Data recovery plans are essential in times of natural disasters, as they ensure that critical data is protected and can be recovered quickly in the event of loss or damage. However, it is startling how few organisations have meaningful plans in place.
First Published 2nd March 2023 | Latest Refresh 20th March 2023
Kahramamnaraş, Turkey - 6th February 2023.
3 min read | Reflare Research Team
All of us at the Reflare Research Team express our deepest condolences to the people of Turkey and Syria following the recent earthquake that caused massive destruction and loss of life.
Natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes can significantly impact communities and businesses. In the digital world, disasters can also affect information availability, so in this post, we will talk about disaster recovery planning, a critical aspect of information security and assurance.
As a company with one of our main offices in Japan, which is prone to earthquakes, we understand the importance of having plans for disaster recovery. Businesses in areas prone to natural disasters must prepare to ensure that they can continue to operate in the event of a disaster, especially if they rely heavily on technology. The recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria serve as a reminder of this.
As the first and essential step in this plan, organisations must identify critical systems and applications, backup and recovery procedures, and contact information for key personnel.
Backing up critical data is another essential component of disaster recovery. Companies should regularly back up their critical data to ensure it can be recovered during a disaster. Backups should be stored offsite to protect them from physical damage. It is also essential to secure data during recovery to ensure it is not vulnerable to attack.
Redundancy is also critical in this planning. Organisations should ensure critical systems and applications have redundant components to minimise downtime and data loss. For example, organisations can implement redundant power supplies, network connections, and storage devices to ensure critical systems remain operational even if one component fails.
Partnering with a disaster recovery provider can be an effective way for businesses to ensure that their critical systems and data can be quickly restored during a disaster. Disaster recovery providers offer various services, including data backup and recovery, infrastructure support, and business continuity planning.
Communication, training, and business continuity planning are also essential components of disaster recovery planning. A communication plan should be in place to keep employees, customers, and vendors informed during the recovery process. All employees should be trained on the disaster recovery plan and their roles and responsibilities during a disaster. A business continuity plan should be in place to ensure that the business can continue to operate during and after a disaster.
As a cybersecurity company and an organisation with a significant presence in an earthquake-prone location, we understand the importance of disaster recovery. Many reputable vendors beyond ourselves offer services to help develop comprehensive disaster recovery plans, identify critical systems and applications, train employees, and help businesses protect their systems and data from cyber threats during recovery.
Having well-considered, robust, and implementable plans for disaster recovery is critical for those who want to ensure that they can continue to operate in the event of a disaster. The recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria serves as a reminder of this.
Businesses must develop a comprehensive disaster recovery plan that is regularly tested, backed up data, secure data, redundancy, and potentially partner with a disaster recovery provider. Communication, training, and business continuity planning are essential to disaster recovery. By taking these steps, businesses can minimise the impact of a disaster and quickly restore their operations.
There are plenty of world-class cybersecurity vendors and professionals who can partner with you to build robust data recovery plans. However, it takes resilient leadership and conscious decision-making to commit the resources needed to make it more than an afterthought.
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