Disaster recovery planning is quickly becoming a standard across businesses in many different industries. A disaster recovery plan (DRP) is a comprehensive set of actions that a business intends to take in the event of a disaster, as a way to protect its ability to continue operations.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone systems are cheaper and more efficient than regular phones and businesses are jumping on board. However, transitioning without a plan can cause a range of issues that many business owners never expected. Here are a few you should keep in mind.

Monroe College is just the latest in a series of academic institutions impacted by a ransomware attack. These attacks significantly curtail their operations while costing precious funds that are earmarked for academics. Therefore, it’s imperative to understand potential vulnerabilities before such an attack occurs. Given the high expense of recovery, the slew of negative press, and the opportunity cost associated with a ransomware attack, the relatively affordable cost of examining network vulnerabilities and compromised credentials is a bargain.

In the wake of this attack, Arlington County is taking several steps to protect their infrastructure in the future, including updating their network’s ability to identify a phishing email before it reaches an employee’s inbox and providing training to employees to identity and delete phishing emails before they compromise the network’s integrity. These measures can significantly reduce the risk of a phishing scam, and every organization should implement these protocols as a precaution against not a response to a phishing scam.

Ransomware attacks on government agencies and institutions are on the rise, making a response plan a must-have element of any cybersecurity initiative. La Porte officials demonstrated many benefits of these plans, including rapid response capabilities, clear communication channels, and proper insurance to reduce the expense of an attack. Of course, surveying your organization’s IT infrastructure should be a top priority as well, since it can prevent an attack before it occurs.