I think cyber attacks have become more and more common these days, so our practices to secure our data, property, or business, are like, a locked door can keep honest people honest. Never try to induce anyone, because everyone has a price tag.
Although not everything and everyone is always perfect, we just learn to be better and better. New information technologies bring us a convenient daily life, but they do not always come with zero cost. From the historic view, we always solve a problem and create another concern. We created the Internet to make the world a better place, but also make the world full of more frauds and cyber attacks.
Cyber attacks are almost everywhere through our well-connected web and our phone. The target areas in information insecurity even upgraded to a military level, not just cybercrimes. It can destroy and paralyzes a country without any real missiles.
What Is Business Impact Analysis (BIA)?
It is a systematic process to determine and evaluate the effects of an interruption to critical business operations while there is a disaster, accident, or emergency. Therefore, it is vital for an organization's business continuance and survival when a disruptive event happens.
I think it is pretty common to mix up BIA with risk analysis, they are different steps. If an unexpected rain causes you to buy an umbrella, it is the action or influence you are affected by the event, it is about impact analysis. Risk analysis is about what is the possibility of an event such as the rain, or any possible events will occur in the future.
The Primary Elements or Components
Operational
There are many details in business operations such as the recent pandemic COVID-19 which impacts customers' purchases. Or, advantages to competitors such as the coming winter but you are selling ice cream. Effect on suppliers and on the business’s supply chain like the rainforest has been destroyed, global warming or just bad weather reduces the harvest of coffee beans, and you are in business like Starbucks.
Financial
From the loss of share value to increased expenditures, lower revenue, or lower profits, are all hurting the growth of a business. The recent pandemic COVID-19 was increased the related costs such as restaurants have to pay rents even they are forced to shut down. Their revenues crashed during the shutdown period while their debts are still chasing by, thus, lead to bankruptcy.
Contractual and Legal
To meet contractual obligations service or product delivery is essential for any business. For instance, my father's food company are trying to cooperate with Amazon recently, so he has to meet the contractual and legal requirements such as FDA's approval and the fulfillment contract with Amazon.
Reputational
Even though reputational is intangible, it has the potential to affect all kinds of business, especially in marketing.
Societal
When the rivers are all dried up and the trees are all cut down, people will then realize that they can not "eat" money. It's very true that we live and grow together on the precious planet. As a business owner, you should always give back to your society. Societal resources such as critical infrastructures are all crucial to all businesses and their customers. COVID-19, for instance, plenty of firms are now relying on the vaccine to launch.
The Others
The elements of BIA, depends on what kind of business you are in, may have very different components. So, you should have a full insight view of your business. Also, the BIA process needs to be upgraded regularly to reflect related changes.
Reference
Gelbstein, E. (2013). Information Security for Non-Technical Managers. Bookboon.
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