It is usually supported by a broader Business Continuity Plan (BCP), which outlines how the whole organisation continues to function during and after a crisis.

🛠️ Components of a Disaster Recovery Plan

DRP controls can be both physical and administrative in nature.

Physical Components

These refer to infrastructure and hardware-based protections to help restore operations.

These ensure that even if the main system is destroyed or damaged, data and services can be restored from another location.

Administrative Components (Policies and Procedures)

These are organisational strategies and tasks that ensure services are restored efficiently and securely.

These policies ensure a coordinated response and help maintain control over resources during recovery.

Build a Disaster Recovery Plan for a Small Business

Scenario:
A small business has just suffered a fire that destroyed its main server room. As the IT support consultant, you must help create a Disaster Recovery Plan.

Task:
Choose two physical and three administrative DRP components.

For each:
     Explain what it is
     How it helps restore or maintain service
     Why it’s important for digital security

Extension Task:
Create a checklist of actions IT staff should take in the first 24 hours following a disaster, including who to contact, what systems to prioritise, and how to document actions.

"Part 1 - Those that fail to plan, plan to fail"

Scenario: The college/school have realised that they do not have DRP (disaster recovery plan)

Tasks: 
Determine the scope of the plan (for example, the computing department or the whole college). 
Gather relevant information (for example, historic outage, equipment). 
Identify risk (threats, vulnerabilities, impact and probability). 

Last Updated
2025-07-11 14:43:06