A contingency plan is a plan devised for an exceptional risk which is impractical or impossible to avoid. Contingency plans are often devised by governments or businesses who want to be prepared for events which, while highly unlikely, may have catastrophic effects. For example, suppose many employees of a company are traveling together on an aircraft which crashes, killing all aboard. The company could be severely strained or even ruined by such a loss. Accordingly, many companies have procedures to follow in the event of such a disaster. The plan may also include standing policies to mitigate a disaster's potential impact, such as requiring employees to travel separately or limiting the number of employees on any one aircraft.

During times of crisis, contingency plans are often developed to explore and prepare for any eventuality. During the Cold war

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

, many governments made contingency plans to protect themselves and their citizens from nuclear attack

Nuclear warfare

Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...

. Examples of contingency plans designed to inform citizens of how to survive a nuclear attack are the booklets Survival Under Atomic Attack

Survival Under Atomic Attack

Survival Under Atomic Attack was the title of an official United States government booklet released by the Executive Office of the President, the National Security Resources Board , and the Civil Defense Office...

, Protect and Survive

Protect and Survive

Protect and Survive was a public information series on civil defence produced by the British government during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was intended to inform British citizens on how to protect themselves during a nuclear attack, and consisted of a mixture of pamphlets, radio broadcasts,...

, and Fallout Protection

Fallout Protection

Fallout Protection: What To Know And Do About Nuclear Attack, was an official United States federal government booklet released in December 1961 by the United States Department of Defense and The Office of Civil Defense....

, which were issued by the British and American governments. Today there are still contingency plans in place to deal with terrorist attacks or other catastrophes.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology

National Institute of Standards and Technology

The National Institute of Standards and Technology , known between 1901 and 1988 as the National Bureau of Standards , is a measurement standards laboratory, otherwise known as a National Metrological Institute , which is a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce...

 has published a contingency planning guide for Information Technology Systems (2002).

In the United States

In the United States, all HAZMAT

Hazmat

Hazmat, HazMat and similar terms can refer to:* Hazardous materials and items—see Dangerous goods** Hazchem—a system of hazardous chemical classification and firefighting modes** A hazmat suit is a type of protective clothing...

 operations require Contingency Plans.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency‎ through RCRA and EPCRA has defined specific formats for Local Emergency Planning and the National Contingency Plan.

See also

• Association of Contingency Planners
• CERT
  CERT Coordination Center
  The CERT Coordination Center was created by DARPA in November 1988 after the Morris worm struck. It is a major coordination center in dealing with Internet security problems....
  
  
• Information Assurance
  Information Assurance
  Information assurance is the practice of managing risks related to the use, processing, storage, and transmission of information or data and the systems and processes used for those purposes...
  
  
• Information security
  Information security
  Information security means protecting information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, perusal, inspection, recording or destruction....
  
  
• Computer security
  Computer security
  Computer security is a branch of computer technology known as information security as applied to computers and networks. The objective of computer security includes protection of information and property from theft, corruption, or natural disaster, while allowing the information and property to...
  
  
• NIST
• Risk
  Risk
  Risk is the potential that a chosen action or activity will lead to a loss . The notion implies that a choice having an influence on the outcome exists . Potential losses themselves may also be called "risks"...
  
  
• Risk Management
  Risk management
  Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities...