Business Continuity Planning Daylight Saving Time (DST) - IT Resource Center 2007-2008 Securities Industry Tests and Exercises
Industry-Wide BCP Connectivity Test (Not Scheduled in 2007)
There is no industry-wide BCP test of backup site connectivity planned for 2007. The next industry-wide connectivity test will be scheduled for late Spring 2008 and will feature an expanded scope to more thoroughly test the trade cycle. Additional announcements will be posted on this site later in 2007. Note however that individual, annual connectivity/processing tests required by various industry organizations will continue in 2007. Organizations requiring firms to test individually include, DTCC, NASDAQ, SIAC, Fedwire, CHIPS, BONY, JPMC and others.
Two industry testing events are being developed for 2007. Additional details will be announced in the near future.
1. Pandemic Planning Tabletop Exercise (September-October 2007)
This will be a multi-week tabletop-style exercise involving the US securities industry as well as banking and other financial services industries and regulatory organizations. The objective is to highlight issues and potential solutions to the challenges presented by a pandemic. The exercise is lead by SIFMA and the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC), which is representing the broader financial services sector. Participants will “play” in the exercise remotely via the Internet and email. The exercise will simulate the spread of a pandemic in real time. Over a period of weeks, participants will be presented with a series of situational adjustments to the exercise scenario and asked to evaluate how their organization would respond in a real event.
2. Industry-Wide Test of Securities Industry Emergency Alerts Systems and Emergency Conference Call Matrix (Date To Be Announced)
This test will be similar in format to the 2005 call matrix test that was conducted in conjunction with the national TopOff3 exercise. The 2007 test will be a half-day exercise involving transmission of alerts to industry participants and activation of all emergency conference call streams included in the Financial Services Industry Emergency Call Matrix. The exercise may be initiated on-the-fly with participants advised ahead of time only that the test will be conducted sometime within a multi-week window.
For additional information about the test contact:
Howard Sprow
Asst. Vice President and Director, Business Continuity Planning
Securities Industry Association
212-618-0548
hsprow@sifma.org