Why Every Business Needs a Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan

White man with headphones sitting in the dark looking at a computer screen with code text on it.

If you’ve been paying attention to any telecom and IT news lately, you’ll have seen that there have been a lot of ransomware attacks. Even if you weren’t paying attention, you probably felt the impact of the Colonial Pipeline at the pump as gas prices jumped. Ransomware attacks have grown (over a 300% increase last year, according to some estimates), and experts continue to expect them to grow. In this environment, keeping your data securely backed up and making a plan for recovery is incredibly important. Here are three reasons why every business needs a backup and disaster recovery plan. 

Backup and disaster recovery planning helps protect your business. 

The plan of a hacker is simple: get into your system and lock you out. Then, demand a ransom so you can get back in. This usually comes in different types of attacks: ransomware, phishing, malware, and denial-of-service.

A hack can compromise your employee or client data and stop your business from running properly. Having security software can reduce the risk of bad actors getting in. However, there’s usually some human error when a ransomware attack occurs. Backing up your data at a regular frequency and having a plan for rebuilding your system means not losing data and keeps your business running. 

A ransomware attack isn’t rare. 

According to a recent report by global cybersecurity company Acronis, almost a third of companies are attacked by cybercriminals at least once a day. More than 1,000 companies had data leaked as a result of ransomware attacks. As workforces continue to be remote (and often less secure than working in an office), Acronis expects ransomware and hacking attacks to continue. They also expect more phishing and hacking of small to mid-sized businesses. Although these businesses aren’t necessarily as lucrative as something like Colonial Pipeline, they are not ready for a serious attack but can probably pay a small ransom. And, if they hit you once and get a payout, then they know they can hit you again. 

It’s cheaper to prepare than pay the criminals. 

Colonial Pipeline’s CEO admitted that the company paid the hackers a $4.4 million ransom to get their operation back up and running. CNA Financial Corp paid $40 million to regain control of their network after hackers locked them out. Backup and disaster recovery plans can always be modified to suit your company’s specific needs. For example, if you are a critical infrastructure company or a financial corporation, you need to be backing up constantly. However, even smaller businesses and nonprofits have customer and donor information. Planning and preparation are cheaper (and less stressful) than figuring out if you want to pay a ransom. And everyone (no matter how big or small, or what industry you are in) loses customer confidence after an attack. 

In 2019, the Teamsters Union refused to pay a ransom when their computer system was locked by hackers. Instead, they rebuilt their computer system from a backup (including backups on a hard drive). These backups saved the day. “Personal information for the millions of active and retired members was never compromised,” according to NBC News. 

A data breach can significantly impact operations and trust. Setting up a good cybersecurity plan as well as a backup and disaster recovery plan means that you can get your business back to normal as soon as possible.   

Contact us today to find out more about disaster and recovery planning, and protecting your data and your reputation.

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