Results from a gap analysis would provide the most useful information for planning purposes when preparing an action plan to achieve compliance with local regulatory requirements by an established deadline. A gap analysis is an assessment of the difference between an organization's current state of compliance and its desired level or standard. It is a process used to identify potential areas for improvement by comparing actual performance with expected performance. A gap analysis can help to prioritize the actions needed to close the gaps and comply with the regulatory requirements, as well as to estimate the resources and time required for each action1. The other options are not as useful as results from a gap analysis for planning purposes when preparing an action plan to achieve compliance with local regulatory requirements by an established deadline. Deadlines and penalties for noncompliance are important factors to consider, but they do not provide information on how to achieve compliance or what actions are needed2. Results from a business impact analysis (BIA) are useful for identifying the critical processes and assets that need to be protected, but they do not provide information on how to comply with the regulatory requirements or what actions are needed3. An inventory of security controls currently in place is useful for assessing the current state of compliance, but it does not provide information on how to comply with the regulatory requirements or what actions are needed4. Reference: 3: Business impact analysis (BIA) - Wikipedia 2: Compliance Gap Analysis & Effectiveness Evaluation | SMS 1: What is Gap Analysis in Compliance | Scytale 4: Gap Analysis & Risk Assessment - Riddle Compliance

According to the Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) Study Guide, the greatest challenge to the recovery of critical systems and data following a ransomware incident is the availability and integrity of backups. If the backups are unavailable or corrupt, it becomes much more difficult, if not impossible, to recover the systems and data. This highlights the importance of regularly testing and verifying the backup and recovery process to ensure that the backups are available and can be used in the event of an incident. Additionally, it is important to ensure that backups are stored securely and off-line to prevent them from being encrypted or deleted by an attacker.