Almost every business I audit says the same thing: “We’re fine, we have backups.” Then I ask how long it would take to be fully working again after a ransomware attack, and the room goes quiet.
Backup Is a Copy. Recovery Is a Plan.
A backup is a copy of your data. Disaster recovery is the tested, documented process of getting your business running again, systems, data, access and people.
Three Questions to Ask Today
- How much data can we afford to lose? An hour? A day? This is your recovery point objective.
- How long can we afford to be down? This is your recovery time objective, and it drives your budget.
- When did we last test a full restore? If the answer is “never”, you don’t yet know whether your backups work.
A Simple Quarterly Test
Pick one important system. Restore it to a separate environment from backup. Time it, write down every problem, and fix them. Repeat every quarter with a different system.
Keep One Copy Offline
Modern ransomware goes after backups first. Follow the 3/2/1 rule: three copies, on two types of media, with one offsite and immutable or offline.
I’ve designed backup and DR environments for a 24/7 power station. If you’d like the same peace of mind, let’s talk.