With hurricane season upon us, it is crucial that you have all your files backed up, your team prepared and your systems secured. While the news highlights recent cyberattacks that result in power outages, you may not have thought of the vulnerabilities to your company’s data due to natural disasters such as hurricanes, fires and floods.
Most companies have large databases with their clients’ and employees’ sensitive information (financial data, credit card numbers, social security numbers, health records, etc.). You want to make sure that data is in a secure location, preferably off site.
What are some precautions you should take to prepare for a natural disaster?
- First, make sure you have detailed IT policies and procedures in place in the event of a power outage or disaster. Not only do you have to think about your equipment and data, but also about your employees. Once power and your network is back, who will run the operations and from where?
- Does your company use virtual desktops, content archiving or file sharing? As long as these are secure networks, you can manage them from a home office in the event you can’t access your physical office. If you have a managed service provider (MSP), ask them about setup so you can get back online as soon as possible following a disastrous event.
- Lastly and MOST importantly, have a remote backup. Unfortunately, some disasters have the power to physically destroy an entire building and everything inside. The ONLY way to completely protect your data and guarantee you can restore it after a major disaster is by maintaining an up-to-date copy of data offsite in a high-security facility. Remote backups (also called offsite backups, online backups, or managed backups) are a service that allows you to maintain a secure copy of your data in a different location than your office.
Learn the seven things to look for when choosing a remote backup (on this infographic).
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Want to be sure you have all necessary policies and procedures in place? Valeo Networks offers a FREE Network Assessment (a $250 Value) to all companies, which includes a Data Security Analysis. Contact Valeo Networks at 800-584-6844 or via sales@saalexIT.com anytime.