1. Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BC/DR) Policy
- Establish a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to ensure ongoing operations during disruptions.
- Develop a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) to restore critical systems and data quickly.
- Define Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs) for each system.
- Conduct regular BC/DR drills to test preparedness.
2. System Monitoring & Performance Management Policy
- Implement real-time monitoring tools for system uptime, performance, and failures.
- Set thresholds and alerts for unusual activity or degraded performance.
- Conduct regular health checks and audits on all IT infrastructure.
- Ensure 24/7 monitoring for mission-critical systems.
3. Redundancy & High Availability (HA) Policy
- Deploy failover systems and backup infrastructure for key services.
- Use load balancing and clustering to distribute traffic and prevent overload.
- Maintain geographically diverse data centers to mitigate localized disasters.
- Ensure backup power solutions (UPS, generators) for on-premise systems.
4. Patch Management & System Updates Policy
- Implement a structured patching schedule for operating systems, software, and firmware.
- Prioritize critical security patches and deploy them within a specified timeframe.
- Test patches in a staging environment before rolling them out in production.
- Automate software and firmware updates where possible.
5. Incident Response & Crisis Management Policy
- Develop a detailed Incident Response Plan (IRP) with clear escalation paths.
- Train employees to identify and report cyber incidents (e.g., system failures, cyberattacks).
- Conduct post-incident reviews to improve response strategies.
- Maintain emergency communication protocols to inform key stakeholders.
6. Data Backup & Recovery Policy
- Implement automated, encrypted backups of all critical business data.
- Follow the 3-2-1 backup rule (3 copies, 2 different media, 1 offsite).
- Perform regular recovery drills to ensure data can be restored quickly.
- Use immutable and air-gapped backups to prevent ransomware attacks.
7. Cloud & Third-Party Service Reliability Policy
- Require Service Level Agreements (SLAs) from vendors ensuring uptime and reliability.
- Use multi-cloud or hybrid cloud solutions to reduce vendor dependency.
- Regularly assess third-party security and continuity capabilities.
- Implement contingency plans for vendor outages, including alternative providers.
8. Network Resilience & Security Policy
- Implement firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS), and endpoint security.
- Deploy Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection to prevent outages.
- Use redundant internet connections and multiple ISPs for failover capabilities.
- Enforce network segmentation to isolate critical services from potential threats.
9. Employee Training & Accountability Policy
- Conduct regular cybersecurity and system reliability training for employees.
- Assign specific roles and responsibilities for system maintenance and recovery.
- Implement access controls to prevent unauthorized system modifications.
- Require employees to follow change management protocols before making system changes.
10. Change Management & IT Governance Policy
- Establish a formal Change Management Process (CMP) for tracking system changes.
- Require approval and testing before deploying major updates or changes.
- Maintain detailed documentation for all infrastructure modifications.
- Implement version control and rollback plans to restore previous system states if needed.