CMAP 660 prepares UMGC graduate students to keep an organization running when a cyber event hits, and to recover afterwards.
UMGC describes it as an in-depth exploration and application of cybersecurity contingency planning. The business impact of cybersecurity events on an organization is analyzed, and hands-on, project-based case studies are used to develop incident response plans, disaster recovery plans and business continuity plans.
Discussion also covers methods to back up data and tools for organizational resilience. The challenge is consistency: three plans, one impact analysis and a backup strategy must all tell the same story about what matters most.
Course at a Glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| University | University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) |
| Course code | CMAP 660 |
| Level | Graduate, 3 credits |
| Subject area | Contingency planning and resilience |
| Credit overlap | Credit for only one of CMAP 660 or CMP 630 |
| Typical work | Business impact analysis, incident response, disaster recovery and continuity plans |
What CMAP 660 Covers
| Element | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Business impact analysis | Finds critical functions and how long they can be down |
| Incident response plan | Handles a security event from detection to lessons learned |
| Disaster recovery plan | Restores IT systems and data |
| Business continuity plan | Keeps essential functions running during disruption |
| Backup methods and tools | Make recovery possible at all |
Key Concepts Explained
RTO and RPO
The recovery time objective (RTO) is how quickly a system must be back. The recovery point objective (RPO) is how much data loss, measured in time, is acceptable. Both come from the business impact analysis and drive technology choices.
Example: A fictitious retailer's online ordering system has an RTO of 4 hours (lost sales grow fast) and an RPO of 15 minutes (orders cannot be re-created). Nightly backups would breach the RPO, so the plan needs near-continuous replication. Its internal wiki has an RTO of 3 days and an RPO of 24 hours, so nightly backups are fine.
The Incident Response Lifecycle
NIST guidance describes phases of preparation, detection and analysis, containment, eradication and recovery, and post-incident activity. Plans in this course usually follow a similar structure, with roles and contact details for each phase.
Backup Strategy
The 3-2-1 rule is a common baseline: three copies of data, on two types of media, one off-site. Against ransomware, an offline or immutable copy is essential, and backups only count if restores are tested.
Keeping the Plans Consistent
Markers often check whether plans agree with each other. A quick consistency check before submitting:
- Every critical function in the impact analysis appears in the continuity plan.
- Recovery steps in the disaster recovery plan meet the RTO and RPO you set.
- Roles have the same names and owners across all documents.
- Each plan says how and when it will be tested and updated.
Testing and Exercising Plans
An untested plan is an assumption. Contingency planning guidance describes a range of exercises, from light to demanding:
| Exercise | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Plan review | Owners read the plan and check details are current |
| Tabletop exercise | A team talks through a scenario step by step |
| Functional test | Specific steps, such as a restore, are actually performed |
| Full exercise | A realistic simulation involving many teams |
Your plans should say which exercises will be run, how often, and how lessons learned feed back into updates.
Typical Assignments and How to Approach Them
| Assignment type | What it tests | How to approach it |
|---|---|---|
| Business impact analysis | Prioritizing functions | Rate impact over time and set RTO and RPO |
| Incident response plan | Handling security events | Follow the lifecycle with named roles |
| Disaster recovery plan | Restoring systems | Order recovery by priority and test it |
| Continuity plan | Keeping operations going | Include manual workarounds and communication |
Where Students Get Stuck
- Mixing up the plans. Keep incident response, recovery and continuity distinct but linked.
- RTOs with no basis. Each target should come from the impact analysis.
- Untested backups. A plan should schedule restore tests.
- No communication plan. Staff, customers and regulators may all need updates.
Study Tips for CMAP 660
- Read NIST SP 800-34 (contingency planning) and SP 800-61 (incident handling) for structure.
- Build the impact analysis first; everything else depends on it.
- Use tables for roles, contacts and recovery order to keep plans scannable.
- Walk through a tabletop scenario against your own plan before submitting.
How We Help with CMAP 660
Send the case scenario, templates, the rubric and feedback. A tutor with contingency planning knowledge can explain RTO and RPO, prepare custom plan sections, and check your documents for consistency, clarity and APA style. For planning-heavy projects in general, see our business capstone project help guide.
GradeEssays is independent of the University of Maryland Global Campus. Our support is for learning and reference; write and submit your own plans under UMGC's academic integrity policy.
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Frequently Asked Questions
UMGC lists CMAP 660 as a 3-credit graduate course.
UMGC states students may receive credit for only one of the two.
UMGC names incident response plans, disaster recovery plans and business continuity plans.
Yes. UMGC says discussion covers various methods to back up data.
RTO is how fast a system must be restored; RPO is how much data loss, in time, is acceptable.
Yes. Send all the documents and we flag mismatches between the impact analysis and the plans.