Businesses today have a number of risks they need to manage as they grow. Not only do they need to contend with competitive markets and fast-evolving customer expectations, but they also need to be prepared to deal with a growing number of cybersecurity threats.
One of the most important elements of this preparation is having a cybersecurity disaster recovery plan in place. Below, we’ll cover all the critical components of recovery planning to ensure you have the tools and services necessary to minimize the potential damage cybersecurity threats can cause to your business.
Following a Clear Governance Structure
During an operational crisis, an understandable amount of chaos can occur, making it even more difficult to contain a serious situation. To ensure successful recovery efforts, following a clear governance structure with your planning stages is critical.
This is where you’ll outline how resources are controlled during a major outage or network disruption. You will also establish clear protocols for various decision-makers to follow. In many cases, combining these efforts with industry compliance frameworks can also help ensure that all disaster recovery planning initiatives stay in alignment with any specific regulatory requirements, which is critical when navigating data breaches.
Optimizing Resource Allocation
To ensure successful system recovery, there needs to be a good mix of both internal and external support. Company leaders should assess their in-house IT needs and ensure they properly allocate their recovery resources ahead of time. This reduces the strain placed on one particular group when coordinating procedures.
This includes accounting for the individuals, roles, and sometimes, temporary working locations or “war rooms” to allow for dedicated triage support.
Evaluating Third-Party Vendors
Most businesses rely on a large network of vendors and suppliers to help support their operations. These partnerships are another important consideration when planning your disaster recovery efforts, as they essentially act as an extension of your operations.
Third-party risk management should be something that’s considered when not only establishing new business relationships, but also when regularly evaluating their security capabilities. In the event one of these supporting organizations has its own systems breached, the implications for data compromise are shared.
It is also important to clearly document the role that third-party vendors play in your data recovery efforts in the event they’re called on to help aid the business following a cybersecurity incident.
Documenting Communication Standards
If you ever are in a situation where you need to recover your systems fast, having a clear communication strategy upfront is critical. Some compliance frameworks specify the type of information that must be shared and designate a timeline for notifying that a breach has occurred.
To ensure this is the case, set aside time to identify your company stakeholders who will be involved in recovery initiatives if and when they’re needed. Each of these individuals should be well aware of their responsibilities and be able to follow clear instructions on what their priorities are.
This also means training teams regularly on their individual roles within various recovery stages and running mock drills so they’re able to perform fast and efficiently in the event of a real-world situation.
Preparing for Financial Contingencies
Recovering from disasters requires funding in a variety of places. This is why, when the time comes to leverage different recovery tools and services, it’s important to have enough financial contingencies in place to support your efforts.
This is where careful budgeting and planning come into play. Long before a situation occurs, there should be a clear strategy in place for how to fund recovery initiatives. This might include leveraging cybersecurity insurance or having backup hardware on hand that can be used in the case of an emergency.
Budgets should also account for both the short- and long-term expenses that often come with data recovery efforts, such as hiring temporary contractors and replacing critical infrastructure.
Arranging Ongoing Testing Scenarios
No different than how emergency service personnel train regularly when not in the field, your business should regularly test the effectiveness of your disaster recovery plans by conducting mock drill exercises. This gives both your employees and your partners the ability to gauge the speed and efficiency of recovery efforts.
Another way to make these tests more impactful is to hire a penetration testing service to help you understand vulnerabilities before they are exploited. These services conduct real-world attack scenarios that can be used to not only identify key vulnerabilities in your system that need to be addressed, but also test the adaptability of your recovery teams.
Keep Your Business Resilient Long-Term
No matter how many security investments businesses make, there is no 100% sure way of avoiding cybersecurity threats. However, with the right planning approach, businesses can minimize the damage they cause.
By following these strategies when creating your disaster recovery plans, you’ll support a resilient business that’s able to recover quickly following a security breach.
Author Bio Information
Author Bio:
Nazy Fouladirad is President and COO of Tevora, a global leading cybersecurity consultancy. She has dedicated her career to creating a more secure business and online environment for organizations across the country and world. She is passionate about serving her community and acts as a board member for a local nonprofit organization.
