Tag Archives: disaster data recovery

What Is BDR and How Does It Impact Business?

what Is BDR
Cybersecurity, Data Backup, Technology, , , , , ,

Businesses these days conduct most of their processes digitally. On one hand, this is great because it speeds up transactions, improves data accuracy, and so on, allowing for faster and more efficient IT business development. But the heavy reliance on digital data brings new risks of data loss or damage. All businesses should have a good backup and disaster recovery plan to lessen these risks. We will explain to you what is BDR and how it impacts businesses.

An Introduction to What is BDR

BDR stands for “backup and disaster recovery.” It is a set of solutions that make sure data is safe and can be recovered after a disaster. A BDR plan aims to protect a business and maintain the continuity of operations despite any mishaps.

We often consider BDR solutions a defense against cyberattacks, which are becoming more frequent in recent years. But they are also beneficial in other circumstances, like keeping a business safe after a natural disaster or in any situation where the company’s data is at risk.

What a Sound BDR Strategy Can Do for Your Business

The lack of a proper BDR solution can have a negative impact on your business. At the very least, it can cause disruptions to your operation as your staff scrambles to recover all your data. In worst-case scenarios, you might not only find yourself with a destroyed business, but you may also face lawsuits as a repercussion of the disaster.

But if you have a tried-and-true BDR solution protecting your data, more than likely, you won’t have to face these dreadful scenarios. In addition, there are multiple other benefits that you can enjoy, such as the following.

Protection against Data Loss and Damage

There are so many ways for digital data to get lost, stolen, or damaged. It can happen through a data breach, a cyberattack, a system failure, human error, or a natural disaster. But if your business has a trusty BDR plan, it will protect your data despite any of these unfortunate incidents.

Better Data Security

Data security is integral to IT business development. A good BDR system makes sure of this by keeping a copy of all your business data, like contracts, transactions, client profiles, and so on, in a safe and remote location. Through high-tech encryption tools and physical security measures, we should protect data backups both physically and digitally.

Customer Retention

If you are not prepared for a disaster, you could lose hours or even days of downtime as you try to get everything back in order. Your clients will not be very forgiving of such situations and will probably leave and take their business to your competitors. With a sound BDR plan, you can have a quick and complete recovery, and your customers can have peace of mind and will not have a reason to leave.

Evaluating Your BDR Strategy

If your IT provider has already set up a BDR solution for your business, that’s great. But do you know how dependable it is? If disaster strikes, are you sure your defenses will hold up and keep your system and data protected?

Discover the impact that a BDR plan has on your business. Learn how the BDR plan affects your employees and the growth of your enterprise. For ideas and tips on creating your BDR strategy, download our FREE infographic or watch the video HERE.

We can also assess your existing BDR plan and make the necessary adjustments to make it perfectly suitable for your business needs. Call us today for a consultation!

Achieving Compliance as a Team

Achieving Compliance
Cybersecurity, Data Backup, Security, , , , , , ,

Before your company can fully comply with all the requirements set by third parties like regulatory bodies and clients, there are dozens upon dozens of tasks that need to be completed. These tasks are spread across different areas of the company and are impossible for just one individual to accomplish. The process of achieving compliance would require a fast and thorough team of compliance specialists.

Vital Matters to Discuss when achieving compliance

In most cases achieving compliance failures can be attributed to a lack of planning and communication. To avoid these problems, bring your compliance team together right from the start and discuss all the crucial matters.

Email Encryption

Daily, hundreds of emails can go back and forth in your company. You need a reliable encryption system to protect all emails and keep all data away from these hackers.

Data Encryption

Customer data, credit card information, and other data must all pass through a secure collection system to avoid theft or exposure to unauthorized parties. This method is crucial when achieving compliance.

Firewalls

Skilled hackers can easily override some firewalls. If you are still using an older firewall try upgrading to a multi-level system for a much better defense against unwanted intruders.

Backups

Data backups are your lifeline of a system failure or cyberattack and are crucial when achieving compliance. It is crucial to create backups regularly and store them in a safe location in a system that complies with client and government requirements.

Data Availability and Storage when achieving compliance

Sensitive information within your business must only be accessible to authorized individuals. There should be a surefire method of restricting access to sensitive information to minimize data breaches.

Physical Access

Maximizing digital security is critical, but you must not take physical safety measures for granted. Every employee should shut down their computers properly after use. Screen filters might be necessary when achieving compliance for some workstations with sensitive data.

Responsibilities of the Internal Compliance Officer to achieving compliance

In addition to choosing a highly skilled IT compliance team, you also need an internal compliance officer on your payroll when achieving compliance. Their primary duty would be to monitor the staff and ensure that each one abides by compliance procedures—locking their systems when they leave their workstations, practicing caution when using credit card information and private company data, and so on.

Regular cybersecurity training is also part of the responsibilities of the internal compliance officer. Quarterly training is ideal for keeping employees aware of the pervasive dangers online. When new employees join the team, they should receive training on compliance policies as well.

Finally, it is also the internal compliance officer who maintains compliance-related documentation such as communication standards and backup plans.

Delegating Compliance to an MSP

Even businesses that are not in the IT industry will need to comply with several IT regulations when achieving compliance. If you do not have an in-house tech team and if your staff does not have the expertise or experience to handle the task, there’s no need to worry. MSPs, or managed services providers, can take these technical matters off your hands.

If you partner with us, we will assign your company a team of compliance experts who will ensure that you meet all relevant requirements. Whether you need to fulfill requirements for HIPAA, PCI DSS, GDPR, NIST, or any other regulatory authority, we will take care of it to completion. Give us a call, our team will also coordinate closely with your organization to ensure we meet all requirements. You can also check out our Free Cybersecurity Infographic if you’re looking for great advice to keep your business safe in the meantime.

What Is IT Compliance?

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The term IT compliance is frequently heard these days in relation to running an organization and making sure that they keep within the regulations of a third party or a specific client. It is essentially a process that companies go through in order to keep within these predetermined guidelines or boundaries. The main goal of IT compliance is to satisfy the minimum requirements when it comes to security implementation and risk reduction.

IT Compliance versus IT Security

There is a blurry line between IT compliance and IT security, with many people confusing one for the other. While both aim to ensure the security of a company or organization in the digital environment, the level of commitment involved can be very different.

With IT security, the implementing body will go to great lengths to keep the assets of the organization as protected as can be. They will utilize the most cutting edge technology solutions to safeguard against any and all possible online threats known to man. In other words, IT security aims to follow best practices for the protection of the system or network.

IT compliance, on the other hand, simply aims to satisfy the minimum requirements of a third party, like the government or a contracting agent. Such third parties might have their own set of regulations that a company will have to fulfill in order to continue with operations. Such fulfillment of these regulations is what IT compliance is all about.

The Importance of IT Compliance in Cybersecurity

Although it does not necessarily guarantee that your company will be completely safe from online mishaps, IT compliance is a must. For starters, you won’t be able to continue operating if you fail to comply with even one small regulation.

Much more importantly, complying with IT rules and guidelines greatly reduces the risk that you face online. Of course, it is the third party that determines the standards of risk reduction. If you feel that the security procedures that they require are not enough to completely protect you online, you are free to implement even more advanced security measures that meet your needs.

In many cases, though, the simple act of IT compliance will already put you in a much safer place. In your own company, you can create your own compliance program that will effectively manage online risks and avert online attacks that could potentially lead to a dangerous data breach.

How a Managed Services Provider Can Help

Many companies, particularly those that are not directly operating in the IT industry, are not well-versed when it comes to IT compliance and such matters. In this case, the best move would be to partner with a reliable managed services provider that can take care of all the hard work and technical stuff for you.

We will guarantee that you comply with all the IT requirements that apply to your industry, region, or whatnot. We can also design and implement your own IT compliance program to further protect you from online dangers. Furthermore, we will train your employees on the best practices for ensuring IT compliance and protecting your network and data.

If, however, you feel that you have already been hacked, we have provided a free 10-step guide on what you should do to quickly remediate and be on the fastest road to recovery.

Many companies tend to be lax when it comes to IT compliance, only to learn their lesson after becoming victim to a data breach, by which it would be too late. Don’t wait for this to happen to your organization. Give us a call, let us take care of your IT compliance requirements today and give you the best cybersecurity solutions so you can continue running your business in peace without having to worry about online threats.

February Recap: Personal Identifiable Information (PII) In Data Security

Personal Identifiable Information (PII)
Cybersecurity, Security, , , , , ,

This month, we focused on a variety of topics regarding personal identifiable information (PII). PII includes an individual’s name, address, phone number, and medical history. In this digital age, PII is increasingly being stolen from unsuspecting individuals and organizations alike. PII allows cybercriminals to easily access financial accounts, and commit identity theft, and other crimes.

You can never really underestimate these hackers and the havoc they can wreak. Just to give you an idea, take a look at some of our latest blogs about PII.

Breaches

Week 1: Top Data Breaches in 2022

In one of our recent blogs, we enumerate the top 10 data breaches in 2022 so far. These data breaches have resulted in millions of dollars worth of losses and have affected millions of unsuspecting individuals.

Data Breaches to Steal Money

Cryptocurrency websites have been attacked, with about $33 million stolen from Crypto.com in January and $625 million from Ronin Crypto, also within the first quarter of the year. Microsoft and Twitter have also been victims of massive attacks, which they are fortunately able to catch shortly.

Data Breaches to Steal Personal Identifiable Information

Other massive data breaches in the year have involved stolen credit card information sold on the dark web, insurance, and healthcare records stolen from the Australian healthcare and insurance company called Medibank, and data on missing persons stolen from Red Cross.

How Data Breaches Happen

The hacker used someone’s personal information to break into the company’s highly protected network, causing these data breaches.

identifiable Information

Week 2: Understanding Personal Identifiable Information

Personal identifiable information or PII refers to any data or detail that can be used to unequivocally identify an individual. Some of the more popularly used PII are a person’s full name, social security number, and biometrics. We talk more about PII in another of our recent blogs.

Because of the power that these bits of information wield, hackers aim to collect them by whatever means necessary. Once they get their hands on this critical data, they will be able to easily gain access to restricted areas of companies, both online and offline.

Securing Information with a Data Privacy Framework

The importance of personal identifiable information is very clear. With this in mind, it is just as important to keep this data as safe as possible. One of the best ways to ensure this is to use a reliable data privacy framework.

There are many existing ones that you can use but for the highest level of protection, it is best that you have your own framework, designed and built specifically for your company. With such a security solution in place, you can be more at ease knowing that you are better protected against potential intruders.

pii

Week 3: Protecting Your Personal Identifiable Information

In week three, we talk about specific things you can do to protect your personal identifiable information. Because no matter how much you trust your data privacy strategy, you should still take all the steps you can to be ahead of hackers at all times. Our guide lists some effective ways to protect your PII both online and offline. Read the full blog here.

Recovering from Getting Hacked

So, you have been very careful and you have done everything that you are supposed to do to keep your PII safe. But despite all this, it is still possible for some really ingenious hackers to get into your system. In case that happens, here is our Free Breach Infographic that tells you how to quickly recover from whatever damage has been done. Want to learn more about PII and how to keep your data safe? Call us today and let’s have a talk!