Operational Risk and Resilience

system-wide computer crash that denied customers the use of

their credit card would be disastrous. To compensate for this

possibility, most major credit card companies have established

backup facilities or contingency sites to ensure that transac-

tions continue to be authorized.

Organizations need to establish clear policies that detail con-

tingency plans for computer crashes, phone outages, or other

potential failures. Returning to the example of the credit card

companies, the card issuer may decide that in the event of an

outage, its best course of action would be to allow merchants

to approve all transactions under a set purchase limit. The

resulting ...