With every New Year comes the chance to reset priorities. Unfortunately, when implementing a data recovery plan comes up, the comment we often hear is “I know I should, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet…”
So… what if the pilot on your next flight announces right after takeoff, “I know we should have run through our preflight checklist, but we haven’t gotten around to it yet”???
Without a solid backup and recovery plan, just one mission-critical file that is lost or thieves snatched could plunge your company into a world of serious trouble. When you compare the high cost of replacing, repairing, and recovering to the relatively trivial expense of maintaining good backups, the choice becomes an absolute no-brainer.
Why You Should Care More About Disaster Recovery Planning
Let’s face it; your business revolves around data. That means a single ransomware attack could obliterate you within minutes. Today’s cybercriminals are reaping literally billions of dollars (yes, billions) by targeting the unsuspecting, the poorly defended, and those who have procrastinated.
Let’s consider the facts… Datto, a data protection company, surveyed 97 percent of IT services providers and found that ransomware attacks on small businesses are frequently increasing, with this trend expected to continue. These attacks persist despite the presence of antivirus and anti-malware measures.
Windows operating systems are the most frequent victims, followed by MacOS. Cloud-based applications, particularly Dropbox, Office 365, and Google Apps, are also in the crosshairs.
Typical ransom demands range from $500 to $2,000, though roughly 10% surpass $5,000. Even if you pay the ransom, there’s no guarantee your encrypted files will be unlocked. For an average SMB, downtime due to ransomware can cost approximately $8,500 per hour and require an average of 18.5 hours to resolve, totaling around $157,250 in financial impact. In many cases, the ultimate cost climbs into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In a recent Ponemon Institute survey of 6,000 IT professionals, 86% of companies experienced one or more incidents resulting in downtime in the past 12 months. Typical downtime lasted 2.2 days, with an average cost of $366,363. That’s just the average; can your company withstand such a blow? It’s no surprise that 81% of smaller businesses facing such an attack close their doors within three years.
What’s causing these expensive incidents? Here’s the breakdown of contributing factors:
- Human error: 60%
- Unexpected updates and patches: 56%
- Fire, explosion, or Natural Disaster: 36%
- Power outages: 29%
Note that human error accounts for 60% of breaches. It’s no wonder that ransomware attacks are on the rise since they can be triggered by just one employee inadvertently clicking a malicious link in an email or on a social media site. Controlling human behavior is challenging. However, the number one defense against a ransomware attack is having a secure backup ready to replace encrypted files.
When you review the rest of the list above, it becomes clear that while you must implement a comprehensive set of data security measures, having a reliable data recovery plan in place and ready to deploy when disaster strikes remains your best defense.
Protect Your Company From a Data Recovery Knockout Blow
Cyber threats are rising and expected to grow throughout 2018 and beyond. Will this be the year you finally complete your data backup and recovery plan?
The decision is yours—expose yourself to a devastating loss or fortify your security. Let us assist you. Call us at {phone} or email {email}, and let’s schedule a comprehensive Backup And Recovery Plan Audit for your company.
Don’t wait for disaster to strike. Make 2018 the year you finally get this done. Contact me today to ensure your company doesn’t become another unfortunate statistic.