Incident Response, Business Continuity, and Disaster Recovery Overview

A collection of flashcards covering key terms and definitions related to Incident Response, Business Continuity, and Disaster Recovery.

Incident Response (IR)

The plan to respond to unexpected changes in operating conditions, focusing on immediate containment and initial recovery.

Business Continuity (BC)

The plan to maintain essential business functions and operations throughout a prolonged crisis or disruption.

Disaster Recovery (DR)

The plan to restore the organization's IT and communications infrastructure to a full, reliable operational state after a major failure.

CIA Triad

A foundational security model consisting of Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability.

Availability

Ensuring authorized users have timely and reliable access to systems and data, even during disruptions.

Business Impact Analysis (BIA)

A foundational prerequisite that determines the criticality of business activities, financial impact, system dependencies, and Maximum Tolerable Downtime (MTD).

Threat

A potential cause of harm, which can include unauthorized access, destruction, etc.

Vulnerability

A weakness in a system that can be leveraged by a threat.

Exploit

A specific attack technique that utilizes a vulnerability.

Incident Response Plan (IRP)

A dynamic, policy-driven plan focused on the immediate containment and recovery from a security incident.

Data Breach

The loss of control or unauthorized acquisition of Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

Recovery Point Objective (RPO)

The maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in time before a disaster occurs.

Post-Incident Activity

The documentation of lessons learned, retention of evidence, and retrospective analysis to refine the Incident Response Plan.

Designation of Authority

The formal process of pre-assigning decision making power to expedite the BCP’s activation and resource allocation during a crisis.

Retrospective Analysis

The formal review conducted after an incident to evaluate the IRP’s effectiveness and identify lessons learned for continuous improvement.

Technical Guides

DRP document containing detailed instructions tailored specifically for IT personnel to implement and maintain critical backup systems and sites.