Oct 29, 2024 - The Right Fit: Cyberattack Recovery for Smaller Businesses

Most smaller businesses aren’t able to maintain a full-time staff of IT experts. They also usually lack big, comfy budgets with endless funds for cybersecurity. So, it’s no wonder they’re increasingly in the crosshairs of cybercriminals. An attack can devastate a small company. The aftermath brings about not only immediate disruption, but also potential long-term financial, operational, and reputational damage.

That’s why it’s crucial to prepare. An effective recovery strategy that’s tailored to your organization’s unique needs – and size - can help ensure you’re able to bounce back quickly when an attack hits. The Recover function of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework provides a structured, thorough approach to help smaller companies plan for the recovery phase of a cyber incident.

Let’s look at some specific recovery strategies smaller organizations can implement, along with tools and resources tailored to companies with more limited budgets and personnel.

Reminder: The NIST Cybersecurity Framework’s Recover Function

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework is a voluntary set of guidelines that helps you manage and reduce your cybersecurity risks. One of its five core functions—Recover—is designed to guide you through a plan to restore your systems, data, and operations after a cyber incident. The focus is on resilience, ensuring businesses can return to normal as quickly as possible.

Aligning your recovery strategy with the NIST Recover function can streamline your response to an attack, and help minimize its impact on your daily operations, and your long-term success.

Key Recovery Strategies for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses

Recovering from a cyberattack is about more than simply restoring your systems. An effective recovery strategy should address your entire business ecosystem— people, processes, and technology—to ensure you can resume operations securely and efficiently.

1. Data Backup and Restoration

A reliable data backup strategy is one of the most critical components of any recovery plan. For smaller companies, the ability to quickly recover lost or compromised data can mean the difference between staying in business or facing irreversible damage. Here are a few vital elements of your backup strategy.

• Regular Backups: Implement a regular schedule for data backups and ensure that critical data is stored either offsite or in the cloud. Cloud-based solutions, such as Microsoft Azure, give you cost-effective ways to automate backups and access data quickly after an incident.
• Redundant Systems: Integrate redundancy into your IT infrastructure, such as backup servers or data mirroring, to ensure critical operations can continue during a cyber event.
• Testing Backups: Regularly test your backups to confirm that you can restore data quickly and accurately in the event of a disaster. (Plenty of companies make the mistake of backing up data and then failing to test the restore process.)

2. Incident Response Planning

As we discussed in our recent posts and webinar about the Response function of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, a clear, well-documented incident response plan is essential for ensuring your employees know what to do when an attack occurs. A structured response reduces panic and ensures that you can take immediate steps to mitigate damage and start your recovery. Your response plan should cover:

• Roles and Responsibilities: Define roles for key team members in the event of an incident. This could include assigning responsibilities to technical, communications, and management teams.
• Communication Protocols: Ensure that both internal and external communication plans are part of your recovery strategy. Timely communication with stakeholders, customers, and regulators can help contain reputational damage.
• Incident Response Drills: Conduct regular incident response drills that simulate cyberattacks and test your team’s readiness. This ensures that everyone knows their role in the recovery process well and can execute their responsibilities quickly and thoroughly.

3. Business Continuity Planning

Business Continuity Planning goes hand-in-hand with an incident response but focuses on ensuring that your business-critical operations can function during and after a cyberattack. Things to consider in your planning include:

• Critical Operations Identification: Determine which operations and services you to prioritize during recovery. This might include customer-facing services, financial systems, or supply chain operations.
• Alternative Workflows: Develop different ways of working that can help ensure business continuity during system downtime. This could involve manual processes or utilizing third-party services until your systems are fully restored.
• Remote Work Considerations: If your office systems are affected by a cyberattack, it’s important to ensure any employees who work from home can do so securely. Be sure to communicate with them in advance about any specific measures they should take and any changes they should make to their regular processes.

Tools and Resources for a Quick Recovery

Given their limited resources, smaller businesses need affordable, scalable tools to support their recovery efforts. Fortunately, there are a variety of tools and resources available that are well-suited to small and mid-sized companies. Here are a few of the most commonly used.

1. Cloud-Based Solutions

Cloud services can be a game-changer for smaller companies, as they provide scalable and affordable solutions for data storage, backup, and even cybersecurity. Cloud providers offer tools that integrate security, data recovery, and backup services into one package. Here are two key cloud-based resources to consider:

• Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS): These services help businesses replicate and store critical data and systems in the cloud, allowing for swift, cost-effective recovery after an attack.
• Security Features in the Cloud: Many cloud providers offer built-in security features, including automated threat detection, monitoring, and patch management. These features benefit smaller companies without the need for extensive IT teams.

2. Open-Source Cybersecurity Tools

Open-source cybersecurity tools can help you build a resilient infrastructure without the hefty price tag of an enterprise solution. Popular open-source tools include:

• Incident Detection and Response: Open-source network intrusion detection systems allow you to monitor your networks and spot suspicious activity, which can support a faster recovery from attacks.
• Backup Solutions: Open-source backup tools offer cost-effective alternatives for creating backup systems, making it easier to recover data after an incident.

3. Cybersecurity Insurance

As we discussed in a previous post, more smaller companies are turning to cyber insurance to protect against the financial fallout from cyberattacks. A comprehensive cyber insurance policy can help cover recovery costs, including:

• Data restoration
• Legal fees and regulatory fines
• Public relations services to manage reputational damage

Best Practices for Implementing Your Recovery Strategies

Successfully implementing your recovery strategy starts with creating a culture of cybersecurity awareness and ensuring that your recovery processes are continually updated as the threat landscape evolves. Here are some best practices for maximizing the effectiveness of recovery efforts:

1. Employee Training and Awareness

Cybersecurity isn’t just the responsibility of the IT department. Regular cybersecurity awareness training ensures your employees understand the risks, know how to avoid phishing and other attacks, and are familiar with the recovery process in the event of an incident. Conduct regular attack simulations, and train employees on how to recognize and report incidents quickly.

2. Regularly Update and Test Recovery Plans

Cyber threats are constantly evolving, and so should your recovery plans. Review and update your recovery strategies regularly to reflect changes in the threat landscape, your IT infrastructure, and your business operations.

3. Engage Third-Party Services

If you don’t have dedicated IT staff, third-party service providers can be invaluable. Managed service providers (MSPs) can offer affordable, outsourced security management, including incident detection and recovery services. Additionally, third-party disaster recovery firms can help with rapid data restoration and system rebuilding after an attack.

Smaller businesses are increasingly appealing to cybercriminals. But with the right recovery strategies in place, you can minimize the damage of an attack and get back to business quickly. And remember, recovery isn’t a one-time thing – it’s an ongoing process that requires continuous review and improvement to keep up with evolving threats and protect your business’s future.

Join us for the next session of our Cybersecurity Webinar Series: 

You're invited to join us on November 21st at 1PM EST for "Establishing Accountability and Compliance for Long-Term Cybersecurity Success".