Disaster Recovery Preparedness; More Than Fires, Floods, & Tornadoes

When people hear “Disaster Recovery,” most minds think of natural disasters such as fires, floods, hurricanes, & tornadoes.

When we look closer at disasters in the IT realm, the more common causes come in the form of server crashes, ransomware, phishing attacks, data breaches, and file corruption.

Protecting and backing up your critical business data is the top priority with all these disasters. However, other areas need to be planned for as well.

First off, no organization is “too small” to be affected. Smaller companies are even more at risk due to limited budgets and resources. Over 70% of cyberattacks target small businesses. With 60% of those organizations closing business within six months of an attack, you can’t afford to be under-prepared.

Hardware/Network Plan

A hardware & network equipment replacement plan will reduce downtime due to hardware failure of outdated/old equipment. Some newer software is unable to run on outdated equipment. When this happens, you are at risk of being unable to keep your software up to date, thereby increasing vulnerability within your programs.

Increase Cybersecurity Protection

Additional layers of security provide complete and holistic protection for your system. Having enhanced security services in place, such as endpoint detection and ransomware protection, proactively identifies, prioritizes, and mitigates gaps in coverage to protect your critical business data.

Continuous Education

Cyber threats constantly evolve, closing old security gaps and potentially opening new ones. More than one-off security training is required. Comprehensive employee training will enhance your company’s first line of defense. Train your team to always be on the lookout for issues. Phishing attacks are evolving, becoming increasingly more sophisticated, and are among the most significant causes of global data breaches.

Regular Risk Assessments

What does an acceptable risk level look like for your company? A typical business gets attacked multiple times daily, and basic security measures can protect against a certain number of attacks. You’ll need to know if the one attack that gets through would be too much for your company to handle. For example, would it be acceptable if one of your users has their computer infected by malware and it freezes up, causing a few hours of unproductive work? But what would the business impact be if the file server was down for half a day, and you lost 24 hours of data?

A well-prepared disaster response plan is the most effective way to mitigate loss and ensure effective business continuity. Proper backup and recovery of your business data is critical to this plan. It should also include a list of who to contact on your IT team should a disaster occur and a communications plan for your staff, clients, and the public (should your business fall under those regulations).

If you would like to have us conduct a Business IT Continuity Analysis of your organization, visit https://www.clearcomit.com/it-continuity-analysis/ or call our office at 508-205-1114 to schedule one this month.

Updated article from Sept. 2019