A cyberattack can immediately cause disruptions that affect everything from customer data to finances to daily operations. The scope of the potential damage means that swift and effective recovery is particularly critical for small—to medium-sized businesses with little margin for error. The NIST Cybersecurity Framework’s Recover function provides a structured approach to quickly returning to normal operations after an incident.
(Source: SANS Incident Handlers Handbook)
Let’s look at the most important steps and priorities to help your organization get back on track and turn your focus back to your customers - as soon as possible.
When an attack occurs, speed is everything. The longer your systems are down or compromised, the more damage your business will suffer. Here are the most important steps to take first:
Before jumping into your recovery efforts, conduct a thorough – and rapid - assessment of the damage. Your assessment should cover:
Understanding the scope of the incident will guide your next steps and help you prioritize throughout the recovery process.
Every business – and again, especially smaller companies - should have an incident response and recovery plan firmly in place. If you don't already have one, now’s the time to develop it. Once you’ve assessed the damage, it’s time to activate your recovery plan, which should include:
The faster you activate your plan, the quicker your recovery will be.
While recovery efforts are underway, it’s vital to contain the threat to prevent further damage. Depending on the nature of the attack, containment may involve:
Once the threat is contained, your full-scale recovery efforts can start.
Not all systems are created equal – some are more important to business operations than others. So, it’s important to identify the most critical systems and focus on their recovery first. These might include:
Focusing on restoring these key systems will enable you to resume the most essential operations as quickly as possible, even if that means non-critical systems remain offline for longer.
Restoring backup data is one of the fastest ways to recover from a cyber incident. Ensure that:
If your backups are unavailable or compromised, data recovery will take longer, and you may even need to call in specialized expertise.
Once your most critical operations are restored, it’s time to focus on recovering fully and minimizing future risks. The following steps are crucial to ensure a thorough recovery and prevent long-term damage:
After the immediate recovery, gather the team to conduct a detailed post-incident review. Your review should:
The goal of this review is to understand what worked and what didn’t, so you can see what changes and improvements you need to make to ensure the effectiveness of future recovery efforts.
Based on the post-incident review, update your security policies and procedures to address any vulnerabilities or weaknesses. This might involve:
Regularly updating your policies and procedures ensures you’re better prepared for the next incident.
Ongoing improvement is essential to keeping your organization well-protected against evolving threats while enabling you to improve your response to attacks consistently. This means:
Continuous improvement helps to build resilience and reduce the impact of future incidents.
In addition to the steps above, here are some practical tips for ensuring a fast recovery after a cybersecurity incident:
Cyber insurance can be a valuable tool, providing financial support for recovery efforts. Insurance can cover costs such as:
A cyber insurance policy ensures you have the resources you need for a fast and comprehensive recovery.
Effective communication during a cybersecurity incident is critical. Develop a communication plan that includes:
How your business handles communication during an incident can have a long-lasting impact on your relationships and reputation.
Don’t wait until an incident occurs to seek expert advice. Establish relationships with cybersecurity professionals and vendors ahead of time. This ensures you can get the support you need quickly during an incident, whether that involves forensic analysis, legal consultation, or technical recovery.
Recovering from a cybersecurity incident is a complex process, but by following the structured approach outlined in the NIST Cybersecurity Framework's "Recover" function, you can quickly return to normal operations. Key steps like activating a recovery plan, restoring critical systems, and learning from the incident are essential for minimizing downtime and long-term damage.
You're invited to join us on October 24th at 1PM EST for "Recover: Building Resilience -
NIST Framework Recovery Strategies for Sustainable Growth".