Contingency Planning Guide for Federal Information Systems (Draft)
On Oct. 27, 2009, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) Computer Security Division (CSD) published Special Publication (SP) 800-34 Revision (Rev) 1, “DRAFT Contingency Planning Guide for Federal Information Systems” and requested comments from readers by Jan. 6, 2010.
SP 800-34 Revision 1 is intended to help organizations by providing instructions, recommendations, and considerations for federal information system contingency planning. Contingency planning refers to interim measures to recover information system services after a disruption. The guide defines a seven-step contingency planning process that an organization may apply to develop and maintain a viable contingency planning program for their information systems. The guide also presents three sample formats for developing an information system contingency plan based on low, moderate, or high impact level, as defined by Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 199, Standards for Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information Systems.
Despite the inclusion of “…for Federal Information Systems” in the title, SP 800-34 Rev 1 has a great deal of value for all information assurance and business continuity specialists.
Authors Marianne Swanson, Pauline Bowen, Amy Wohl Phillips, Dean Gallup, and David Lynes include two of the six authors of the June 2002 original version of SP 800-34 (Swanson, Wohl, Lucinda Pope, Tim Grance, Joan Hash and Ray Thomas) and have, as usual for NIST ITL CSD, done a superb job of preparing a framework that lays out a sound basis for business continuity planning (BCP).
The Draft Contingency Planning Guide for Federal Information Systems provides instructions, recommendations, and considerations for federal information system contingency planning. Contingency planning refers to interim measures to recover information system services after a disruption. Interim measures may include relocation of information systems and operations to an alternate site, recovery of information system functions using alternate equipment, or performance of information system functions using manual methods. The guide addresses specific contingency planning recommendations for three platform types and provides strategies and techniques common to all systems.
- Client/server systems;
- Telecommunications systems; and
- Mainframe systems.
The guide defines the following seven-step contingency planning process that an organization may apply to develop and maintain a viable contingency planning program for their information systems. These seven progressive steps are designed to be integrated into each stage of the system development life cycle.
- Develop the contingency planning policy statement. A formal policy provides the authority and guidance necessary to develop an effective contingency plan.
- Conduct the business impact analysis (BIA). The BIA helps identify and prioritize information systems and components critical to supporting the organization’s business functions. A template for developing the BIA is provided to assist the user.
- Identify preventive controls. Measures taken to reduce the effects of system disruptions can increase system availability and reduce contingency life cycle costs.
- Create contingency strategies. Thorough recovery strategies ensure that the system may be recovered quickly and effectively following a disruption.
- Develop an information system contingency plan. The contingency plan should contain detailed guidance and procedures for restoring a damaged system unique to the system’s security impact level and recovery requirements.
- Ensure plan testing, training, and exercises. Testing validates recovery capabilities, whereas training prepares recovery personnel for plan activation and exercising the plan identifies planning gaps; combined, the activities improve plan effectiveness and overall organization preparedness.
- Ensure plan maintenance. The plan should be a living document that is updated regularly to remain current with system enhancements and organizational changes.
The guide presents three sample formats for developing an information system contingency plan based on low, moderate, or high impact level, as defined by Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 199, Standards for Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information Systems. Each format defines three phases that govern actions to be taken following a system disruption. The Activation/ Notification Phase describes the process of activating the plan based on outage impacts and notifying recovery personnel. The Recovery Phase details a suggested course of action for recovery teams to restore system operations at an alternate site or using contingency capabilities. The final phase, Reconstitution, includes activities to test and validate system capability and functionality and outlines actions that can be taken to return the system to normal operating conditions and prepare the system against future outages.
See Contingency Planning Guide for Federal Information Systems (Draft). from the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology.
