Control statement
- a.Test the contingency plan for the system [Organization-defined: frequency] using the following tests to determine the effectiveness of the plan and the readiness to execute the plan: [Organization-defined: organization-defined tests].
- b.Review the contingency plan test results; and
- c.Initiate corrective actions, if needed.
Discussion
Methods for testing contingency plans to determine the effectiveness of the plans and identify potential weaknesses include checklists, walk-through and tabletop exercises, simulations (parallel or full interrupt), and comprehensive exercises. Organizations conduct testing based on the requirements in contingency plans and include a determination of the effects on organizational operations, assets, and individuals due to contingency operations. Organizations have flexibility and discretion in the breadth, depth, and timelines of corrective actions.
Organization-defined parameters
These values must be resolved through the organization’s tailoring and governance process. Bracketed parameter references in the control text identify where a decision is required.
From control text to operational evidence
Use Contingency Plan Testing as a testable risk decision. Translate the official statement into accountable people, repeatable processes, configured technology, and evidence that demonstrates the outcome over time. In this family, pay particular attention to resilient operations, recovery priorities, alternate capabilities, and tested restoration.
Implementation workflow
- Define the control boundary, responsible owner, inherited portions, and systems or processes in scope.
- Resolve each organization-defined parameter before declaring the control implemented.
- Document how the implementation satisfies every clause of the official control statement.
- Collect evidence as a normal byproduct of operation rather than only before an assessment.
- Review exceptions, changes, and monitoring results on a risk-based cadence.
Evidence examples
- contingency and recovery plans
- backup success and restoration-test records
- exercise after-action reports
- alternate processing or communications agreements
Common failure patterns
- backups never restored in testing
- recovery priorities not tied to mission impact
- plans dependent on unavailable people or facilities
- exercise findings not tracked to closure
Questions practitioners should ask
- What risk decision is this control intended to support in this system?
- Which parts are implemented locally, inherited, shared, or not applicable—and what evidence supports that decision?
- Do the documented narrative, deployed configuration, operating process, and collected evidence agree?
- What event or threshold requires the implementation to be reviewed or changed?
Assessment objectives and methods
Show the assessment objective
- CP-04a.
- CP-04a.[01]the contingency plan for the system is tested [Organization-defined: frequency];
- CP-04a.[02][Organization-defined: tests] are used to determine the effectiveness of the plan;
- CP-04a.[03][Organization-defined: tests] are used to determine the readiness to execute the plan;
- CP-04b.the contingency plan test results are reviewed;
- CP-04c.corrective actions are initiated, if needed.
Examine
- Contingency planning policy
- procedures addressing contingency plan testing
- contingency plan
- contingency plan test documentation
- contingency plan test results
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with responsibilities for contingency plan testing, reviewing, or responding to contingency plan tests
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Test
- Organizational processes for contingency plan testing
- mechanisms supporting the contingency plan and/or contingency plan testing
Related controls
These relationships come from the official OSCAL catalog. They indicate useful dependencies or context, not automatic inheritance or equivalence.
Control enhancements
Enhancements add specificity, strength, or scope to the base control. Baseline badges show explicit selections in the official SP 800-53B OSCAL profiles.
CP-4(1) — Coordinate with Related Plans
Coordinate contingency plan testing with organizational elements responsible for related plans.
Official discussion
Plans related to contingency planning for organizational systems include Business Continuity Plans, Disaster Recovery Plans, Continuity of Operations Plans, Crisis Communications Plans, Critical Infrastructure Plans, Cyber Incident Response Plans, and Occupant Emergency Plans. Coordination of contingency plan testing does not require organizations to create organizational elements to handle related plans or to align such elements with specific plans. However, it does require that if such organizational elements are responsible for related plans, organizations coordinate with those elements.
Assessment objectives and methods
contingency plan testing is coordinated with organizational elements responsible for related plans.
Examine
- Contingency planning policy
- incident response policy
- procedures addressing contingency plan testing
- contingency plan testing documentation
- contingency plan
- business continuity plans
- disaster recovery plans
- continuity of operations plans
- crisis communications plans
- critical infrastructure plans
- cyber incident response plans
- occupant emergency plans
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with contingency plan testing responsibilities
- personnel with responsibilities for related plans
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Related controls
CP-4(2) — Alternate Processing Site
Test the contingency plan at the alternate processing site:
- (a)To familiarize contingency personnel with the facility and available resources; and
- (b)To evaluate the capabilities of the alternate processing site to support contingency operations.
Official discussion
Conditions at the alternate processing site may be significantly different than the conditions at the primary site. Having the opportunity to visit the alternate site and experience the actual capabilities available at the site can provide valuable information on potential vulnerabilities that could affect essential organizational mission and business functions. The on-site visit can also provide an opportunity to refine the contingency plan to address the vulnerabilities discovered during testing.
Assessment objectives and methods
- CP-04(02)(a)the contingency plan is tested at the alternate processing site to familiarize contingency personnel with the facility and available resources;
- CP-04(02)(b)the contingency plan is tested at the alternate processing site to evaluate the capabilities of the alternate processing site to support contingency operations.
Examine
- Contingency planning policy
- procedures addressing contingency plan testing
- contingency plan
- contingency plan test documentation
- contingency plan test results
- alternate processing site agreements
- service-level agreements
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with contingency planning and plan implementation responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Test
- Organizational processes for contingency plan testing
- mechanisms supporting the contingency plan and/or contingency plan testing
Related controls
CP-4(3) — Automated Testing
Test the contingency plan using [Organization-defined: automated mechanisms].
Official discussion
Automated mechanisms facilitate thorough and effective testing of contingency plans by providing more complete coverage of contingency issues, selecting more realistic test scenarios and environments, and effectively stressing the system and supported mission and business functions.
Organization-defined parameters (1)
Assessment objectives and methods
the contingency plan is tested using [Organization-defined: automated mechanisms].
Examine
- Contingency planning policy
- procedures addressing contingency plan testing
- contingency plan
- automated mechanisms supporting contingency plan testing
- contingency plan test documentation
- contingency plan test results
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with contingency plan testing responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Test
- Organizational processes for contingency plan testing
- automated mechanisms supporting contingency plan testing
CP-4(4) — Full Recovery and Reconstitution
Include a full recovery and reconstitution of the system to a known state as part of contingency plan testing.
Official discussion
Recovery is executing contingency plan activities to restore organizational mission and business functions. Reconstitution takes place following recovery and includes activities for returning systems to fully operational states. Organizations establish a known state for systems that includes system state information for hardware, software programs, and data. Preserving system state information facilitates system restart and return to the operational mode of organizations with less disruption of mission and business processes.
Assessment objectives and methods
- CP-04(04)[01]a full recovery of the system to a known state is included as part of contingency plan testing;
- CP-04(04)[02]a full reconstitution of the system to a known state is included as part of contingency plan testing.
Examine
- Contingency planning policy
- procedures addressing system recovery and reconstitution
- contingency plan
- contingency plan test documentation
- contingency plan test results
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with contingency plan testing responsibilities
- organizational personnel with system recovery and reconstitution responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Test
- Organizational processes for contingency plan testing
- mechanisms supporting contingency plan testing
- mechanisms supporting recovery and reconstitution of the system
Related controls
CP-4(5) — Self-challenge
Employ [Organization-defined: mechanisms] to [Organization-defined: system or system component] to disrupt and adversely affect the system or system component.
Official discussion
Often, the best method of assessing system resilience is to disrupt the system in some manner. The mechanisms used by the organization could disrupt system functions or system services in many ways, including terminating or disabling critical system components, changing the configuration of system components, degrading critical functionality (e.g., restricting network bandwidth), or altering privileges. Automated, on-going, and simulated cyber-attacks and service disruptions can reveal unexpected functional dependencies and help the organization determine its ability to ensure resilience in the face of an actual cyber-attack.
Organization-defined parameters (2)
Assessment objectives and methods
[Organization-defined: mechanisms] are employed to disrupt and adversely affect the [Organization-defined: system or system component].
Examine
- Contingency planning policy
- procedures addressing system recovery and reconstitution
- contingency plan
- contingency plan test documentation
- contingency plan test results
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with contingency plan testing responsibilities
- organizational personnel with system recovery and reconstitution responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Test
- Organizational processes for contingency plan testing
- mechanisms supporting contingency plan testing
Authoritative sources
Bare Metal Cyber is an independent educational publisher and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NIST. Official control requirements and interpretations remain with NIST and the responsible authorizing organization.