Disasters have many forms. The first step to excellent disaster recovery planning is knowing what you are preparing for. These are scenarios that could affect your business without warning. Equipment Failure – You arrive at the office, hit the power button on your computer and go grab a cup of coffee. You come back and your computer didn’t turn on, so you hit the power switch again, but nothing happens. Your PC’s motherboard has fried. Imagine losing the entirety of documents, files, and contacts on your computer. This could happen at any given moment to any of us. The only way to avoid catastrophic data loss is by expecting it to happen and being prepared. Staff Unavailability – Bob has been working on a company project for months on end but has told coworkers numerous times that he is unsatisfied with his role within the company. His project is a key element in the companies next steps to success. One day, Bob stops showing up to work without notice. Does your business’ disaster recovery plan accommodate for unexpected staff unavailability whether it be an accident, a personal emergency, or a situation like Bob? User Error – Bob’s replacement, Rob, is taking over the company project. It’s ready to be presented and implemented. Rob accidently deletes the files when trying to transfer them to another device. A simple accidental deletion could quickly turn into a disaster without proper planning. Don’t let poor planning rob your business. Natural Disasters – When you hear disaster, this is likely the first thing that comes to mind. Natural disasters affect nearly every part of the world. Whether it’s a 100-year-flood that strikes unexpectedly, a hurricane that veers off of its projected path, or even something as simple yet devastating as high winds; your disaster recovery planning should accommodate situations as destructive as these. Malware – Malware is the most technologically advanced scenario mentioned thus far. These evolved viruses constantly plague businesses across the globe. Staying vigilant and having a successfully tested disaster recovery plan means these vicious disasters transform into an annoyance rather than a business-destroying attack. True Planning Means Thorough, Possibly Risky Testing A plan as previously mentioned is a proposal of a course of action you will take in the event of, in this case, disaster. Proposing a course of action is only the first step in disaster recovery planning. The second step is testing this plan. Which would you prefer: testing your recovery plan in the wake of a disaster, or testing your recovery plan long before a disaster strikes? There are many different ways to evaluate the proposed processes outlined in your disaster recovery plan. These include the following: Walkthrough Test: A walkthrough test is a simple way to review and share your disaster recovery plan. It allows you to discuss the plan with everyone involved and revise it as needed. Walkthrough tests are quick and should occur regularly to remind employees of your procedure and inform them of any changes that have been made. Tabletop Test: You are your own character in this tabletop game. Each team member is given the same hypothetical disaster and must explain their role in recovering. This test should be elaborate and realistic to aid in unveiling possible shortcomings in the disaster recovery plan. Parallel […]
These numbers, by the way, come from a cybersecurity firm, as neither the federal government nor the Federal Bureau of Investigation track these kinds of attacks. As of May 10, of this year, there were 22 known attacks on the public sector. Unfortunately, there are likely more that we just don’t know about yet, as reports of these attacks usually crawl in months or even years after the fact. March Attacks March saw a few ransomware attacks on municipalities. The sheriff’s office in Fisher County, Texas, was infected and couldn’t connect to a state law enforcement database as a result. In Albany, New York, the capital city quietly announced that it had been victimized by a Saturday ransomware attack – a tactical choice on the part of the hackers, as there would be nobody there to fight back on the weekend. While the city initially gave an understated account of the attack’s effect, the real problems were much larger than a few belated marriage licenses and birth certificates. In addition to the clerical delays, the ransomware attack had also impacted the Albany Police Department’s systems. As these systems are effectively entirely digitized, the department was left without their incident reports, crime reports, and even their schedules. April Attacks April saw the entirety of Genesee County, Michigan’s tax department shut down by ransomware for most of the month. The infection has since been removed. May Attacks May has been exemplified by the complete shutdown of Baltimore, Maryland, due to an attack using a ransomware known as RobinHood. As a result of this attack, government emails can’t be sent, payments to city departments are on hold, and real estate transactions have been paused. While RobinHood leverages a notoriously powerful algorithm – even the National Security Agency may not be able to break it, according to cybersecurity expert Avi Rubin – it doesn’t help that Baltimore was also using outdated hardware and software. Baltimore City Mayor Jack Young has already gone on record to state that the city will not be paying the ransom of 13 Bitcoins, or approximately $100,000. Instead, the FBI and Secret Service have been called in, along with assorted cybersecurity experts. Despite these resources, the city isn’t expected to recover for months. Rubin provided some insight into why not paying the ransom is the right call for Baltimore, pointing out that if nobody paid the demanded ransoms, these kinds of attacks would quickly go out of fashion. However, many companies struck by ransomware will quietly pay up. Analysis has found that a full 45 percent of affected organizations ultimately pay the ransom to try and get their data back, while 17 percent of state and local governments will fork over the demanded cash. At SRS Networks, we have some experience in dealing with these kinds of things, which means we can confidently agree with the actions of Mayor Young and the statements made by Rubin – paid ransoms only encourage future ransomware attacks. What’s worse, what guarantee is there that any data will be restored even after payment is made? No guarantee at all. That’s why we’ve dedicated ourselves to assisting business users in protecting themselves against ransomware. Give us a call at (831) 758-3636 to find out more.
We’ll go over a few practices that you should follow if you ever find yourself suspecting that a crucial file may have been deleted. Step One: Stop Creating More Data When a file is deleted, it usually isn’t actually deleted immediately. Instead, it’s only hidden. However, as you create and download more files and data, these deleted files are the ones that are overwritten by these new files. Therefore, you will want to avoid installing any software, streaming media, or downloading anything. Your files might not be overwritten if you do, but they could be, so it’s better to err on the side of caution and avoid the situation entirely. Step Two: Check the Recycle Bin/Deleted Items Unless you’ve deleted the contents of the Recycle Bin after deleting your file, there’s a decent chance that you’ll be able to find it there. This is simplified by the Search Recycle Bin option, as well as your ability take its contents and Sort by Date Deleted. If your file was stored in a cloud storage service, you have the opportunity to check your cloud’s deleted files and potentially restore your file from there. Step Three: Check That the File Wasn’t Just Misplaced Chances may be slim, but you may have just misfiled whatever it is you’re trying to find. This is where the File Explorer’s Search function really shines. Before you do anything else, check to see that the file wasn’t just moved by searching for it… you may just luck out and find it. Step Four: Turn to Your Backup Solution Of course, if you’ve committed to maintaining a backup solution that subscribes to best practices, you should be able to restore your deleted file from there. While backup solutions are commonly associated with disaster-level data restoration needs, they are just as invaluable in less-cataclysmic situations – like when a file is deleted accidentally. If your business is in need of a backup solution, reach out to the professionals at SRS Networks. Call (831) 758-3636 to learn more.
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