Title IX of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-53) mandated the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop and implement a Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program. This program, now known as PS-Prep, encourages private sector entities to increase their preparedness efforts and then apply to have their business continuity programs certified by an accredited third party. Although this program has been somewhat delayed since the October 2009 comment period, DHS published a notice in the Federal Register on June 16, 2010 announcing its adoption of three standards for the PS-Prep Program, including:

• ASIS SPC.1-2009 Organizational Resilience: Security Preparedness, and Continuity Management System
• British Standard (BS) 25999, Business Continuity Management (BS 25999-1:2006 Code of Practice and BS 25999-2:2007 the Specification)
• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1600: 2007/2010 Standard on Disaster/ Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs

ASIS SPC.1-2009
ASIS SPC.1-2009 provides a comprehensive management systems approach for security, preparedness, response, mitigation, business/operational continuity, and recovery for disruptive incidents resulting in an emergency, crisis, or disaster. This standard was designed to allow integration with quality, safety, environmental, information security, risk and other management systems within an organization, and is intended for use by any sized organization in the private, not-for-profit, and public sectors.

ASIS SPC.1-2009

British Standard (BS) 25999
BS 25999 provides end-to-end business continuity management guidance to organizations with aggressive risk management demands or international business interests by focusing on risk treatment, response and recovery. Part 1, the Code of Practice, establishes the process, principles and terminology of business continuity management (BCM). Part 2, the Specification, specifies requirements for planning, establishing, implementing, operating, monitoring, reviewing, exercising, maintaining and improving a documented business continuity management system (BCMS) within the context of managing an organization’s overall business risks. This standard is intended for use by any sized organization in the private, not-for-profit, and public sectors.

BS 25999-1:2006  |  BS 25999-2:2007

BS 25999 Self-Assessment

How to Deploy BS 25999 (second edition)

BS 25999 Certification: 4 Myths and a Truth

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1600
The NFPA 1600 Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs provides the fundamental criteria to develop, implement, assess, and maintain the program for prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, continuity, and recovery. This standard is intended for use by any sized organization in the private, not-for-profit, and public sectors. Of note, Both the 2007 and 2010 edition of the standard have been adopted into the PS-Prep program.

NFPA 1600:2010  |  NFPA 1600:2007

NFPA 1600 2010 Edition: What You Need to Know