Financial institutions such as banks continually increase their online services to serve their customers better. With a disaster recovery plan in place, the banks and financial institutions can rest assured that they have a systematic strategy to resume normal operations after a natural disaster or cyberattack.

Air gap.svg

Financial institutions such as banks continually increase their online services to serve their customers better. Customers can accomplish anything from checking their account balance to making a significant banking transaction with just a few taps on their computer or smartphone.

Nevertheless, this technological progression is accompanied by a significantly increased number of cyberattacks on financial institutions. According to Security Magazine, an astounding 1,318% annual growth in ransomware attacks during the first half of 2021.

As a result, financial institutions should implement a disaster recovery plan to lessen the likelihood of experiencing monetary loss, downtime, and the loss of crucial data in the aftermath of a cyberattack.

With a disaster recovery plan in place, the banks and financial institutions can rest assured that they have a systematic strategy to resume normal operations after a natural disaster or cyberattack.

In addition, the capacity of an organization to create backups of its IT environment and recover lost data is one of the most important components of an effective disaster recovery plan.

What is a Disaster Recovery Plan and How does it benefit Financial Institutions?

A backup and disaster recovery plan is a set of preventative measures that allow organizations to restore their systems following a cyberattack or a hardware failure. Data backup and recovery plans should have a systematic strategy to help IT administrators restore data access after a disaster.

The primary objective of any bank's backup and disaster recovery plan should be the speedy restoration of mission-critical services and operations. To ensure a successful recovery, the plan may outline recommended procedures and guidelines for financial institutions to adhere to. Also, having a strong and complete third-party backup solution like Slik Protect helps keep an institution's data safe and easy to get back at any time.

A financial institution could lose access to its network and operation management system, either temporarily or permanently, depending on the severity of the disruptive incident. This causes delays, lost revenue, and a dent in the corporate image. Maintaining trust, integrity, and regulatory compliance depends on having a disaster recovery plan in place.

Compliance

Problems with compliance may arise when there is downtime. The loss of data or an interruption in service could result in legal complications. Therefore, it is important to take the time and make an effort to establish a solid backup and disaster recovery plan to reduce the likelihood of a disruptive event.

Reputation

The loss of existing and potential clients due to downtime can have a lasting impact on a company's reputation, similar to Michigan’s Flagster bank cyberattack which exposed the social security numbers of customers online.

Maintaining Business Operations

Maintaining operations and avoiding interruptions is easier with a disaster recovery solution that is both well-planned and well-executed. An organization that has planned for backup and recovery in the event of a disaster will be able to return to work quickly and with minimal disruption.