Disaster recovery: Do your cyber-threats go undetected until it’s too late?
Disaster recovery should never only be reactive. Although you should always have a plan to respond to various disasters that could compromise your data and shut down your business, response after the fact isn’t sufficient for your survival. What you also need are powerful preventative measures and the ability to monitor for threats.
Your response can be effective only if you can quickly catch any attacks or other suspicious activities that have managed to slip past your company’s defenses. However, threat detection remains one of the most challenging aspects of disaster recovery and prevention.
Just as one example, consider this article recently published in WealthManagement.com, which discusses cyber-security in Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) firms. The vast majority of firms report that they haven’t experienced stolen, lost or compromised data. And yet, too many firms don’t notice that they’ve experienced a breach in cyber-security. Their sense of security isn’t based on fact.
Detecting threats
It’s important to test or audit your current ability to detect potential cyber-security threats. The following are some questions you should ask yourself:
- How do I know if there’s been a breach in the company’s cyber security defenses?
- Who is responsible for monitoring the company’s network and other aspects of its IT set-up?
- Who gets notified when there’s a breach, and what should they do?
- What are the weakness points in the company’s IT configuration and cyber security preventative measures? How are threats most likely to slip through the company’s defenses?
Security is critical to your IT configuration, including any cloud computing services you use (and resell to other people). For peace of mind, work with a company that emphasizes security and reliability, monitoring for threats and protecting and backing up your data to limit extended downtime, data theft and other serious problems.
When you place your trust in IT professionals who have the experience and the infrastructure to watch out for cyber-security threats, you will be better able to focus on other aspects of your business.
