Disaster can happen to any business, at any time. That is why it is so important to have a disaster recovery plan in place. But what happens if disaster strikes and your business doesn’t have a disaster recovery plan? This can be a catastrophic event and could lead to the downfall of your company.
In this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about creating disaster recovery and incident response plans. We will cover topics such as current cybersecurity threats facing businesses today, and how you can create disaster recovery and incident response plans.
From internal collaboration to storing and updating the disaster recovery and incident response plans, this guide will provide you with all the information you need to get started.
Current Cybersecurity Threats Facing Businesses Today
In today’s world, there are many cybersecurity threats that businesses need to be aware of. These include:
- Phishing attacks: This is when a cybercriminal sends an email that looks like it’s from a legitimate company in an attempt to get the recipient to click on a malicious link or attachment.
- Ransomware: This is a type of malware that encrypts a victim’s files and demands a ransom be paid in order for them to be decrypted.
- DDoS attacks: This is when a cyberattacker overwhelms vulnerabilities in systems and devices connected to the internet and then floods them with traffic, causing them to shut down. DNS servers are often targeted in these types of attacks.
- Data breaches: This is when a cybercriminal gains unauthorized access to sensitive data, such as customer credit card information or personal health records.
What is Disaster Recovery?
Disaster recovery (DR) is the process of restoring data and systems after a natural or man-made disaster. It is a crucial part of any business continuity plan and can help ensure that your company can continue to operate in the event of an unexpected outage.
There are two types of disasters that businesses need to be prepared for:
- Natural disasters: These include events such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornadoes.
- Man-made disasters: These include fires, power outages, and cyberattacks.
Although these two types of disasters differ drastically, it’s important to understand how to prepare for as many unique situations as possible.
What to Consider for Your Disaster Recovery Plan
When creating your disaster recovery plan, there are a few things you need to take into consideration. These include:
- Your legal obligations: You need to make sure that your DR plan complies with any relevant laws and regulations. For example, if you store sensitive data, such as credit card information or personal health records, you will need to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
- The coordination of your team: It is important to ensure that all members of your team know what their roles and responsibilities are in the event of a disaster. This includes having a clear chain of command so that everyone knows who they need to report to.
- The costs: DR plans can be expensive to implement, so you need to make sure that you have the budget in place.
Setting DR Goals
When setting goals for your disaster recovery plan, you need to make sure that they are realistic and achievable. This means taking into consideration the resources you have available and the type of disasters that are most likely to occur.
For example, if you are located in an area prone to hurricanes, your goal should be to be able to restore data and systems within a certain time frame after the hurricane has passed. Disaster recovery goals should be as simple as possible because in the event of a disaster, you will not have time to think about complex goals.
What is Incident Response and How is it Different From Disaster Recovery?
Incident response (IR) is the process of dealing with and responding to computer security incidents. It includes steps such as identifying the incident, containing it, eradicating it, and recovery from it. IR plans are usually shorter than DR plans because they only deal with one incident at a time. However, they need to be updated more frequently so that they can keep up with the latest threats.
DR is usually seen as a subset of IR because it deals with what happens after an incident has occurred. For example, if there was a data breach, the disaster recovery plan would outline how data would be restored. With the onset of cybersecurity attacks, a good incident recovery plan has never been more important.
Together, IR and DR can help ensure that your business can continue to operate in the event of an unexpected outage.
How to Create an Incident Response Plan
When creating an incident response plan, you need to consider the following:
- The scope of the plan: This should include what incidents are covered by the plan and who is responsible for each stage of the response.
- The resources you have available: You need to make sure that you have the necessary resources in place before an incident occurs. This includes things like having a dedicated incident response team and having access to backup data.
- The steps involved in the response: These should be clearly laid out so that everyone knows what needs to be done in the event of an incident.
- The communication: You need to have a plan for how you will communicate with everyone involved in the incident, including the media.
Points to Consider for Your IR Plan
When creating your IR plan, you may want to consider the differences between disaster recovery and incident response listed above. In particular, you need to make sure that your plan is tailored to the specific incident that you are dealing with.
For example, if you are dealing with a ransomware attack, you need to make sure that you have a plan in place for how to restore data. A few points you should keep in mind when developing your IR plan are:
- The type of incidents you are likely to face
- The resources you have available
- The steps involved in the response
- The communication plan
Storing and Updating the DR and IR Plans
Once you have created your disaster recovery and incident response plans, it is important to store them in a safe place. You should also keep an offline copy of both plans so that you can access them even if there is no internet connection. It is also important to update both plans regularly so that they can keep up with the latest threats.
You should update the plans in all locations where they are stored so that everyone has the most up-to-date information. Make sure that each employee is trained in and understands the plans so that they can be properly executed in the event of an incident.
How INSC Can Help
INSC can help you create and implement both disaster recovery and incident response plans. We have a team of experienced cybersecurity professionals who can help you identify the threats you are facing and develop a plan to mitigate them. We also offer training so that your employees can be prepared to execute the plans in the event of an incident.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you protect your business.