Home > Glossary > Certified in Cybersecurity > Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP)

📖 What is Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP)?

A subset of the BCP that focuses specifically on the technical procedures required to restore IT infrastructure and data after a disaster.

🥋 Sensei Says:

"DRP is the technical 'how-to' for getting servers back online."

📚 Certification: Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)

🔑 What are the Key Concepts of Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP)?

▸ A DRP details steps for restoring critical IT systems, applications, and data following a disruptive event, minimizing downtime.
▸ Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) are key metrics defined within a DRP, dictating acceptable outage and data loss.
▸ DRP testing (tabletop exercises, simulations, full interruptions) is crucial to validate plan effectiveness and identify weaknesses.
▸ The DRP should include detailed documentation of system configurations, backup procedures, and contact information for key personnel.
▸ Regular updates to the DRP are essential to reflect changes in infrastructure, applications, and business requirements.

🎯 How does Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) appear on the CC Exam?

You may be asked to identify the primary purpose of a DRP in relation to a broader Business Continuity Plan (BCP), focusing on the technical recovery aspects.

A scenario might describe a ransomware attack impacting a company's servers – expect questions about which DRP components would be activated to restore operations.

Expect questions about prioritizing systems for recovery based on RTO and RPO values, and how these impact the overall DRP strategy.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

How does a DRP interact with a Business Impact Analysis (BIA)?

The BIA identifies critical business functions and their dependencies. The DRP then focuses on the technical steps to restore the IT systems supporting those critical functions, guided by the BIA’s findings.

What’s the difference between a hot site, warm site, and cold site in a DRP?

Hot sites are fully operational replicas, offering the fastest RTO. Warm sites have some infrastructure pre-configured, while cold sites require full setup, impacting RTO and cost.

Is a DRP only for major disasters like fires or floods?

No, a DRP should cover a wide range of disruptions, including hardware failures, software bugs, cyberattacks, and even localized power outages. It’s about resilience to *any* event impacting IT services.

Related Terms from Certified in Cybersecurity

CIA Triad Hot Site Technical Controls VPN (Virtual Private Network) Integrity Recovery Point Objective (RPO)

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