# BSI C5:2020 BCM-03 — Planning business continuity - Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/bcm-03-planning-business-continuity - Section: [Compliance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance) › [BSI C5:2020 (Cloud Computing Compliance Criteria)](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020) › Business Continuity Management (BCM) - Last updated: 2026-06-05 - Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com) **BSI C5:2020**·Criterion `BCM-03`·high·Component: **Business Continuity Management** ## What this control requires > Implements a continuity framework per BCM-02, documenting plans with clear roles, recovery procedures, and customer communication. Ensures consistent planning to maintain service availability and protect cloud customer data during disruptions. > > — BSI C5:2020, Criterion BCM-03 ### In plain English Implements a continuity framework per BCM-02, documenting plans with clear roles, recovery procedures, and customer communication. In practice, this means you can prove you risk cloud customer data-level controls on a defined cadence. ## Why it matters BSI C5 is the default cloud-security baseline German public-sector buyers and many DAX-listed enterprises expect; gaps here directly block procurement in the DACH region and frequently appear as must-have items in EU public-tender documents. This control is rated **high**. Auditors expect a named owner, a remediation SLA, and a tooling artefact that evidences continuous operation. ## What an auditor looks for A C5 attesting auditor (under ISAE 3000 / IDW PS 860) tests both the design and — for a Type 2 — the operating effectiveness over the attestation period. For each criterion they look for both the Basic and any in-scope Additional objectives. Within **Business Continuity Management**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Criterion BCM-03) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles. ## How to implement #### Business Continuity **BC/DR.** Define RTO/RPO per service, test backup restoration quarterly, and run a tabletop of full-region failover annually. **Backups.** Immutable backups (S3 Object Lock / Azure immutable storage / GCS bucket lock) plus an air-gapped copy for ransomware resilience. #### Cloud Posture **CSPM.** Run Wiz / Prisma / Defender for Cloud / Security Command Center over every account; auto-ticket findings above your accepted-risk threshold. #### Policy Management **Docs.** Keep each policy in version-controlled Markdown alongside the code that implements it; ship a signed PDF snapshot at each annual review and link the SHA into the SoA. ### Operational checklist - **Risk.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Data.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Policy.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Business.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Roles.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Scope:** cloud customer data, business continuity, management. ## Evidence to collect - **Policy Document.** A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document. - **Infra Scan.** Continuous infrastructure-posture telemetry — AWS Config, Azure Policy compliance, GCP Organisation Policy, Wiz / Prisma findings. Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Planning business continuity. ## Common pitfalls - DR plans that have never been tested in earnest, or that depend on an MFA token only one person can produce. - Treating CSPM findings as a backlog instead of a hot queue: findings older than the policy SLA accumulate until the auditor asks why. - Policies that no engineer has read; the version in Confluence drifts from the version that's actually being enforced. ## How it maps to other frameworks Computed from shared tags, control component and key-operation subjects — handy when you are reconciling controls across an audit. - [**ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.5.30** — ICT readiness for business continuity](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-5-30-ict-readiness-for-business-continuity) - [**CIS Controls v8 11.4** — Establish and Maintain an Isolated Instance of Recovery Data](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/11-4-establish-and-maintain-an-isolated-instance-of-recovery-data) - [**SOC 2 (2017 TSC) A1.2** — Management of Backup, Recovery, and Environmental Controls](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/a1-2-management-of-backup-recovery-and-environmental-controls) ## Related controls in BSI C5:2020 - [**Criterion BCM-02** — Business impact analysis policies and instructions](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/bcm-02-business-impact-analysis-policies-and-instructions) - [**Criterion BCM-04** — Verification, updating and testing of the business continuity](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/bcm-04-verification-updating-and-testing-of-the-business-continuity) - [**Criterion BCM-01** — Top management responsibility](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/bcm-01-top-management-responsibility) - [**Criterion HR-02** — Employment terms and conditions](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/hr-02-employment-terms-and-conditions) - [**Criterion PI-01** — Documentation and safety of input and output interfaces](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/pi-01-documentation-and-safety-of-input-and-output-interfaces) - [**Criterion COM-01** — Identification of applicable legal, regulatory, self-imposed or contractual requirements](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/com-01-identification-of-applicable-legal-regulatory-self-imposed-or-contractual) ## References - [Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI) — BSI C5:2020](https://www.bsi.bund.de/EN/Topics/CloudComputing/Compliance_Criteria_Catalogue/Compliance_Criteria_Catalogue_node.html) - Catalogue identifier: `Criterion BCM-03` Topics: governance riskbusiness continuitybackup recoverycloud posturepolicy management ## Related compliance guidance - [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Configuration checks like this one are the technical half of a SOC 2 / ISO 27001 programme — the guide shows where they fit, what else an auditor expects, and how to evidence them. - [ISO/IEC 27001:2022 compliance: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022): ISO 27001 Annex A.8 (technological controls) is where cloud hardening evidence lands; the guide shows how to run the ISMS around it.