Disaster recovery planning is an essential part of any business’s cybersecurity strategy. In the event of a cyber attack, natural disaster, or other unexpected event, having a plan in place can mean the difference between a minor disruption and a major business interruption.
When is planning for a disaster good for business?
We set goals each year to grow our businesses, so why don’t we set goals to protect them?
Without understanding your posture, all you are doing is working hard to grow something ripe for a cyber-bully to take. Modern businesses rely heavily on connectivity, data and IT systems functioning effectively and efficiently to ensure smooth operation and profitability.
However, research shows that most businesses are not suitably prepared for outages to these critical IT systems and the consequences can be devastating.
How can an IT system outage affect my business?
From eliminating your entire corporate network or database within minutes to shutting down critical hospital systems designed to save lives — the impact of an IT disaster can be devastating and long-lasting.
What’s more, according to figures from the American Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), between 40%-60% of companies go bankrupt after a single disaster. This is often due to the costs associated with recovery labour, equipment replacement, lost business opportunities, and reputational damage.
We often hear how one of the biggest challenges businesses face after a cyber-attack is regaining people’s trust in them. So, let’s give you the information to better prepare your business and yourself.
Why do systems fail?
IT systems can fail for any number of reasons, such as:
Weakness in configuration
A power surge (which renders equipment unusable)
Compromised systems by cyber-criminals (malware etc) result in significant corruption of data or service provisions.
Since Covid-19, cyber-crime has increased by more than 600%.
How do we protect our business?
The answer may seem obvious, but the best way to minimise the impact of failed IT systems on your business is to plan for a disaster. Much like carrying a first aid kit, the day you don’t is usually the day you need it. Here’s where a robust Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) comes into play. Now just to clarify, a DRP is not a backup plan or how you are backing up IT systems. It is much more than that.
A DRP is a documented process or set of procedures that outline the steps an organisation should take before, during and after an IT systems disaster, to recover information, technology data, assets, facilities and getting people back to work in a safe and timely manner with minimal disruption to business operations.
A robust DRP is an integral part of protecting your business’s IT infrastructure and enabling them to ensure services are available at a level that enables them to meet their objectives and obligations.
According to PhoenixNap, 96% of businesses can fully restore their operations after a data-loss incident if they have disaster recovery solutions in place.
Where to next?
We encourage you to investigate whether your business has a Disaster Recovery Plan.
If it does, find out:
When it was last reviewed?
If it still reflects your current systems and business needs?
If employees are aware of any role they have to play in the DRP?
Just remember, Disaster Recovery is just as much about people and process as it is about the technology systems.
The cyber landscape is constantly evolving, and threats are becoming more common and more complex.
Want to know more? Contact Thomas Cyber for more information.
The Thomas Cyber Team