Cyber Attack. System Failure. Delivery Stop? That's what BCM has to do today.

A modern security strategy ensures that IT infrastructures and digital processes are robust enough to effectively counter growing cyberattacks. Business continuity management (BCM) plays a key role here, maintaining business operations in the event of disruptions and ensuring rapid recovery after a system failure or interruption.

A striking example is the targeted cyberattacks on software supply chains, such as the infiltration of malicious libraries into the Python Package Index (PyPI) and npm (Node Package Manager) in 2025, which affected companies and authorities worldwide . By compromising central libraries, attackers were able to inject malicious code into updates and infiltrate critical IT systems. Such attacks show how dependent companies are on secure supply chains and how important it is to establish preventative measures such as zero-trust architectures, third-party risk management and contingency plans as part of BCM.

In light of geopolitical tensions and the increasing professionalization of cybercrime, the risks for companies are higher than ever before. Without suitable measures to secure the digital value chain, any attack can have immediate consequences for companies and their reputation.

What is BCM and how does it work?

BCM is a systematic approach to identifying and securing critical business processes. It comprises strategies and measures to minimize the impact of disruptions and enable alternative processes. It is not just about reacting to crises, but also about proactive measures to minimize risk. For BCM to work in practice, its core components must interlock methodically and reliably.

These five core components form the foundation of structured BCM:

1. Business Impact Analysis (BIA):
   o Identification of the most important business processes and their dependencies
   o Analysis of possible loss scenarios and their economic impact
2. Risk management & prevention:
   o Identification and assessment of threats (e.g. natural disasters, supplier risks, cyber attacks)
   o Measures to avoid or minimize risks
3. Emergency management & crisis response:
   o Creation of emergency plans for various crisis scenarios
   o Implementation of escalation mechanisms and communication strategies
4. Recovery strategies:
   o Development of plans for the rapid resumption of business operations
   o Use of alternative production sites or suppliers
5. Testing, training & continuous improvement:
   o Regular cyber-threat simulations and reviews of incident response contingency plans
   o Training of employees and suppliers in BCM procedures

6 key BCM measures for resilient supply chains

Resilient supply chains can not only survive crises, but also emerge from them stronger. However, resilience does not happen by itself. Effective BCM helps companies to cushion disruptions from the outset and act before an emergency occurs.

Six key measures are crucial here:

1. Transparency and risk assessment in the supply chain:
   o Detailed analysis of the entire value chain to identify critical nodes and dependencies.
   o Use of real-time tracking and data-driven early warning systems to identify bottlenecks at an early stage.
2. Diversification and redundancy:
   o Reduction of single-sourcing risks by working with multiple suppliers in different regions.
   o Establishment of redundant production capacities in order to be able to quickly activate alternative production facilities in an emergency.
3. Strategic warehousing and inventory management:
   o Building up safety stocks of critical raw materials or products to compensate for supply bottlenecks.
   o Using decentralized warehouse locations to improve the ability to respond to regional crises.
4. Flexibility in transport and logistics systems:
   o Development of alternative transport routes in order to be able to quickly switch to other routes in the event of disruptions.
   o Cooperation with several logistics partners to ensure delivery capability.
5. Integration of technology and digitalization:
   o Use of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data to predict potential disruptions.
   o Use of blockchain technologies to improve transparency and traceability in the supply chain.
   o Automated risk assessment systems to identify potential hazards.
6. Strengthening collaboration with suppliers and partners:
   o Implementing joint BCM strategies with key suppliers.
   o Regular coordination and exchange of emergency plans with business partners.

Standards with impact: What NIST and ENISA recommend

Best practices - including the recommendations of the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) and ENISA (European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) - define how companies can systematically combine cyber security and business continuity management.

These key elements support supply chain resilience:

• Zero-trust architecture to minimize attack opportunities
• Supplier assessment with regular security checks
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) and access controls for critical systems
• Identify: Documentation of critical assets and threats
• Protect: Implementation of protective measures (e.g. access controls, encryption, secure communication)
• Detect: Real-time monitoring and anomaly detection in IT and supply chain processes
• Respond: Defined emergency protocols and rapid crisis communication
• Recover: Backup strategies and rapid restart plans
• Redundant IT infrastructures to protect against cyber attacks

In addition to the NIST framework, other international guidelines such as NIS2, DORA and the ISO/IEC 27001 standard form the foundation of modern cyber security strategies. All of them require companies to take robust measures to strengthen their cyber resilience. In a previous article on BCM, we reported in detail on the most important requirements and have largely completed the list of guidelines relevant to cyber security.

5 best practices for strong supply chain resilience

Effective BCM depends on consistent implementation. The following five practical recommendations show how companies can successfully integrate BCM into their supply chains.

• Top management support is essential. Without support from the management level, BCM measures are often ineffective.
• In regular audits and simulations, companies should test their plans in realistic scenarios to identify weaknesses.
• A culture of resilience in which the entire workforce is made aware of risks and involved in emergency processes.
• By investing in modern technologies such as IoT, AI and blockchain, new opportunities for risk identification and minimization should be exploited.
• The combination of global and local strategies will achieve a balance between international reach and local flexibility to strengthen resilience.

BCM as an effective compass

BCM is much more than a reaction to crises. BCM is the compass for the future security of companies and the stability of their supply chains. Global disruptions, geopolitical tensions and the professionalization of cybercrime are proof of this: Only those who are prepared remain capable of acting.

Companies with a robust BCM not only react more quickly to disruptions, but also gain crucial time and trust - both internally and externally.
Preventive measures, diversification, digitalization and close cooperation with suppliers form the basis of a resilient supply chain. Those who strategically strengthen their resilience will secure a clear competitive advantage in the long term.

With InfoGuard as your partner, you stay in control. Our experts support you in setting up your BCM - from risk analysis and crisis organization to restoring operations.

Benefit from ISO-certified expertise and state-of-the-art technologies in the DACH region and contact us today for a no-obligation consultation. Together, we can make your supply chain resilient - reliably, sustainably and verifiably.

Image caption: Image generated with AI