For many people, disaster recovery means being prepared for a natural disaster, like a flood or tornado. For a business, catastrophes like cyberthreats, system failures, and human errors resulting in data breaches are a very real and scary possibility. You need to be ready for these disasters and have a recovery plan ready to implement just in case.
Cyber Security Best Practices
Cyber security is not a training exercise that can be completed once and checked off the to-do list. You need to be diligent and stress the importance of cyber security best practices to your employees on a regular basis. Employees need to be reminded both of the importance of following the processes and what those processes are. Your employees are handling sensitive data, and they need to understand the responsibility that comes with that. Over time, we can become complacent and everyday tasks related to handling sensitive data become the norm. It’s very easy to jeopardize the security of sensitive information unintentionally, so it’s a good idea to regularly state and enforce best practices to your staff.
Forming a Disaster Recovery Plan
Your employees can do everything right, but cyber threats are constantly evolving. Even businesses with the most diligent employees can fall victim to a data breach. Will your company be able to continue on with business as usual through the process of data recovery and breach mitigation in the event of a data breach? You need to develop a Disaster Recovery plan that will get you through the period of time between a breach occurring and the resolution. A data breach can be extremely detrimental to your business on several fronts. It is possible to work through a cyber disaster without missing a beat if you are prepared and have your plan in place before a data breach occurs.
Disaster Recovery Plan Components
Every component of a disaster recovery plan should tie into an overarching business continuity plan. Disaster recovery includes the processes, tools, and procedures that will reduce downtime and data loss beyond the capabilities of a backup. The threat of downtime is real and can cost your business a significant amount, both financially and in reputation. Your business continuity plan will encompass backup, disaster recovery, and high availability (making sure your systems are running nearly all the time), as well as the technical and non-technical aspects of the business and the processes needed to restore function.
Most businesses are not prepared for a data breach. AccuShred offers CSR Readiness Pro which includes a proactive risk self-assessment and a reactive Breach Reporting Service. Once you have identified the potential gaps in your cybersecurity measures through the self-assessment tool, you can further develop your organization’s protocols to increase your data security both on and offline.
What You Can Do When Developing a Disaster Recovery Plan
When you develop your disaster recovery plan, you can also take the time to look at your current security. Do you have the right systems and tools to handle the threats of today? At least once a year you should look at your current systems and update what needs to be addressed. When developing your plan, follow these steps, customizable to your business.
- Implement Tools and Controls for Layered Protection
- Plan for the Recovery Phase
- Document Everything
- Assess Your Systems
- Replace Old Systems with Better Protected Newer Versions
- Simplify Your Systems
Disaster recovery planning is critical in today’s world. Whether the threats come from outside or inside, a data breach can devastate your business. Data security is more complex, and businesses will need to invest more in prevention and remediation to protect their sensitive data. Having a well developed disaster recovery plan will ensure a smooth transition through a data breach if you are ever faced with one. We are here to help. Data security is extremely important to us, and we have the experience, knowledge, and tools you need to minimize potential cyber threats for your business. Contact AccuShred today for more information about our data destruction and protection services.