31 Jan Assess the role of the

Week 1 Discussion

DQ1 ASSESSING RISK USING THE TAM

Assess the use of qualitative and quantitative metrics in contingency planning. Analyze the use of the threat assessment model (TAM) in risk assessment activities.

DQ2 THE RATIONALE FOR CONTINGENCY PLANNING

Assess the relationship between technology and competitive advantage in today’s economy. Analyze the important of risk considerations in risk management, disaster recovery, and contingency planning.

Week 2 Discussion

DQ1 THE VALUE OF THE BIA

In the context of risk assessment (RA), assess the value of a business impact analysis (BIA). Compare and contrast the RA process to the BIA process.

DQ2 THE CONTINGENCY PLAN COORDINATOR

Analyze the role of the contingency plan coordinator (CPC) in the scope of preparing a BIA. Analyze the role of the business and IT stakeholders in the CPC.

Week 3 Discussion

DQ1 RECOVERY STRATEGY

Recovery strategies (RS) are used to respond to business impacts outlined in the BIA. Analyze the imapact of the BIA on recovery strategies, and illustrate three additional considerations beyond the BIA. Assess the impact of the CPC in recovery strategy. Assess the role of leadership in the recovery strategy.

DQ2 DATA BACKUP STRATEGIES

Data backups are critical to long-term business continuity. Analyze core strategies related to data backup within a typical organizational information system enclave. Assess the importance of backup, fault tolerance, and redundancy technologies to guarantee the CIA of the information system.

Week 4 Discussion

DQ1 THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TESTING

Section 3.5 of the SP800-34-rev1 discusses the importance of testing, classroom, and functional exercises; this week in the lesson, we touched on the various types of testing that DRPs undergo. Examine the importance of testing to reinforce learning objectives to include the use of metrics.

DQ2 AUDITING THE DRP TO STANDARDS

Evaluate the following documents.

ISO31000 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

COBIT (http://www.isaca.org/COBIT/Pages/default.aspx (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.)

NIST SP 800-34 Rev. 1 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Assess the use of these standards by the organization. Compare and contrast the differences between the documents.

Week 5 Discussion

DQ1 SCALING STORAGE

Let’s discuss some of the risks and advantages associated with virtualization, NAS, and SAN. Transitioning from client/server to data center architecture, these concepts are discussed in NIST SP800-34 Section 5, and may be easily found on the Web. Compare and contrast differences between file-oriented storage and transaction-oriented storage, including pros and cons of each.

DQ2 SCALING AND RECOVERING THE WAN

SONET, ISDN, Frame Relay, ATM—all of these are wide area protocol examples that are traditionally associated with leased circuits, which can include ISDN BRI/PRI; DS-x – T1, T2, and T3; or Optical Carrier circuits (OC). These concepts are explored briefly in the NIST SP800-34 Section 5, but you can easily find more information on the Web. In a disaster recovery situation, assess the benefit of a leased circuit over an open or virtual circuit.

Some organizations are forgoing the expense of a private leased WAN in favor of a public vWAN. Compare advantages of public vWAN over private leased WAN, and assess the impact on contingency planning.

Week 6 Discussion

DQ1 CRISIS COMMUNICATION OF GIULIANI AND NAGIN

Research Rudolph Giuliani and C. Ray Nagin in the context of both of their disasters that happened while holding the Office of the Mayor for New York City and New Orleans, respectively: 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. Compare and contrast these two subjects given their communication to the public both during and after the disaster. Analyze how controlled crisis communication affect DRP execution.

DQ2 CRISIS COMMUNICATION PLAN

Assess the role of the Crisis Communication Plan (CCP) in the NIST SP800-34 Framework. Examine the difference between a CCP and a press release. Analyze the impact of public perceptions following the mishandling of a disaster event.

Week 7 Discussion

DQ1 SECURING A CRIME SCENE

Examine the five steps to the evidentiary process if the incident caused a severe outage. Compare and contrast the evidentiary process versus the impulse of the IT Manager or Contingency Plan Coordinator. How does the Cyber Incident Response Plan (CIRP, NIST SP800-34) address this problem?

DQ2 UNDERSTANDING THE EXCEPTIONS

Review the U.S. Department of Justice document explaining the Fourth Amendment protections in context of preparing electronic evidence. Assess three noteworthy issues, recommendations, observations, or comments you have regarding these exceptions.