In light of a cybersecurity breach, 54% of companies have experienced prolonged downtime. Your business can be exposed to cyber threats such as power loss, viruses, malware, and other digital targeted threats during meteorological events such as floods, hurricanes, storms, and wildfires.
When it comes to your digital data, there will always be some form of threat. On one hand, there is the threat of ransomware and malware; on the other hand, there is the emergence of climatic and energy-related phenomena. Your business can be thrown off course by all of these factors, putting future operations at risk.
This is where a fool-proof Disaster Recovery Plan comes in handy. As more incidents impact IT production, digital data risks have increased. In order to protect your business and your operations from downtime or loss of data, you’ll want to understand the ins and outs of a disaster recovery plan.
Here’s what you need to know about disaster recovery plans for your business:
- CyberSecurity vs DRP
- Data Recovery
- Back-up & Data Replication
- Build a Proper Disaster Recovery Plan
- Connect with 561 Communications
CyberSecurity vs DRP
The purpose of both plans is to provide confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your computer systems and data assets as part of a larger security strategy. Information security and disaster recovery share a common link in providing availability objectives. Organizations, however, do not fully understand the nature of availability or the factors that influence these plans.
Data between the primary site and secondary site is typically replicated to a secondary location in disaster recovery plans. If data gets corrupted by a cyberattack, DR will not protect the data, since it will be replicated at both locations. This can be prevented by using layered defenses, and you should build relevant controls into your risk management process.
Data Recovery
Despite the fact that preventing cyber incidents is preferred, prevention isn’t always an option. Some natural disasters and cyberattacks can’t be prevented, so focusing solely on prevention is ineffective.
Consequently, plan for all future cyber incidents, their containment, and recovery. With that in mind, you may want to begin by dissecting these priorities:
- Assign team members roles and responsibilities
- Create a cyber incident response plan and crisis management strategy with a business continuity plan
- Communication channels should be available during downtime
- Alternate data centers and services may be beneficial
- Create what-if scenarios based on recent cyber incidents that affected similar organizations
- Prevent crisis situations by assessing and addressing planning gaps
- Consider the effects of noncompliance on personnel and stakeholders, as well as the financial and legal repercussions
Back-up & Data Replication
By implementing a comprehensive disaster recovery strategy, you can access the information your business needs to continue to operate, even if your facility is destroyed or inaccessible. As part of your disaster recovery plan, cloud-based replication can be an excellent safety net in case of disaster.
With back-up and data replication, your disaster recovery plan can provide:
- Ready-to-run copy of your virtual machine
- Enhanced availability for virtualized applications
- Replication of image files on-site for availability, or off-site for disaster recovery
- Production environment will not be impacted by replication from backup files
Build a Proper Disaster Recovery Plan
Integrating a disaster recovery plan into your business will prevent downtime from disrupting the continuity of your business operations. Additionally, you’ll need advanced, layered protection for disaster recovery and cybersecurity.
Ensure that preventive elements such as firewalls and antivirus are in place to block vulnerabilities, exploits, and viruses, as well as the addresses and ports associated with them. You should also implement strict controls over software changes, access control, and auditing of activities to ensure data and services are safe.
Below are some other tips to ensure your disaster recovery plan is effective.
- Data: What data you need to remain operational
- Location: The locations from which you would operate if your location were compromised
- Communication: Information on how you would communicate with your team during an emergency
- Disaster Recovery Response Steps: Specific response steps in case of a data breach or ransomware attack
Connect with 561 Communications
You’re more likely to withstand a breach if you have adequate documentation and a comprehensive backup plan. Assign your disaster recovery plan to your continuity, security, and contingency planning teams as a playbook.
At 561 Communications, understanding the ins and outs of your business is our top priority. In order to keep your business connected, we offer a FREE analysis of your Telecom Network Infrastructure. 561 Communications will tailor solutions to fit your business needs.
If you’re unsure of where to begin with your business’ disaster recovery plan, we have the right tools and resources for you. Our team can work with your business to build out the right plan for your data and effectively protect your business from digital disruption.