Company A is merging with Company B. Company A is a small, local company. Company B has a large, global presence. The two companies have a lot of duplication in their IT systems, processes, and procedures. On the new Chief Information Officer's (CIO's) first day, a fire breaks out at Company B's main data center. Which of the following actions should the CIO take first?
In the event of a fire breaking out at Company B's main data center, the first action the new Chief Information Officer (CIO) should take is to determine whether the incident response plan has been tested at both companies and use it to respond. This is crucial because an effective incident response plan will have predefined procedures and steps to handle such emergencies. The plan would already be designed to manage the crisis efficiently, minimizing damage and restoring normal operations as quickly as possible. By verifying the incident response plans, the CIO ensures that the response is structured, methodical, and utilizes existing processes that both companies have prepared for emergencies.
B - Review the incident response plans, and engage the disaster recovery plan while relying on the IT leaders from both companies: I'm going to sound like a salty engineer here but if you're a Day-1 CIO/CISO and SHTF, you engage the DRP and let the IT leaders at each site handle their equipment. ...and otherwise stay out of the way. You'll get the details your want in my AAR.... sir. (Not speaking from ANY type of experience on this one).