Business Continuity: Backups, Restore Drills and Proving You Can Come Back

IntermediateFree5 modules · 15 lessons · ~2 min

About this course

The preventive twin to this Academy's response courses: a manager's guide to backup strategy, immutability and offline copies, restore drills that measure real recovery time and recovery point, and the tabletop exercise that proves the plan actually works. You will learn to set Recovery Time Objective and Recovery Point Objective targets through business impact analysis, defeat an attacker who targets backups first, and build an operating rhythm and executive reporting that keep the programme honest over time.

What you'll learn

Why Business Continuity Is a Management Discipline

Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery and Backup: Three Different Things
Recovery Time Objective and Recovery Point Objective, Set by the Business Not IT
The Cost of Being Wrong: The Case for Investing Before the Incident

Backup Strategy

Backup Strategy: The 3-2-1 Rule and What Actually Breaks It
Immutability and Offline Copies: Defeating an Attacker Who Targets Backups First
Third-Party and Cloud Dependency: Whose Backup Is It, Really?

Restore Drills

Why a Backup You Have Never Restored Is Not a Backup
Designing and Running a Restore Drill: Measuring Real RTO and RPO
Restoring Without Restoring the Intrusion: Scanning Before You Trust a Restore

01Why Business Continuity Is a Management Discipline3 lessons

Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery and Backup: Three Different Things
Recovery Time Objective and Recovery Point Objective, Set by the Business Not IT
The Cost of Being Wrong: The Case for Investing Before the Incident

02Backup Strategy3 lessons

Common questions

How much does Safeguard Academy cost?

Nothing. Every course, exam, and certificate on the catalog is free — including retakes. All you need is a free Safeguard account.

What are the prerequisites?

None. The flagship course, Safeguard Certified Practitioner, is a beginner-level course — basic familiarity with how software is built helps, but every exam question is answerable from the lessons themselves.

The Tabletop Exercise

Designing a Tabletop Exercise That Proves the Plan, Not the Slide Deck
Running the Tabletop: Roles, Facilitation and Injects
Grading the Exercise and Turning Findings into a Better Plan

Sustaining the Programme

The Operating Rhythm: Cadence for Backups, Drills and Plan Review
Executive and Board Reporting: What Leadership Needs to See
Grounding Continuity in Safeguard: Inventory, Attestation and Continuous Assurance

Backup Strategy: The 3-2-1 Rule and What Actually Breaks It

Immutability and Offline Copies: Defeating an Attacker Who Targets Backups First

Third-Party and Cloud Dependency: Whose Backup Is It, Really?

03Restore Drills3 lessons

Why a Backup You Have Never Restored Is Not a Backup
Designing and Running a Restore Drill: Measuring Real RTO and RPO
Restoring Without Restoring the Intrusion: Scanning Before You Trust a Restore

04The Tabletop Exercise3 lessons

Designing a Tabletop Exercise That Proves the Plan, Not the Slide Deck
Running the Tabletop: Roles, Facilitation and Injects
Grading the Exercise and Turning Findings into a Better Plan

05Sustaining the Programme3 lessons

The Operating Rhythm: Cadence for Backups, Drills and Plan Review
Executive and Board Reporting: What Leadership Needs to See
Grounding Continuity in Safeguard: Inventory, Attestation and Continuous Assurance2 min

What happens if I fail the exam?

You can retake it after a 24-hour cooldown, as many times as you need. Retakes are free, and each attempt draws a fresh random set of questions.

How long is a certificate valid?

The Safeguard Certified Practitioner credential is valid for 24 months from issue. The expiry date is printed on the certificate and shown live on its public verification page. Renewing means passing the current exam again.