When thinking about disaster recovery, most people typically picture major natural disasters like fires, floods, or earthquakes. But not all catastrophes in the field of cybersecurity are natural. For example, cyberattacks that destroy data or disable essential assets commonly cause unnatural disasters that affect many enterprises. IT Support New York specialists help create a successful disaster recovery plan.
Having a disaster recovery plan in place is an essential risk mitigation strategy, regardless of whether your company suffers a natural disaster or a cybersecurity threat. So what is a disaster recovery plan? How can you design a disaster recovery strategy that works for your company?
What is a Disaster Recovery Plan?
An organization can recover from a significant disruption by using a collection of tools and procedures known as a disaster recovery plan. Anything from cyberattacks to natural calamities can fall under this category.
The purpose of a disaster recovery plan is to ensure that the organization is prepared for any eventuality. This includes providing that the right resources are available when and where they’re needed, as well as ensuring that the organization’s operating processes are running smoothly in the event of a disruption.
A disaster recovery plan should also include provisions for communication and coordination between different parts of the organization, as well as backup plans for essential files and data. It should be updated regularly to reflect changes in technology and industry trends to remain up-to-date and relevant.
Steps Everyone Should Know for Disaster Recovery Plans
Inspect Every IT Resource
In order to make sure that your IT resources are ready for anything, it’s essential to audit them regularly. This can be done in a variety of ways, but the basic idea is to check for any potential problems and fix them as soon as possible.
One way to do this is by conducting regular vulnerability scans. This will help identify any security risks and vulnerabilities that may exist on your computer systems, which can then be fixed. You should also perform regular system updates to ensure that your systems are up-to-date and safe. Finally, you should monitor your email, and social media accounts for any suspicious activity or threats. If there are any issues, you can take appropriate action immediately.
These simple steps ensure that your IT resources are always ready for anything – even if something unexpected happens.
Identify What Is “Mission-Critical”
When it comes to Disaster Recovery Plans, one of the most important steps is determining what’s “mission-critical.” This means identifying the systems, data, and applications essential to your business and ensuring they’re always available and accessible.
If your mission-critical systems aren’t up and running when a disaster strikes, you’ll be drastically hampering your ability to carry out your normal operations. Some experts say that a Disaster Recovery Plan that needs more focus on mission-critical systems can be better than no plan.
There are a few ways to identify what’s mission-critical:
- First, look at your business from the perspective of an outsider. What would potential competitors or customers do if you need access to specific systems?
- Second, ask yourself which systems would considerably improve your chances of success in the event of a disaster. For example, does it make sense to back up critical financial data? Is it wise to store critical marketing material online?
- Third, take a closer look at how you use specific systems. Are there any that are particularly prone to fail in adverse conditions? Are there any that are especially important for customer support? Once you’ve identified these system(s), ensure they’re always backed up and ready for use in an emergency.
Employ Roles and Responsibilities for Everyone
Everyone in the organization should have a role in your disaster recovery plan. This includes not just managers and executives but also employees at all levels.
The purpose of having a well-defined DR plan is to ensure that everyone is prepared in case of an emergency. To ensure everyone understands their role, it’s important to establish clear responsibilities and guidelines. This way, everyone knows exactly what they need to do to help support the organization’s DR plans.
Here are some guidelines that can help you create roles and responsibilities for your employees:
- Employees should be aware of the organization’s disaster recovery plans and be able to answer basic questions about them.
- They should ensure that their workstation and office are appropriately configured for DR purposes and that all required files are backed up regularly.
- They should be able to communicate with co-workers if there are any issues with the organization’s DR plans or procedures.
- Employees should report any incidents or problems with DR procedures or plan implementation directly to their manager.
Determine Your Recovery Goals
Determining your recovery goals can help you plan for a successful recovery from a disaster. Recovery points are points in time during which you will be able to resume your normal activities. Recovery time objectives are goals you want to accomplish over the course of your recovery period.
By setting these objectives, you will be able to prioritize your resources better and ensure that you’re recovering as fast as possible. It’s also important to keep in mind that your goals may change over time as your experience and understanding of the situation change. Ultimately, this is an essential part of any successful disaster recovery plan.
Establish a Recovery Plan Test
Having a method for regularly testing your disaster recovery plan is essential. This is because no plan is perfect, and there is always the possibility of an unexpected event that could cause disruptions in your business. Testing your plan will help you identify any issues early on and make necessary adjustments in order to ensure that your business is as resilient as possible.
There are a few different ways you can test your disaster recovery plans. You can use simulations or drills to practice scenarios that might occur during a real emergency. Alternatively, you can use live data to test how your systems respond to unexpected events. Finally, you could also perform scans or vulnerability tests on key systems to identify potential security vulnerabilities.
The critical thing is to find a way to test your plan regularly and ensure that it’s up-to-date and reflects the latest changes in the industry. By doing this, you’ll be able to build an effective disaster recovery strategy that will keep your business running smoothly during tough times.
Post courtesy: Chris Forte, President, and CEO at Olmec Systems.
