A2 LEVEL ICT 13.6 LEGAL ASPECTS DISASTER RECOVERY

Effects of Negligence Risks range from spilling a cup of coffee on a single computer to a bomb 90% of companies that suffered significant data loss went out of business in two years 43% of companies went out of business immediately

Effects of Negligence (Cont) Directors of a company can be prosecuted and / or sued if Health and Safety threat due to data loss Loss affects individuals (e.g. banking & insurance) Business Data Loss v. Operating Ability

Contents A list of the most critical business functions A list of facilities, hardware, software, data, personnel and other equipment necessary to support these functions A method for securing access to all necessary resources A method for getting in touch with all key personnel A step by step course of action to implement the plan Education & training for all staff involved in implementing the plan Regular drills to test the effectiveness of the plan

Last Resort Plans Must contain provision for backup facilities which can be used in the event of disaster. Three alternatives are: A company-owned backup facility, geographically distant from the main site, known as a ‘ cold-standby ’ site. A reciprocal agreement with another company that runs a compatible computer system. A subscription to a disaster recovery service

Criteria used to select a Contingency Plan The scale of the organisation and its I.T. systems The nature of the operation an on-line system may need to be restored within hours, whereas a customer billing operation may not be harmed by a few day ’ s delay, if no data is lost The relative costs of different options a company with several linked sites may be able to move operations to an alternative site The perceived likelihood of disaster occurring companies in earthquake zones are likely to invest more in disaster recovery than average

Discussion What are the most critical ICT functions at our school? What would be the consequences of a disaster such as fire or theft? What sort of contingency plan would be appropriate?

Question  A small company runs a network of 4 PC ’ s on which it keeps records of stock, customer accounts, a mailing list and a multitude of word-processed documents.  Draw up a security plan for this company to ensure that it will be able to continue operating normally within a day or so of a disaster such as a fire.  (20 Marks)