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When people think about ransomware, they often picture a message on a computer screen and a collection of files that can no longer be opened. In reality, ransomware damage can extend beyond the original files. Depending on how an attack spreads, employees may lose access to shared folders, customer information, business applications, and other systems…
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A ransomware attack can prevent a business from opening its own files by encrypting them or otherwise disrupting access. But what happens to your backups during an attack? The answer depends on how the backups are stored, which accounts can access them, and whether the backup copies are protected from changes or deletion. Having backups…
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When important information is unavailable, the goal is not always to stop everything until the recovery process is completely finished. A strong business continuity plan considers how the company can continue performing its most important functions while data recovery is taking place. The ability to keep operating, even in a limited capacity, can reduce the…
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A disaster recovery plan can look excellent on paper and still have weaknesses that are not discovered until the business actually needs it. That is why disaster recovery testing is important. Testing gives the business an opportunity to walk through its recovery procedures under controlled conditions and identify problems while there is still time to…
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A backup recovery test is a controlled way for a business to find out whether the information it has backed up can actually be recovered when it is needed. Having a backup is important, but the existence of a backup does not automatically prove that the recovery process will work. A test provides an opportunity…
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Data recovery and system recovery are closely related, but they are not the same thing. Data recovery focuses on getting important information back, such as documents, spreadsheets, databases, customer records, or other business files. System recovery, on the other hand, focuses on getting the computer or technology environment itself back into a usable condition. Understanding…
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A critical business system is any technology or application the business depends on to perform an important function. It might be a financial system, customer management application, specialized business software, shared database, file system, or another service that employees cannot easily work without. Planning for the loss of that system is different from simply planning…
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One computer failing is a problem. Several business computers failing at the same time can become a much larger business continuity event. Employees may suddenly be unable to access the information they need, multiple departments may be affected, and the business may have to decide which systems should be restored first. The situation becomes even…
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A major computer failure can affect much more than the computer itself. If important business information exists primarily on that machine, employees may suddenly lose access to documents, applications, customer information, financial records, or other resources they depend on. The good news is that businesses do not have to wait for a computer to fail…
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The first hour after a data disaster can be extremely important because decisions made during that time may affect how quickly the business can recover. The natural reaction may be to immediately start clicking through systems, restarting computers, or attempting to fix whatever appears to be wrong. But a better approach is to slow down…
