NIST Cybersecurity Professional®
(NCSP®) 800‑34 Foundation Certificate

Learn how to apply NIST SP 800‑34 contingency planning principles to strengthen organisational resilience and recovery.

NIST Cybersecurity Professional®

(NCSP®) 800‑34 Foundation Certificate

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Course Description

Modern organisations depend on the continuous availability of information systems to deliver services, maintain operations, and meet regulatory obligations. Disruptions, whether caused by cyber incidents, system failures, or environmental events, can jeopardise mission‑essential functions and organisational resilience. NIST SP 800‑34 provides the authoritative guidance for developing, implementing, and maintaining contingency planning capabilities for information systems.

The NCSP® 800‑34 Foundation Certificate is a 2‑day, instructor‑led course introducing participants to the principles, processes, and practices of contingency planning as defined in NIST SP 800‑34. This course explains how to identify mission‑essential systems, conduct business impact analyses, develop recovery strategies, and build actionable contingency plans aligned with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0.

Participants learn how to apply foundational contingency planning concepts across systems, operations, and organisational structures, preparing them for more advanced NCSP® resilience, continuity, and risk‑based training.

 

What You Will Learn

Participants gain foundational knowledge required to understand and apply contingency planning principles. You will learn:

• How NIST SP 800‑34 integrates with NIST CSF 2.0 to support enterprise resilience and continuity programs.

• The core concepts of contingency planning, including mission‑essential functions, system criticality, dependencies, and recovery objectives.

• How to conduct business impact analyses (BIA) and determine system recovery priorities.

• The structure and components of contingency plans, including activation, notification, recovery, and reconstitution procedures.

• How to develop and implement recovery strategies for systems, data, and operations.

• The role of training, exercises, and continuous improvement in maintaining organisational resilience.

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Course Agenda

Day 1: Foundations, Governance & Business Impact Analysis
Module 1: Introduction to NIST SP 800‑34 Rev. 1
Module 2: Core Contingency Planning Concepts
Module 3: Governance, Roles & Organisational Responsibilities
Module 4: Business Impact Analysis (BIA) & Risk Considerations

Day 2: Plan Development, Recovery Strategies & Continuous Improvement
Module 5: Contingency Plan Development
Module 6: System, Data & Operational Recovery Strategies
Module 7: Training, Testing & Exercise Requirements
Module 8: Continuous Improvement & Alignment with NIST CSF 2.0
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Learning Outcomes

​Participants will be able to:

• Explain how NIST SP 800‑34 Rev. 1 supports NIST CSF 2.0 and organisational resilience programs.

• Identify and describe the core principles of contingency planning and their role in protecting mission‑essential systems.

• Recognise mission‑essential functions, critical systems, and dependencies across IT environments.
  Apply foundational contingency planning practices across systems, data, and operational processes.

• Understand the role of governance, policy, training, and exercises in building a resilient organisation.

• Translate NIST SP 800‑34 guidance into actionable practices that strengthen organisational continuity and recovery capabilities.

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Who Should Attend?

​Ideal for individuals responsible for supporting contingency planning, resilience, and operational continuity, including:

• IT Staff & System Administrators

• Cybersecurity Beginners & Career‑Changers

• Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Personnel

• Compliance, Audit, and Governance Personnel

• Operations Managers & Process Owners

• Helpdesk & Technical Support Teams

• Anyone seeking a foundational understanding of NIST‑aligned contingency planning principles

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Prerequisites

There are no formal prerequisites for this Foundation‑level course. It is designed as an accessible entry point into NIST‑aligned cybersecurity training.

Participants are provided with:

• NIST Cybersecurity Professional® (NCSP®) 800‑34 Foundation Certificate courseware including links to further reading and resources.

• NIST Cybersecurity Professional® (NCSP®) 800‑34 Foundation Certificate, Certificate of Completion.

• NIST Cybersecurity Professional® (NCSP®) 800‑34 Foundation Certificate digital badge.

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