Loopholes in your disaster recovery plan can have serious consequences after a breach takes place. While no organization wants to fall victim to a data breach, the numbers are not on everyone’s side. Small businesses are especially susceptible to cyber security attacks. Last year, 61% of breaches occurred within the infrastructure of small companies. While an organization can proactively manage their technology to ensure they’re always protected, a disaster recovery plan is an essential part of any IT strategy. Truth be told, even the best DR plans can have weaknesses. Below are four of the most common problems seen in DR plans and how they can be addressed. Communication is the Backbone to Any Successful DR Plan When disaster strikes an organization, everyone from the top down needs to be involved. It’s understood that those in corner offices may be too busy to get involved with cyber security and they feel it’s best left to IT leadership. When this occurs, a DR plan can easily fall apart. Leadership needs to get involved and stress the importance of the recovery plan and make execution a high priority. Recovery Strategies Need to Be Well Defined After falling victim to a breach, an organization needs to have a solid strategy to get back on its feet again. This includes notifying federal, state and local authorities if a breach occurs. Data should be backed up, preferably offsite to help restore operations to pre-breach status. Natural disasters can cause just as much, if not more harm to your IT infrastructure than a breach. Your IT Department Needs to Have Defined Roles  Authority should be assigned to specific team members to ensure provisions of your DR plan are executed correctly. Individuals, teams or entire departments should be assigned roles and tasked with overseeing certain elements of your response. Learn from Your Mistakes Once a problem is resolved, your work isn’t done. When your DR plan is executed there should be a post-mortem period to help teach your team what went wrong and how it can be prevented in the future. Your DR plan should be battle-tested through simulations to ensure that it goes off without a hitch. Remain in Control of Your IT with ThrottleNet ThrottleNet helps small businesses prevent the loss of data by taking a proactive approach to managing IT. By constantly monitoring and protecting your network, we can uncover potential issues before they turn into an irreversible disaster. Our Virtual CIOs help your business plan for the unexpected, and develop a roadmap for future IT success, allowing your internal team to focus on improving other areas of your business. We also provide secure backup solutions to ensure your critical data is always available when and where you need it. Contact us today for your free network consultation!