PR.IP-9: Response and Recovery Planning
Response and recovery planning is your organization's safety net when incidents occur. NIST CSF control PR.IP-9 requires documented plans for incident response, business continuity, incident recovery, and disaster recovery—all actively managed and tested. Without these in place, your team operates blind during crises.
What this means
This control mandates four interconnected planning components: Incident Response Plans define how your organization detects, contains, and resolves security incidents. Business Continuity Plans ensure critical operations continue during disruptions. Incident Recovery Plans detail steps to restore systems post-incident. Disaster Recovery Plans cover recovery from major outages or catastrophic failures. All plans must be documented, regularly updated, communicated to relevant stakeholders, and periodically tested to ensure effectiveness.
How to comply
- 1.Document a comprehensive Incident Response Plan including detection procedures, escalation paths, containment strategies, and communication protocols
- 2.Develop a Business Continuity Plan identifying critical functions, recovery time objectives (RTO), and continuity procedures for each essential service
- 3.Create an Incident Recovery Plan outlining post-incident restoration steps, system validation, and lessons learned documentation
- 4.Establish a Disaster Recovery Plan with backup strategies, alternate processing sites, data replication schedules, and failover procedures
- 5.Assign clear ownership and responsibilities for plan maintenance, updates, and testing across all four plan types
- 6.Conduct tabletop exercises or simulations at least annually to validate plan effectiveness and identify gaps
- 7.Document all plan updates, test results, and lessons learned in a centralized log for audit evidence
- 8.Communicate plan summaries and employee responsibilities to relevant staff through training or awareness programs
Evidence auditors look for
- Dated Incident Response Plan document with defined roles, communication trees, and escalation procedures
- Business Continuity Plan with RTO/RPO metrics and continuity procedures for critical systems
- Disaster Recovery Plan including backup schedules, alternate facility details, and failover instructions
- Records of annual tabletop exercises with attendance lists and identified remediation items
- Plan update logs showing review and approval dates within the past 12 months
- Test execution reports documenting recovery time validation and success criteria
- Training records confirming staff awareness of response and recovery procedures
- Lessons learned documentation from any actual incidents or drills
Frequently asked questions
When will FAQs be available?
The FAQ for this control is currently being prepared.
GRCWatch automates response and recovery plan tracking with built-in plan templates, test scheduling reminders, and centralized evidence storage—so you can demonstrate ongoing compliance with PR.IP-9 without manual spreadsheet management.
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