Identify, evaluate, and prioritize cybersecurity risks with a practical Cybersecurity Risk Assessment Checklist from Elevate Cyber Defense.

Designed for small businesses and organizations, this cybersecurity assessment checklist provides a structured way to review key security controls, identify areas that need improvement, document findings, prioritize risks, and plan corrective actions.

What's Included

A detailed explanation of the entire checklist, such as:

• Organization & Asset Identification

• Access & Account Security

• Network Security

• Endpoint & Device Security

• Data Protection

• Backup & Recovery

• Employee Security

• Remote Work Security

• Incident Response

• Business Continuity

• Risk Identification

• Risk Rating & Prioritization

• Remediation Tracking

• Assessment Summary

Who It's For:
Small businesses, business owners, managers, IT teams, security professionals, and organizations looking for a practical starting point for evaluating their cybersecurity posture.

Review the complete checklist before purchasing. This full-page preview shows the assessment structure, control categories, risk prioritization guidance, and assessment summary included with your purchase.

Identify, prioritize, track, and manage cybersecurity risks with a structured action plan designed for businesses.

The Cybersecurity Risk Tracking & Action Plan helps businesses document security risks, assign responsibility, prioritize corrective actions, and monitor progress toward reducing cybersecurity risk.

This practical business tool includes structured sections for:

• Tracking identified cybersecurity risks

• Documenting affected systems and assets

• Identifying threats and vulnerabilities

• Evaluating likelihood and potential impact

• Prioritizing risks by severity

• Assigning risk ownership

• Documenting existing security controls

• Creating corrective action plans

• Tracking remediation progress

• Recording target completion dates

• Reviewing residual risk

• Conducting ongoing risk reviews

• Documenting management review and approval

Designed to help businesses organize cybersecurity risks and turn identified concerns into actionable security improvements.

Be prepared before a cybersecurity incident happens.

The Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan Template is a practical, ready-to-use resource designed to help small businesses and organizations prepare for, document, manage, and recover from cybersecurity incidents.

This downloadable incident response plan template provides a structured framework for responding to security events from initial reporting and investigation through containment, recovery, and post-incident review.

What's Included:

• Incident response planning guidance

• Incident response lifecycle

• Response team and contact information

• Incident reporting procedures

• Incident severity classification guide

• Initial incident response checklist

• Cybersecurity incident record

• Investigation and containment documentation

• Incident action and communication log

• Recovery and return-to-operations planning

• Post-incident review and lessons learned

• Management incident summary and approval

Designed for small businesses and organizations that need a structured way to prepare for and manage cybersecurity incidents.

Many businesses know they need cybersecurity policies but struggle with where to start, what policies they need, or how to organize their security requirements.

The Cybersecurity Policy Starter Pack provides a practical collection of customizable policy templates designed to help businesses begin building a stronger cybersecurity documentation foundation.

These templates can help organizations establish clear expectations for employees, users, access to systems, data protection, devices, remote work, and cybersecurity responsibilities.

What's Included

This comprehensive policy pack includes customizable templates for:

✔ Acceptable Use Policy — Establish expectations for appropriate use of company systems, technology, and resources.

✔ Password Security Policy — Define requirements for protecting passwords and authentication credentials.

✔ Access Control Policy — Establish guidelines for managing user access and permissions.

✔ Data Protection Policy — Help define expectations for protecting sensitive and business information.

✔ Remote Work Security Policy — Establish cybersecurity expectations for remote and hybrid employees.

✔ Incident Reporting Policy — Define how employees should report suspected cybersecurity incidents.

✔ Device & Mobile Security Policy — Establish expectations for securing business computers, laptops, and mobile devices.

✔ Email Security Policy — Provide guidance for protecting business email and recognizing potential threats.

✔ Security Awareness Policy — Support ongoing employee cybersecurity awareness and security responsibilities.

✔ Policy Review & Approval Record — Document policy reviews, updates, approvals, and review dates.

Designed for Practical Business Use

This starter pack can help support:

• Small business cybersecurity programs

• Security documentation

• Employee cybersecurity expectations

• Internal security policies

• Cybersecurity awareness programs

• Employee onboarding

• Remote work programs

• Access management

• Data protection practices

• Security program development

Customize for Your Business

Each policy template is designed to be a starting point that businesses can customize based on their:

• Organization size

• Industry

• Technology environment

• Security requirements

• Internal processes

• Regulatory or compliance requirements

Start building a stronger cybersecurity foundation with practical policy templates designed to help your business establish clearer security expectations and documentation.

Know who has access. Verify what they need. Reduce unnecessary permissions.

The User Access Review Checklist provides small businesses with a structured, customizable way to perform periodic user access reviews and document access across systems, applications, accounts, and business information.

As employees change roles, leave the organization, gain new responsibilities, or receive access to additional systems, permissions can accumulate over time. Regular access reviews help businesses identify unnecessary, outdated, excessive, or potentially risky access before it becomes a security concern.

Use this customizable checklist to review and document:

• Active and inactive user accounts

• Employee and contractor access

• Role and responsibility changes

• Least-privilege access

• Privileged and administrative accounts

• Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

• Shared and generic accounts

• Remote access and VPN permissions

• Cloud applications and business systems

• Third-party and vendor access

• Former employee access

• Access requiring modification or removal

• Corrective actions and follow-up

• Final review and approval

Designed for small and growing businesses, this resource provides a practical framework for performing periodic access reviews and maintaining clearer documentation of who has access to important business systems and information.

Best For: Small businesses, business owners, IT teams, managers, security teams, and organizations looking to strengthen identity and access management practices.

The Vendor & Third-Party Security Assessment provides businesses with a structured third-party vendor security assessment process for evaluating and documenting the cybersecurity practices of vendors, service providers, contractors, and other third parties that may access business systems, networks, applications, or sensitive information.

Third-party relationships can introduce cybersecurity risk when outside organizations have access to company data, customer information, cloud environments, business applications, or critical services. This customizable assessment helps businesses identify potential security concerns, document vendor safeguards, and make more informed decisions before establishing or continuing a third-party relationship.

Use this assessment to evaluate and document:

• Vendor and third-party information

• Services provided and business relationship

• Access to company systems, applications, and networks

• Access to sensitive, confidential, or customer information

• User access controls and least-privilege practices

• Password and multi-factor authentication (MFA) protections

• Data protection, encryption, storage, and transmission

• Security policies and cybersecurity practices

• Vulnerability and patch management

• Endpoint and network security

• Cybersecurity incident response and notification procedures

• Business continuity, disaster recovery, and backup practices

• Subcontractor and fourth-party relationships

• Security awareness and employee practices

• Compliance and supporting documentation

• Identified security concerns and required corrective actions

• Overall vendor risk rating

• Final review, approval, and reassessment requirements

Designed for small and growing businesses, this resource provides a practical framework for evaluating third-party cybersecurity risk before onboarding a new vendor and during periodic reviews of existing vendor relationships.

Best For: Small businesses, business owners, IT teams, managers, security teams, and organizations that rely on vendors, contractors, cloud providers, technology providers, or other third parties.

The Device & Endpoint Security Checklist provides businesses with a structured way to review and document the cybersecurity protections applied to computers, laptops, mobile devices, and other endpoints used to access business systems and information.

Business devices are frequent targets for malware, ransomware, credential theft, unauthorized access, and other cybersecurity threats. Security gaps such as outdated software, excessive administrator privileges, missing encryption, unapproved applications, or poorly protected mobile devices can increase an organization's exposure to cyber incidents.

Use this customizable checklist to review and document:

• Business device and endpoint inventory

• Company-owned and personally owned devices

• Operating system and software updates

• Security patch management

• Antivirus and endpoint protection

• Firewall configuration and protection

• Device and disk encryption

• Password and multi-factor authentication (MFA)

• User accounts and administrator privileges

• Automatic screen locking

• Approved software and applications

• Unauthorized software

• USB devices and removable media

• Mobile-device security

• Remote and off-site devices

• Lost or stolen device procedures

• Endpoint monitoring and security alerts

• Secure device reassignment and disposal

• Identified security gaps and corrective actions

• Final endpoint security review and approval

Designed for small and growing businesses, this resource provides a practical framework for strengthening endpoint security and documenting the safeguards used to protect the devices employees rely on to access business systems, applications, networks, and sensitive information.

Best For: Small businesses, business owners, IT teams, managers, security teams, remote and hybrid organizations, and businesses looking to improve computer, laptop, mobile-device, and endpoint security.

The Elevate Cyber Defense Network Security Checklist provides businesses with a comprehensive framework for reviewing network security best practices and evaluating the security of networks, network devices, wireless connections, remote access, and supporting infrastructure.

This customizable 12-page checklist helps organizations identify security gaps, document findings, assign corrective actions, and establish responsibility for improving network security.

This checklist covers:

• Network inventory and ownership

• Router, firewall, and gateway security

• Wireless network and Wi-Fi security

• Network segmentation and access control

• Remote access, VPN, and external connectivity

• Network device configuration and hardening

• DNS, internet, and web traffic security

• Network monitoring, logging, and alerts

• Vulnerability management, updates, and network maintenance

• Network incident preparedness and recovery

• Findings and corrective-action tracking

• Final security review and approval

Designed for small businesses and organizations that need a practical way to evaluate their network-security practices without starting from scratch.

Build a stronger cybersecurity foundation for your business with five practical security tools in one complete starter bundle.

The Elevate Cyber Defense Small Business Cybersecurity Starter Bundle is designed to help small businesses identify cybersecurity risks, strengthen their networks and devices, improve account security, and establish better employee security practices.

Instead of starting from scratch, this bundle provides practical, ready-to-use cybersecurity checklists and toolkits that can be incorporated into your organization's existing security processes.

This bundle includes:

• Cybersecurity Risk Assessment Checklist — Identify potential cybersecurity risks, vulnerabilities, and areas requiring improvement.

• Network Security Checklist — Review firewalls, routers, Wi-Fi, remote access, network monitoring, segmentation, and other network-security controls.

• Device & Endpoint Security Checklist — Evaluate computers, laptops, mobile devices, updates, patching, malware protection, and endpoint-security practices.

• Password & Account Security Toolkit — Strengthen passwords, MFA, user accounts, privileged access, account reviews, and credential-security practices.

• Employee Cybersecurity Toolkit — Help employees recognize threats and follow safer practices for email, phishing, passwords, devices, remote work, and incident reporting.

Designed to Help Your Business

Use these resources to identify security gaps, document findings, assign corrective actions, strengthen everyday cybersecurity practices, and create a more organized approach to protecting your business.

Ideal for small businesses, startups, growing organizations, and business owners who need practical cybersecurity resources without having to develop everything from the ground up.

The Elevate Cyber Defense 50-Page Comprehensive Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan provides businesses with a structured, customizable framework for preparing for, identifying, managing, containing, investigating, and recovering from cybersecurity incidents.

Rather than trying to determine what to do during an active security event, this comprehensive plan helps organizations establish roles, responsibilities, escalation procedures, response processes, documentation requirements, communication procedures, and incident-specific response actions before an incident occurs.

This Comprehensive Plan Covers:

• Incident response plan governance and document control

• Incident response team roles and responsibilities

• Emergency contact and escalation information

• Cybersecurity incident identification and reporting

• Incident intake and initial assessment

• Incident classification and severity levels

• Incident prioritization and escalation

• Response activation procedures

• Incident investigation and documentation

• Evidence identification and handling

• Incident timeline and activity tracking

• Incident decision logs

• Containment planning and actions

• Short-term and long-term containment

• Threat eradication procedures

• System and account recovery

• Recovery validation and monitoring

• Internal communication procedures

• Employee incident notifications

• Customer and stakeholder communication planning

• Vendor and third-party coordination

• Legal, regulatory, contractual, and insurance notification review

• Cybersecurity incident reporting documentation

• Phishing incident response

• Business Email Compromise (BEC) response

• Compromised account and credential response

• Malware incident response

• Ransomware incident response

• Data breach and unauthorized disclosure response

• Lost or stolen device response

• Insider threat response

• Cloud and SaaS security incident response

• Network security incident response

• Third-party and vendor incident response

• Denial-of-service and service disruption response

• Incident evidence and artifact tracking

• Affected system and account tracking

• Incident containment checklist

• Incident recovery checklist

• Post-incident review

• Root-cause analysis

• Lessons learned

• Corrective-action tracking

• Incident response testing and tabletop exercises

• Plan maintenance and annual review

• Final management review and approval

Built for Practical Business Use

The plan is designed to give businesses a repeatable incident-response process instead of relying on improvised decisions during a cybersecurity emergency.

The included worksheets, checklists, response procedures, tracking logs, documentation fields, and incident-specific playbooks can be customized to match your organization's technology environment, employees, vendors, operations, and cybersecurity risks.

Ideal for small businesses, growing organizations, IT teams, business owners, and organizations developing or strengthening their cybersecurity preparedness.

A Practical Guide to Protecting Your Business from Cyber Threats

Cybersecurity is essential for businesses of every size. Small businesses face growing risks from phishing attacks, ransomware, unauthorized access, data breaches, and other security threats. Without the right safeguards, a single cybersecurity incident can disrupt operations, expose sensitive information, and result in financial losses.

The Small Business Cybersecurity Fundamentals eBook from Elevate Cyber Defense is a comprehensive 43-page guide designed to help small-business owners, managers, and employees understand cybersecurity risks and take practical steps to strengthen their organization's security.

Written in clear, easy-to-understand language, this guide provides actionable recommendations, real-world examples, and step-by-step guidance to help businesses build stronger cybersecurity practices without requiring advanced technical knowledge.

What's Included

• Understanding common cybersecurity threats and business risks

• Building a practical small-business security program

• Protecting passwords, accounts, and user access

• Recognizing phishing attacks and social engineering

• Securing computers, mobile devices, and business networks

• Protecting sensitive business and customer information

• Managing cloud services and third-party security risks

• Preparing for ransomware attacks and data loss

• Developing incident response and recovery procedures

• Strengthening business continuity and disaster recovery

• Creating cybersecurity policies and documentation

• Following a practical 30-day cybersecurity improvement roadmap

• Evaluating cybersecurity investments and measuring progress

Who Is This eBook for?

This guide is ideal for small-business owners, entrepreneurs, office managers, startups, and organizations looking to improve cybersecurity awareness and establish stronger security practices.

Why Choose This Guide?

Cybersecurity doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. This eBook focuses on practical, manageable security improvements that small businesses can implement to reduce risks, protect important information, and prepare for potential security incidents.

Protect Your Business. Strengthen Your Security. Build Cyber Confidence.

The Business Continuity Plan Template is a practical, structured tool designed to help businesses prepare for unexpected disruptions that could affect normal operations.

Whether the disruption involves a cybersecurity incident, technology outage, natural disaster, facility issue, vendor disruption, or another unexpected event, this template helps organizations identify critical business functions, plan for operational continuity, and establish recovery priorities.

What's Included:

• Business Continuity Plan information

• Business Continuity Team contacts

• Critical Business Functions and Priorities

• Business Impact Assessment

• Key Dependencies

• Critical Systems, Data, and Resources

• Data Backup and Recovery considerations

• Plan Activation procedures

• Communication procedures

• Alternative Work Arrangements

• Temporary Operating Procedures

• Business Continuity Action Checklist

• Recovery Priorities

• Continuity Action Log

• Plan Testing, Review, and Approval

This template is designed to provide businesses with a clear starting point for organizing continuity planning and preparing for disruptions that could impact operations.

Your employees can be one of your greatest cybersecurity strengths—or one of your greatest vulnerabilities.

The Employee Cybersecurity Toolkit gives businesses practical, easy-to-use resources designed to help employees recognize cybersecurity threats, protect company information, and make safer decisions during their everyday work.

Cybersecurity awareness shouldn't be limited to a single annual training session. Employees regularly encounter suspicious emails, phishing attempts, password requests, unexpected links, account notifications, and other potential security risks. This toolkit provides structured checklists and guidance that organizations can use to reinforce important cybersecurity practices.

What's Inside

The toolkit includes 10 practical employee-focused cybersecurity resources, including:

• Employee Cybersecurity Essentials Checklist — Covers foundational cybersecurity responsibilities and everyday security practices.

• Phishing & Suspicious Email Checklist — Helps employees recognize warning signs and respond appropriately to suspicious messages.

• Email Security Practices — Provides guidance for safely sending, receiving, and handling business emails.

• Password & Account Security Checklist — Helps reinforce stronger password, account, and multi-factor authentication practices.

• Device & Workspace Security Checklist — Covers physical device security and protecting information in the workplace.

• Remote Work Security Checklist — Helps employees maintain secure practices while working remotely.

• Safe Internet & Browsing Practices — Provides guidance for recognizing potentially unsafe websites, downloads, and online activity.

• Cybersecurity Incident Reporting Guide — Helps employees understand what types of security concerns should be reported and what information to provide.

• Employee Security Acknowledgment

• Manager Review & Training Record

The documents are designed to be customizable, allowing businesses to add their own policies, procedures, reporting contacts, technologies, and security requirements.

Weak passwords and poorly managed accounts can create unnecessary cybersecurity risks for any business. From unauthorized access and compromised credentials to excessive permissions and forgotten accounts, password and account security requires more than simply telling employees to use strong passwords.

The Password & Account Security Toolkit gives businesses practical, customizable tools to help strengthen how passwords, user accounts, access permissions, and authentication are managed.

Designed for small businesses and organizations, this toolkit provides structured checklists, planning tools, and templates that can help identify security gaps and support more consistent account security practices.

This 12-page toolkit includes practical resources covering:

✔ Password & Account Security Checklist — Review foundational password and account security practices.

✔ Password Security Policy Template — Create or customize expectations for password creation, storage, sharing, and recovery.

✔ Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Implementation Checklist — Identify important systems and accounts that should be protected with additional authentication.

✔ Privileged Account Security Checklist — Help strengthen controls around administrator and high-level access.

✔ User Account Access Review Checklist — Review existing accounts and identify unnecessary or excessive access.

✔ New Account & Access Provisioning Checklist — Support a more structured process when creating new user accounts.

✔ Account Deactivation Checklist — Help ensure access is reviewed and removed when it is no longer needed.

✔ Credential Compromise Response Guide — Provide practical steps to follow when a password or account may have been compromised.

✔ Password & Account Security Action Plan — Document security gaps, planned improvements, responsible individuals, and target dates.

✔ Security Review & Approval Record — Keep track of toolkit reviews and updates.

Designed for Practical Business Use

This toolkit can support:

• Password and credential security

• User account management

• Multi-factor authentication implementation

• Access reviews

• Employee onboarding and offboarding

• Privileged account security

• Internal cybersecurity assessments

• Security improvement planning

The documents are designed to be customizable, allowing businesses to adapt them to their own systems, technologies, policies, and security requirements.

Give your business practical tools to better manage passwords, accounts, access, and authentication—before weak credentials become a security problem.

Employees working from home, traveling, or accessing company systems outside the office may use home networks, personal workspaces, mobile devices, cloud applications, and remote access tools. Without clear security practices, these environments can increase the risk of unauthorized access, phishing attacks, lost devices, insecure networks, and exposure of sensitive business information.

The Remote Work Security Toolkit gives businesses practical, easy-to-use resources to help establish and reinforce stronger cybersecurity practices for remote and hybrid employees.

Rather than relying on general cybersecurity advice, this toolkit provides structured checklists, guidance, and planning tools that businesses can customize to support their own remote work security requirements.

What's Inside

This comprehensive toolkit includes practical resources designed to address key areas of remote work security:

✔ Remote Work Security Checklist — Review essential cybersecurity practices for employees working outside the office.

✔ Home Office Security Checklist — Help employees create a safer and more secure workspace.

✔ Remote Device Security Checklist — Strengthen the protection of laptops, computers, and other work devices.

✔ Secure Wi-Fi & Network Checklist — Identify important practices for protecting home and remote internet connections.

✔ Remote Access & VPN Checklist — Support safer access to business systems and resources.

✔ Remote Employee Security Guidelines — Provide clear cybersecurity expectations for remote and hybrid employees.

✔ Public Wi-Fi Safety Guide — Help employees understand the risks of using public networks.

✔ Lost or Stolen Device Response Checklist — Provide practical steps for responding quickly when a work device is lost or stolen.

✔ Remote Work Security Action Plan — Identify security gaps, planned improvements, responsibilities, and target dates.

✔ Manager Review & Security Record — Document security reviews, training, and follow-up actions.

Designed for Practical Business Use

The Remote Work Security Toolkit can support:

• Remote and hybrid work programs

• Employee cybersecurity awareness

• Home office security

• Remote access security

• Device protection

• Wi-Fi and network security

• Employee onboarding

• Security training

• Internal cybersecurity assessments

Help your employees work remotely with greater confidence while supporting stronger cybersecurity practices across your organization.

The Employee Cybersecurity Onboarding Checklist provides businesses with a practical, organized way to incorporate essential cybersecurity steps into the employee onboarding process. From account and access setup to device security and cybersecurity awareness, this checklist helps ensure important security tasks aren't overlooked when a new employee joins your organization.

Use this customizable checklist to document and track key onboarding activities, including:

• Account and system access setup

• Password and multi-factor authentication requirements

• Device and workstation security

• Email and phishing awareness

• Data protection responsibilities

• Remote work security

• Cybersecurity policy acknowledgement

• Security awareness and reporting procedures

• Final onboarding verification

Designed with small and growing businesses in mind, this resource provides a straightforward framework that can be adapted to your organization's technology, policies, employees, and security requirements.

Secure access. Protect business information. Close the gaps when an employee leaves.

The Employee Cybersecurity Offboarding Checklist provides businesses with a structured process for addressing critical cybersecurity tasks when an employee, contractor, or other authorized user leaves the organization or no longer requires access.

Employee departures can create security risks when accounts remain active, company devices aren't recovered, remote access isn't removed, or sensitive business information isn't properly transferred. This customizable checklist helps businesses document and verify important security steps throughout the offboarding process.

Use this checklist to manage and track:

• User account suspension and termination

• Email and cloud application access

• Multi-factor authentication and authentication methods

• VPN and remote access removal

• Privileged and administrative accounts

• Shared accounts and credentials

• Company computers, mobile devices, and equipment

• Business files and data ownership transfers

• Physical access and security credentials

• Third-party and vendor system access

• Final access verification

• Outstanding security issues

• Offboarding completion and approval

Designed for small and growing businesses, this resource provides a practical framework that can be customized to fit your organization's employees, technology, policies, and cybersecurity requirements.

Best For: Small businesses, business owners, managers, IT teams, HR teams, and organizations looking to strengthen employee offboarding and access-management procedures.

Work from anywhere—without leaving your business security behind.

The Remote Work Security Checklist provides businesses with a structured approach for identifying and addressing important cybersecurity considerations when employees work from home, remotely, or in hybrid environments.

Remote work can introduce additional security risks when employees access business systems outside the traditional workplace, use home or public networks, handle sensitive information remotely, or rely on laptops and mobile devices. This customizable checklist helps businesses establish and document practical security expectations for remote workers.

Use this checklist to review and manage:

• Home Wi-Fi and network security

• Company-issued and personal devices

• Laptop and mobile-device protection

• Password and multi-factor authentication (MFA)

• VPN and secure remote access

• Cloud applications and business accounts

• Email, phishing, and social engineering

• Sensitive business information

• Secure file storage and sharing

• Working from public locations

• Physical device and workspace security

• Lost or stolen devices

• Cybersecurity incident reporting

• Remote employee security responsibilities

• Final remote-work security verification

Designed for small and growing businesses, this resource provides a practical framework that can be customized to fit your organization's workforce, technology, remote-work arrangements, and cybersecurity requirements.

Best For: Small businesses, remote and hybrid organizations, business owners, managers, IT teams, and organizations looking to strengthen cybersecurity practices for employees working outside the traditional office.

The Data Protection & Backup Security Checklist provides businesses with a structured way to review and document how important business information is stored, accessed, protected, backed up, retained, and recovered.

Business data can be lost or exposed through cyberattacks, ransomware, employee mistakes, hardware failures, stolen devices, unauthorized access, or unexpected system disruptions. Having appropriate data protection and backup practices can help reduce these risks and improve an organization's ability to recover when something goes wrong.

Use this customizable checklist to review and document:

• Business-critical and sensitive data

• Data classification and handling practices

• User access and least-privilege permissions

• File and folder access controls

• Encryption for stored and transmitted data

• Cloud storage and file-sharing security

• Local and network data storage

• Backup systems and backup schedules

• Automated and manual backup processes

• Backup access and security

• Offline and isolated backup copies

• Ransomware protection considerations

• Backup monitoring and failure notifications

• Backup restoration and recovery testing

• Data retention requirements

• Secure data deletion and disposal

• Lost, exposed, or compromised information

• Data protection and backup responsibilities

• Identified security gaps and corrective actions

• Final review and approval

Designed for small and growing businesses, this resource provides a practical framework for strengthening data protection practices and documenting whether important business information can be securely recovered following a cybersecurity incident, technology failure, accidental deletion, or other disruption.

Best For: Small businesses, business owners, IT teams, managers, security teams, and organizations looking to improve data protection, backup security, and recovery preparedness.

The Elevate Cyber Defense Cloud & SaaS Security Checklist provides businesses with a practical framework for reviewing how cloud platforms, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications, user accounts, business data, and third-party integrations are secured and managed.

This customizable checklist helps organizations identify security gaps, document findings, assign corrective actions, and establish stronger oversight of cloud-based business services.

This checklist covers:

• Cloud and SaaS application inventory

• Account and administrator security

• Passwords and multi-factor authentication (MFA)

• User access and permissions

• Cloud data storage and sharing

• Security configuration reviews

• Third-party applications and integrations

• Logging, monitoring, and security alerts

• Backup and recovery considerations

• Employee use of cloud services

• Account and access removal

• Security findings and corrective-action tracking

• Final review and approval

Ideal for small businesses and organizations using services such as cloud storage, email platforms, collaboration tools, accounting systems, CRM platforms, and other cloud-based business applications.

Prepare your business to recover from technology failures, cyberattacks, data loss, system outages, and other disruptive events with a comprehensive disaster recovery framework.

The Elevate Cyber Defense 50-Page Comprehensive Disaster Recovery Plan provides businesses with a structured, customizable framework for documenting how critical systems, applications, data, infrastructure, and technology services will be restored following a disruption.

Unlike a basic disaster recovery checklist, this comprehensive workbook guides organizations through the entire recovery process—from identifying critical systems and establishing recovery priorities to documenting backup strategies, recovery procedures, communication plans, testing, corrective actions, and final plan approval.

This 50-Page Plan Includes:

• Disaster Recovery Plan governance and document control

• Plan purpose, scope, objectives, assumptions, and constraints

• Disaster recovery roles and responsibilities

• Recovery team contact directory and emergency call tree

• Critical Business Functions and Business Impact Analysis

• Critical systems and applications inventory

• Infrastructure and network inventory

• Data and information asset inventory

• System dependency mapping

• Vendor and third-party recovery dependencies

• Recovery priority classifications

• Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) worksheets

• Minimum service and recovery requirements

• Backup strategy, inventory, and schedules

• Backup security and ransomware resilience

• Backup restoration testing records

• Alternate processing and recovery locations

• Replacement hardware and equipment planning

• Software, licensing, and installation resources

• Credential and privileged-access recovery

• Disaster declaration criteria

• Disaster Recovery Plan activation checklist

• Initial damage and impact assessment

• Recovery decision and action logs

• Internal and external communication planning

• Stakeholder notification templates

• Cyberattack and ransomware recovery playbook

• Server and virtual machine recovery procedures

• Database recovery procedures

• Network and connectivity recovery procedures

• Cloud and SaaS recovery procedures

• Endpoint and workforce recovery procedures

• Email, collaboration, and identity recovery

• Physical site and facility technology recovery

• Power, internet, and telecommunications failure playbook

• Data corruption and accidental deletion recovery

• Recovery validation and acceptance checklist

• Return-to-normal operations checklist

• Disaster recovery testing plan

• Test execution and results documentation

• Lessons learned and corrective-action planning

• Annual review and maintenance checklist

• Final approval and plan authorization

Designed for Practical Business Use

This plan gives small businesses and growing organizations a structured way to prepare before a disaster occurs, instead of determining recovery procedures during an emergency.

Use the worksheets, checklists, inventories, recovery procedures, tracking tables, and approval sections to develop a disaster recovery strategy tailored to your organization's technology environment and operational needs.

Prepare your business to continue critical operations when unexpected disruptions affect employees, facilities, technology, vendors, communications, or essential business services.

The Elevate Cyber Defense 50-Page Comprehensive Business Continuity Plan provides businesses with a structured, customizable framework for identifying critical operations, preparing for disruptions, establishing continuity strategies, and maintaining essential business functions until normal operations can be restored.

Rather than trying to determine how your organization will continue operating during an emergency, this comprehensive plan helps establish business priorities, responsibilities, alternate operating procedures, communication processes, technology dependencies, vendor requirements, recovery objectives, and continuity strategies before a disruption occurs.

This Comprehensive Plan Covers:

• Business Continuity Plan governance and document control

• Plan purpose, scope, objectives, and assumptions

• Business continuity roles and responsibilities

• Continuity team contact information

• Emergency escalation and activation procedures

• Business Impact Analysis (BIA)

• Critical business functions

• Essential products and services

• Maximum tolerable downtime

• Recovery priorities

• Minimum acceptable operating levels

• Critical employees and staffing requirements

• Cross-training and backup personnel

• Technology and system dependencies

• Critical data and information requirements

• Facility and workspace dependencies

• Alternate work locations

• Remote-work continuity procedures

• Internet and telecommunications continuity

• Power and utility disruptions

• Manual business-process workarounds

• Critical equipment and resource requirements

• Vendor and supplier dependencies

• Third-party service-provider continuity

• Supply-chain disruption planning

• Customer and client communication

• Employee communication procedures

• Leadership and stakeholder communications

• Emergency contact information

• Business continuity activation checklist

• Initial disruption assessment

• Continuity decision log

• Continuity action tracking

• Facility-loss response planning

• Technology-outage continuity procedures

• Cybersecurity-incident continuity planning

• Staffing-shortage procedures

• Vendor and supply-chain disruption procedures

• Severe weather and regional disruption planning

• Alternate operating procedures

• Essential records and documentation

• Financial and administrative continuity considerations

• Transition back to normal operations

• Business continuity testing

• Tabletop exercise planning

• Exercise results and documentation

• Lessons learned

• Corrective-action tracking

• Annual plan review and maintenance

• Management review and final approval

Designed for Real Business Continuity Planning

This plan gives businesses a structured way to determine how essential operations will continue when normal business processes are disrupted.

The included worksheets, checklists, planning tables, continuity procedures, dependency records, communication tools, action logs, testing documentation, and approval sections help organizations develop a continuity strategy tailored to their actual operations.

It also works alongside an organization's Incident Response Plan and Disaster Recovery Plan, helping connect cybersecurity response, technology recovery, and continued business operations into a more complete resilience strategy.

Ideal for small businesses, growing organizations, business owners, IT teams, operations teams, and organizations strengthening their overall preparedness and resilience.