CBCLA key terms

A structured process that identifies critical business functions and quantifies how quickly disruption harms them, producing recovery time and recovery point targets that later strategy and plan decisions depend on.

The longest period a function can be unavailable before the organization suffers unacceptable harm, such as regulatory breach, irreversible financial loss, or loss of reputation or life safety.

The target elapsed time within which a function, system, or process must be restored after disruption so the organization stays within its maximum tolerable downtime.

The maximum acceptable volume of data, expressed as time, that may be lost in a disruption; it sets how frequently backups or replication must occur.

A process whose interruption quickly threatens the organization's viability, legal compliance, safety, or contractual obligations, and which therefore receives priority for continuity resources and testing.

Documenting the upstream and downstream relationships a function relies on, including suppliers, applications, facilities, people, and utilities, so that hidden single points of failure become visible.

Any component, supplier, person, or location whose loss alone halts a critical function, making it a priority for redundancy, cross-training, or alternate arrangements.

A mutual reliance in which two or more functions, teams, or organizations each need the other to operate, so recovery of one is blocked until the other is at least partly restored.

A defined level of harm, often expressed in money, time, or legal exposure, at which a disruption moves from tolerable to unacceptable and triggers escalation or continuity activation.

The process of identifying threats and hazards, estimating likelihood and consequence, and comparing results against tolerance so continuity effort is directed where it matters most.

The amount and type of risk leadership is willing to accept in pursuit of objectives, which guides how much redundancy, spending, and residual risk a continuity program tolerates.

Systematic cataloguing of plausible disruptive events, such as cyberattack, flood, fire, pandemic, or supplier failure, used to test whether strategies address realistic scenarios.

The chosen approach for protecting a function within its recovery targets, for example alternate site, manual workaround, redundant supplier, or accepting the risk with documented rationale.

A pre-identified location where people and systems can operate after loss of a primary facility; it may be hot, warm, or cold depending on how quickly it can be made productive.

A fully equipped alternate facility with hardware, connectivity, and data already in place, enabling recovery within hours but carrying high ongoing cost.

An alternate facility with some infrastructure and connectivity ready but requiring configuration, data restoration, or equipment delivery before it can support production work.

A shell facility providing space, power, and basic environment only, requiring substantial setup before use; cheapest to maintain but slowest to activate.

An arrangement in which two organizations agree to host each other's operations during disruption; inexpensive but risky because both parties may be affected by the same event.

Deliberate duplication of capacity, such as spare servers, dual network paths, or cross-trained staff, so failure of one element does not stop the function.

The automated or manual switch from a failed component to a standby one, such as moving processing to a secondary data center or cluster node.

A temporary manual or alternative method used to deliver a function's output while normal systems or facilities are unavailable, often slower or with reduced controls.

Documented paper-based or offline steps that staff can follow when automated systems are down, including forms, approvals, and later reconciliation of records.

Planning that ensures critical goods and services keep flowing when a supplier fails, through qualified alternates, buffer stock, or contractual continuity requirements.

The documented set of procedures, roles, and resources an organization follows to keep or restore critical functions during and after a disruption.

The portion of continuity documentation covering leadership decision-making, communications, and stakeholder management during an incident, complementing operational recovery procedures.

Prepared messaging, channels, and spokespeople used to inform employees, customers, regulators, and media accurately and consistently during disruption.

The defined trigger and authority by which leadership formally puts the continuity plan into effect, including who may declare an incident and how staff are notified.

A clear assignment of roles and reporting lines during an incident, typically separating operations, planning, logistics, and communications so decisions are not duplicated or missed.

The procedure and contact data used to alert employees, key customers, suppliers, and authorities when an incident occurs, including escalation timing and backup channels.

A cascading contact method in which each person notifies a small set of others, speeding mass notification while providing confirmation that messages were received.

The scheduled cycle of activities, from plan walkthroughs to full simulations, that builds competence and reveals gaps before a real disruption occurs.

A discussion-based session where participants talk through a scenario and their responses, testing plans, roles, and assumptions without moving people or systems.

A drill that actually performs specific recovery tasks, such as restoring a server or activating an alternate site, to verify that procedures work under realistic conditions.

The most realistic test, involving actual relocation or live failover of people and systems, coordinated with external parties, and typically the most costly to run.

A test built around a specific plausible threat, such as ransomware or loss of a key supplier, chosen to probe whether strategies handle that particular disruption.

The written record of an exercise or real incident, capturing what happened, what worked, what failed, and corrective actions with owners and due dates.

A tracked list of fixes arising from exercises, audits, or incidents, each with an accountable owner, deadline, and status review until closure is verified.

The ongoing process of reviewing and updating continuity documentation so it reflects current staff, systems, suppliers, and risks rather than becoming stale.

The scheduled frequency, often annual or after significant change, at which plans are formally re-examined and re-approved by accountable management.

An unscheduled plan update forced by a material change such as a merger, new critical system, site move, or major incident, rather than by the calendar.

Practice of labeling, dating, and archiving plan documents so responders always use the current approved copy and can trace what changed and who approved it.

Controlled issuance of plans to those who need them, including offline or out-of-band copies, so responders can access procedures even when primary networks fail.

The risk that remains after continuity strategies and controls are applied, which leadership must knowingly accept, reduce, or transfer.

An evaluation of the continuity program against a capability framework or standard, producing a baseline and roadmap for improvement rather than a pass/fail result.