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The rapid increase in cyberattacks is putting greater pressure on Cyber Resilience and IT Infrastructure teams to ensure the reliability, integrity, and availability of their systems and data, to withstand and recover from these threats.
As such, having a robust cyber recovery strategy is no longer optional – it is a critical part of every CISOs and Head of IT infrastructure’s strategy.
However, with only 21% expressing full confidence in their organization’s cyber resilience strategy – according to a recent research report* – there’s clearly work to be done. It seems that cyber recovery lags behind other cybersecurity initiatives.
This article explores the world of cyber recovery, emphasizing the critical role of verifying the configuration of IT environments to enable timely restoration of data and the recovery of systems, applications, and services.
While cybersecurity focuses on preventing threats, cyber recovery deals with minimizing downtime and mitigating the impact of successful attacks. A comprehensive cyber recovery strategy involves planning, testing, and executing recovery actions to ensure business continuity and data integrity.
This has become critical against the backdrop of increasing news headlines:
UnitedHealth – In February 2024, UnitedHealth Group’s subsidiary, Change Healthcare, experienced a ransomware attack by the ALPHV/BlackCat group, severely disrupting healthcare billing systems nationwide. Recovery was extensive and complex, and it took months for full restoration. In September 2024, UnitedHealth’s Chief Information Security Officer, Steven Martin, revealed that the company had to “start over” with its computer systems, replacing routers, switches, and compute infrastructure to ensure security.
Transport for London (TfL): In September 2024, TfL suffered a cyber attack that disrupted multiple online systems, including payment and customer service platforms. The incident incurred over £30 million in costs, with recovery efforts extending over several months.
SA Health: In December 2024, a significant computer malfunction in the South Australian Health system disrupted crucial medical services, including pathology and medical imaging. Doctors expressed concerns over delays in obtaining vital test results, which jeopardized patient care. Restoration of systems was gradual, with some services taking days to return to normal operations.
Blue Yonder: In November 2024, supply chain software provider Blue Yonder suffered a ransomware attack that disrupted operations for retailers such as Starbucks, Morrisons, and Sainsbury’s. The attack caused systems to go offline. Recovery involved implementing contingency plans and took several days to restore full functionality.
34% of IT outages are caused by change of configuration issues**
At the heart of any cyber recovery strategy lies the organization’s IT environment. This environment encompasses all hardware, software, networks, and configurations that support business operations. When a cyberattack occurs, the ability to restore data and resume services depends heavily on how well this environment is prepared and maintained.
Here’s why verifying the configuration of your IT environment is crucial:
To enable efficient and timely recovery, organizations should adopt these five best practices:
Cyber recovery is a vital component of an organization’s cybersecurity, IT infrastructure, and business continuity strategies. By placing emphasis on verifying the configuration of IT environments, organizations can enhance their ability to restore data, recover applications, and maintain continuity in the face of cyberattacks.
Regular assessments, automation, and alignment with business objectives ensure cyber resilience, helping organizations navigate an increasingly perilous digital landscape with confidence.
Investing in a solution, like RecoverGuard, will help you automatically verify the configuration of your ICT environment.
RecoverGuard identifies and inventories all technologies used for data protection, as well as application failover and recovery, aligning them with your business service levels and resilience requirements, while ensuring compliance with relevant regulations.
* Cyber Resilience Research commissioned by Cohesity and conducted by Censuswide, Jan 2024
** IT outages: 2024 costs and containment; Enterprise Management Associates report
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