6. Do Not Engage the Threat Actor

Attempting to decrypt ransomed data or negotiate with the threat actor on your own could result in costly mistakes and a greater ransom. Instead, contact response and recovery experts like Agility Recovery. Skilled negotiations can reduce your ransom payment by as much as 64%. Even better, up to 70% of businesses who utilize professional negotiation services report a zero-payout resolution to their incident.

7. Document What Your Can with Screenshots, Photos, Etc.

Things to document include ransom notes/file extensions, reviewed logs, and software conveying the state of the environment.

8. Preserve Evidence

• Do not turn off devices
• Do not attempt to wipe, re-image, or restore from backup without consultation
• Failure to preserve evidence will prevent the ability to conduct a complete investigation

9. Change Your Passwords

This includes:

• Administrator accounts and all cloud accounts
• VPN/Remote connectivity software
• Firewall
• Email

10. Identify Where Sensitive Information is Stored

Know the host name of this device, review your backups for this information. Consult with your legal team before you inform employees, clients, etc., of the attack.

Tornado season in the U.S. typically runs from March through June, but destructive twisters can strike at any time of year — and they often arrive with little warning. For businesses, a single tornado can disrupt operations, damage critical infrastructure, and result in thousands (if not millions) of dollars in losses. Without a proactive plan, recovery becomes a race against time.

The Cost of Tornadoes to Businesses

Tornadoes are among the most violent and unpredictable weather events. In 2023 alone, the U.S. experienced over 1,150 confirmed tornadoes. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA):

• The average commercial tornado claim is $45,000–$100,000, depending on the industry and size of the business.
• Tornado-related damage in the U.S. caused over $1.6 billion in insured losses in 2022.
• Business downtime can range from days to weeks, with small and medium-sized businesses being the most vulnerable to permanent closure after a major disaster.

If you operate in Tornado Alley — or even on the fringe of high-risk zones — preparing ahead of time is essential.

5 Ways Businesses Should Prepare for Tornado Season

1. Assess Facility Vulnerability

Start with a walkthrough of your physical locations. Identify areas where your facility is most at risk — such as large glass windows, roof structures, or equipment stored outdoors. Consider retrofitting or reinforcing key areas, especially in tornado-prone zones.

2. Update Your Business Continuity Plan (BCP)

Your BCP should include specific steps for tornado response:

• Shelter-in-place protocols
• Emergency communication plans
• Remote work contingencies
• Vendor and supplier backups

Ensure all team members know their roles during a severe weather emergency.

3. Back Up Critical Systems

Tornadoes often result in power outages and damage to on-site IT infrastructure. Secure off-site or cloud-based data backup to preserve records, customer information, and operational systems. Agility Recovery offers secure data backup and recovery services to make sure you can bounce back quickly even if your servers go offline.

4. Establish Emergency Power Solutions

Power loss is a common side effect of tornadoes, and restoring power to your facility can take days. With Agility’s backup power solutions , including generator delivery and fuel replenishment, you can avoid costly downtime.

5. Conduct Tornado Tabletop Exercises

Running a tabletop test with your team helps you simulate a real-world tornado event — uncovering gaps in your plan before a storm ever hits. It also ensures that your leadership team, IT staff, and facility managers know how to act quickly and cohesively under pressure.

The Cost of Downtime

Unplanned downtime from tornado damage can devastate a business. According to FEMA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce:

• 25% of businesses never reopen after a major disaster
• The average cost of IT downtime is approximately $5,600 per minute for mid-size businesses
• Even short-term closures can result in lost customer trust, missed SLAs, and long-term revenue impacts

How Agility Recovery Helps

Agility Recovery offers turnkey business continuity solutions that reduce your vulnerability to tornado-related disruptions. Our services include:

• Backup Power & Fuel Delivery – Keep critical systems running during outages
• Mobile Office & Workspace Recovery – Set up temporary operations fast if your facility is damaged
• Data Backup & IT Recovery – Minimize data loss and restore business systems quickly
• Satellite Connectivity – Maintain communication even if local infrastructure goes down
• Business Continuity Testing & Tabletop Exercises – Prepare your team with expert-led training

Next Steps for Tornado Season Readiness

1. Schedule a Business Continuity Assessment with Agility to evaluate your tornado readiness.
2. Run a Tabletop Exercise focused on a severe weather event.
3. Ensure You Have a Generator Solution in place for emergency power.
4. Review Your Data Backup Protocols with Agility’s cyber resilience experts.

Be Ready Before the Sirens Sound

You can’t prevent a tornado — but you can prevent it from shutting down your business. With the right plan, partners, and technology in place, you can weather the storm and keep your organization running.

Banks and credit unions manage highly sensitive financial information, making them prime targets for cyberattacks. As the frequency and sophistication of cyber threats continue to rise, financial institutions must prioritize robust cybersecurity measures. These five key cybersecurity essentials are crucial for protecting your institution’s operations and maintaining customer trust.

1. Ransomware Impact Analysis (RIA)

Ransomware attacks are among the most devastating cyber threats for financial institutions. Attackers can lock access to critical systems and demand payment to restore it, causing operational paralysis. A ransomware impact analysis (RIA) helps assess your institution's exposure to ransomware threats and prepares a proactive strategy to reduce the risk of being targeted. Solution: Regular ransomware risk assessments are essential to understanding your vulnerabilities. Agility Recovery's cyber solutions offer the tools to identify potential weaknesses and create a customized response plan, helping your institution prepare for and recover from a ransomware attack.

2. Penetration Testing

Penetration testing simulates real-world cyberattacks on your systems, uncovering vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them. This proactive measure ensures that security gaps are identified and addressed early. For banks and credit unions handling sensitive customer data, regular penetration testing is crucial to stay ahead of potential threats and improve your overall security posture. Solution: Schedule penetration tests at regular intervals to strengthen your defenses. Agility’s business continuity testing and planning helps financial institutions uncover security gaps and implement necessary improvements, ensuring your systems are resilient against cyber threats.

3. Data Backup & Recovery

Data is the backbone of any financial institution. Losing access to customer or transactional data could cause irreversible damage to your business. A robust data backup and recovery strategy ensures that, in the event of a cyberattack or system failure, data can be quickly restored, minimizing operational disruption. Solution: Regular data backups and a well-prepared recovery plan are crucial to minimizing downtime. Agility’s data backup and recovery solution provides secure offsite data storage and rapid recovery services, allowing financial institutions to quickly restore critical systems and maintain continuity in the event of an attack.

4. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) is one of the most effective ways to enhance cybersecurity. MFA requires users to verify their identity through multiple forms of authentication, such as passwords, fingerprints, or mobile codes. This additional layer of security significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access, safeguarding sensitive financial data from cybercriminals. Solution: Equip your institution with the necessary hardware and infrastructure to support MFA across all critical systems. Agility’s technology equipment solutions provide the tools you need to implement secure access controls, helping to prevent unauthorized users from accessing sensitive information.

5. Tech Recovery (Quickship Solution)

In the event of a cyberattack or hardware failure, critical equipment may be compromised, leading to prolonged downtime. Financial institutions cannot afford extended disruptions, as they can severely impact operations and customer service. Agility’s Quickship solution ensures that pre-configured, imaged laptops and other essential technology can be delivered quickly, helping your business get back online without delay. Solution: Agility’s technology equipment solutions provide immediate access to the hardware needed to restore operations. With the ability to deliver critical equipment within hours, Agility helps financial institutions avoid expensive delays and resume normal business activities swiftly.

Additional Tips for Cybersecurity Resilience

In addition to the top five cybersecurity essentials, financial institutions can further enhance their security posture by investing in employee training and cybersecurity awareness programs. Educating staff on common cyber threats, such as phishing and social engineering, can prevent inadvertent security breaches. Well-trained employees are often the first line of defense against cyberattacks. Regular audits of third-party vendors and their cybersecurity practices are also critical. Since financial institutions often rely on external service providers for various operations, ensuring that these vendors adhere to strong security standards is essential for maintaining the integrity of your data and systems.

Take Action

By focusing on these cybersecurity essentials, banks and credit unions can strengthen their defenses against evolving cyber threats while maintaining customer trust. Implementing these proactive measures will reduce the risk of costly breaches and help your institution stay resilient in the face of cyberattacks. Contact Agility Recovery today to learn more about how our services can help protect your financial institution and support your overall cybersecurity strategy.

September is National Preparedness Month—a time to reflect on the importance of being ready for any unexpected events that could disrupt your business.

At Agility Recovery, we believe that resilience is built through proactive planning, continuous improvement, and a commitment to safeguarding your organization. To help you take meaningful action this month, we’ve compiled a list of 10 actionable steps your business can take to enhance its resilience. Let’s dive in!

1. Review and Update Your Business Continuity Plan (BCP)

Your business continuity plan is the cornerstone of your preparedness strategy. Regularly reviewing and updating it ensures that it reflects your current operations, personnel, and technology.

2. Test Your Data Recovery Plan

Disaster recovery testing is essential to validate that your data and IT systems can be restored efficiently. Schedule a full-scale disaster recovery exercise to ensure your team is prepared to respond quickly. Discover our data backup and recovery solutions here.

3. Conduct a Ransomware Impact Analysis

Ransomware is a growing threat, and understanding its potential impact on your business is crucial. Assess how a ransomware attack could affect your operations, data, and finances, and develop strategies to mitigate these risks.

4. Secure Backup Power Solutions

Power outages are among the most common disruptions businesses face. Ensure you have reliable backup power solutions, such as generators, to keep your operations running. Find out more about backup power options here.

5. Train Your Team on Emergency Response Procedures

A well-trained team is your first line of defense in an emergency. Conduct regular training sessions to ensure everyone knows their roles and responsibilities during a crisis.

6. Assess Supply Chain Vulnerabilities

Supply chain disruptions can have a significant impact on your operations. Evaluate your supply chain partners for vulnerabilities and develop contingency plans to mitigate these risks. Learn more about supply chain resilience strategies here.

7. Implement a Crisis Communication Plan

Clear communication is vital during any disruption. Establish a crisis communication plan that outlines how you’ll communicate with employees, customers, and stakeholders. Learn more about crisis communications here.

8. Review Your Insurance Coverage

Make sure your insurance policies adequately cover the types of risks your business faces. This includes property damage, business interruption, and cyber incidents.

9. Enhance Cybersecurity Measures

Cyber threats are on the rise, and a robust cybersecurity strategy is essential. Regularly update your security protocols, conduct vulnerability assessments, and train employees on cyber hygiene. Learn about strengthening your cybersecurity here.

10. Engage in Community Preparedness Initiatives

Building resilience isn’t just about your business—it’s also about your community. Participate in local preparedness initiatives, share resources, and collaborate with other businesses to strengthen collective resilience.

Get Started

Taking these steps during National Preparedness Month will position your business to weather disruptions and recover swiftly. At Agility Recovery, we’re here to support you every step of the way with comprehensive solutions tailored to your needs. Ready to take action? Talk to an Agility Recovery expert today . Stay resilient, stay prepared!

2024 has seen a significant uptick in ransomware attacks, affecting organizations across various industries. These cyber incidents have caused substantial financial losses, operational disruptions, and reputational damage.

Here’s a look at some of the major ransomware attacks this year and how cyber resilience solutions can help businesses both mitigate these risks and recover swiftly.

Notable Ransomware Attacks in 2024

1. Ascension Health System

In May 2024, Ascension, a major health system, experienced a ransomware attack that disrupted clinical operations across 140 hospitals. The attack resulted in compromised patient data and significant operational downtime.

2. Change Healthcare

A February attack on Change Healthcare, a leading healthcare platform, exposed sensitive patient data. This breach highlighted vulnerabilities in healthcare IT systems and the critical need for multi-factor authentication (MFA).

3. UnitedHealth Group

In early 2024, UnitedHealth Group faced a ransomware attack that disrupted its pharmacy services. The attack, attributed to the BlackCat ransomware group, caused widespread service interruptions and exposed critical data.

4. Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric, a global leader in energy management, was targeted by the Cactus ransomware group. The attack disrupted operations and exposed sensitive corporate information.

Solutions to Boost Your Resilience Against Ransomware Attacks

Agility Recovery offers comprehensive cyber solutions designed to enhance your business's resilience against ransomware attacks. Here’s how our solutions can help mitigate risk and ensure quick recovery:

1. Penetration Testing (PEN Testing)

Regular penetration testing is essential to identify and address vulnerabilities in your systems before cybercriminals can exploit them. By simulating real-world cyberattacks, our PEN testing services help you stay ahead of evolving threats and strengthen your defenses.

2. Ransomware Impact Analysis (RIA)

A ransomware impact analysis evaluates your business’s susceptibility to ransomware attacks and helps you develop effective mitigation strategies. This proactive approach ensures that you can identify weaknesses, prepare response plans, and minimize the impact of potential attacks.

3. Data Backup and Recovery

Ensuring your data is regularly backed up and easily recoverable is vital for business continuity. Our data backup and recovery solutions enable you to restore critical information quickly, minimizing downtime and financial losses in the event of an attack.

4. Cybersecurity Tabletop Exercises

Conducting tabletop exercises allows your team to practice responding to simulated cyber incidents in a risk-free environment. These exercises improve coordination, communication, and preparedness, ensuring your team can respond effectively to real-world threats.

5. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Implementation

Implementing MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring multiple forms of verification before granting access to sensitive information. This significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access and enhances your overall cybersecurity posture.

Take Action

The major ransomware attacks of 2024 underscore the urgent need for robust cybersecurity measures. Agility Recovery’s comprehensive cyber solutions can help you mitigate the risk of ransomware attacks and ensure your business can recover quickly. Don’t wait for an attack to take action – talk to an Agility cyber resilience expert about how to proactively protect your business today.

“Data is the new currency” is one of the new slogans of the digital transformation. Modern consumers recognize the value of their data, and 67 percent are willing to share more data with banks in exchange for new benefits. Surprisingly, banks don’t always afford sensitive data the same protections they do for physical currency. While PwC’s 2017 Risk in Review report reveals that the financial services industry has strong cyber risk maturity overall, there are a few common mistakes that could be leaving your institution vulnerable. To give you an idea of the gravity of these errors, think of your cybersecurity practices in terms of cash management and physical security.

Easily Hackable Encryption Methods

• – Blowfish
• – 3DES
• – SHA1
• – MD5

Transmitting Unencrypted Data Is Like Sending Unsecured Bulk Cash Shipments

Would you ever transfer a bulk cash shipment to a major customer without using their armored carrier service? Not a chance. You know that that decision would not only be a liability for your institution, but it would also put your customer’s assets at risk and breach their trust. Unfortunately, banks don’t always provide the necessary protection for sensitive data that customers expect. Data must be securely encrypted in transit and at rest, but 30 percent of FIs say they struggle to protect personally identifiable customer information. Many banks use easily hackable encryption methods such as Blowfish, 3DES, SHA1, and MD5. Instead, use an advanced encryption algorithm such as AES .

Giving Unvetted Vendors Access to Data Is Like Handing Cash Over to an Unverified Armored Carrier

Going back to the bulk cash shipment scenario, imagine handing over currency to an armored carrier guard without first verifying their identity. This is an egregious security violation, wouldn’t you agree? Yet when it comes to sensitive data, many banks fail to vet third-party vendors they allow to access the sensitive data in their care. In fact, 41 percent of financial services respondents ranked assessment of security protocols and standards of third-party vendors as the top challenge to information security efforts. The FFIEC’s guidelines for outsourcing technology services recommend a “comprehensive outsourcing risk management process to govern technology service provider (TSP) relationships.” Make sure you work with vendors whose operations are regularly examined by a third party. This ensures the vendor’s risk management and information protection practices adequately address data confidentiality and regulatory compliance.

Disregarding Network Alerts Is Like Ignoring Your Vault Alarm

Would you be appalled if your vault alarm went off and your staff members ignored it? In a way, that’s what is happening with cybersecurity alerts. Institutions are only able to investigate 56 percent of security alerts they receive on a given day. Of those, only 46 percent of legitimate alerts are remediated. Granted, security operations managers see more than 5,000 security alerts per day — exponentially more than you’ll ever receive from your burglar alarm. However, the lack of resources for monitoring alerts is concerning. With there being a security talent shortage, outsourcing can help your institution meet its overall strategic plan and corporate objectives. The FFIEC has specific guidelines for using a managed security service provider (MSSP). You might also consider using a fully managed cloud vaulting solution to move critical data off-site to protect yourself against ransomware.

Assuming Employees Know Cybersecurity Best Practices Is Like Expecting Them to Know Your Physical Security Policies Without Training

When hiring a new employee, what if you assumed they knew the proper cash handling guidelines, how to handle a holdup situation, or how to respond to an active shooter event? That’s a disaster waiting to happen. Chances are, you invest countless hours on training employees in these areas. Even if someone has experience in the financial services industry, it’s imperative to make sure they understand your institution’s specific policies and procedures. Unfortunately, training is one of the biggest cybersecurity challenges in banking. In fact, less than half of financial services organizations polled even have a formal information security policy. To reduce the risk of cybersecurity threats, it’s critical to create a security culture. The FFIEC recommends annual security training to reinforce guidelines for endpoint security, login requirements, and password administration. The training should include the following three increasingly common scenarios:

• – Phishing and social engineering
• – Data theft through email or removable media
• – Unintentional posting of confidential or proprietary information on social media

Improving your cybersecurity practices is not only the right thing to do, but the FFIEC, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and other regulatory agencies and regulations require it. If you’re unsure where to start, the FFIEC Cybersecurity Assessment Tool is a helpful resource for assessing your bank’s cybersecurity maturity.

Cybercrime has rapidly become one of the costliest disruptions an organization can face. Recent events in Las Vegas have sent shockwaves through the business world, highlighting the grave risks that data breaches pose to companies and their valued customers.

Hackers have grown increasingly brazen, aiming at high-profile companies like MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment in Las Vegas. These events present a clear need to examine the alarming rise of business-related cybercrime and discuss how companies can safeguard themselves against prolonged downtime while adding an extra layer of protection through services like Agility’s data recovery solution .

MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment: Victims Despite Preparedness

Cyber technology experts have commended MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment for their proactive approach to safeguarding their operations against the ever-present threat of a security breach. These giants of the Las Vegas Strip, boasting a combined total of 16 resorts, made substantial investments in technology and diligently adhered to regulatory frameworks. They implemented a plethora of cyber protections , protocols, and security measures, leaving no stone unturned in their quest for cybersecurity. Yet, even with these precautions in place, they found themselves victimized by relentless cybercriminals.

The High Cost of Inadequate Data Protection

One of the most distressing aspects of these data breaches is their devastating impact on the affected businesses and their customers. MGM and Caesars now face class-action lawsuits for alleged failure to protect their customers' data adequately. Rebuilding trust with existing and future customers is an onerous task that both companies must now navigate. Jefferies Gaming analyst David Katz recently estimated that MGM Resorts International was hemorrhaging 10-20% of its daily revenue due to the breach. The actual number reported by MGM once the breach was resolved totaled roughly $100 million . This staggering financial loss demonstrates a data breach's immediate and tangible consequences on a business's bottom line. Such losses can lead to a host of long-term issues, from decreased stock value to compromised customer loyalty.

Paying the Price: Ransoms and Stolen Data

Days before MGM's computer systems fell victim to a cyberattack; Caesars Entertainment reluctantly paid a staggering $15 million ransom to a cybercrime group that successfully infiltrated and disrupted its systems. This cybercriminal organization initially demanded a $30 million ransom, revealing their audacity and expertise in extortion. Caesars ultimately agreed to pay roughly half of the demanded sum, highlighting the desperate measures that companies may resort to when facing the aftermath of a data breach. Adding to the horrors of these breaches, hackers managed to steal Social Security numbers and driver's license numbers from a "significant number" of loyalty program customers of Caesars Entertainment. This chilling revelation underscores the deeply personal and far-reaching consequences of data breaches on individuals.

The Soaring Threat of Business-Related Cybercrime

The disclosure of these breaches coincided with a concerning global trend. According to a report from the World Economic Forum, cyberattacks spiked by a jaw-dropping 156% in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the first three months of the year. Notably, the attack on Caesars occurred weeks before the assault on MGM Resorts, which has since wreaked havoc on MGM's operations. The fallout has forced guests to endure long check-in wait times and crippled electronic payments, digital key cards, slot machines, ATMs, and paid parking systems. The company's website and mobile app had been rendered inaccessible for nearly four days.

Protecting Your Business and Customers: A Vital Imperative

As evidenced in these cases, the preferred tactic for ransom-seeking cybercriminals involves using social engineering to infiltrate a company's IT systems. They excel at manipulating individuals within organizations, gaining unauthorized access with alarming ease. For instance, the hackers in this case reportedly boasted that it took a mere 10 minutes to breach MGM's system after identifying an MGM tech employee on LinkedIn and contacting the company's support desk. Then, the hackers managed to infiltrate Caesars' system by deceiving an employee at a third-party vendor. Compared to Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International has chosen not to pay the ransom demands. This decision aligns with the FBI’s counsel against paying ransoms, as doing so offers no guarantee of retrieving stolen data and can incentivize cybercriminals to target more victims.

Investing in Protection: The Way Forward

The global average cost of a data breach in 2023 was a staggering $4.45 million , reflecting a 15% increase over the past three years. This financial toll underscores businesses' need to invest in robust cybersecurity measures and data protection. In response to breaches, 51% of organizations plan to increase their security investments. These investments encompass incident response (IR) planning and testing, employee training, and adopting advanced threat detection and response tools. These proactive measures are critical for mitigating the risk of future breaches and ensuring swift, effective responses when breaches occur. Additionally, businesses should consider partnering with data recovery and backup service providers like Agility Recovery . These services offer a lifeline in the event of a breach, enabling companies to swiftly recover critical data, minimize downtime, and continue serving their customers without disruption.

Conclusion

The recent data breaches at MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment serve as a chilling reminder of the escalating threat of business-related cybercrime. Protecting your business and your customers from the catastrophic consequences of data breaches is no longer a choice—it's an imperative. Proactive measures, including robust cybersecurity, employee training, and data recovery and backup services , are essential components of a comprehensive defense strategy. By taking these steps, businesses can fortify their resilience in the face of cyber threats, safeguard their customers' trust, and ensure their continued success in a digital world fraught with peril.

Imagine waking up one day to find your entire business paralyzed. Your sensitive data was stolen, and your hard-earned reputation is in ruins. Sounds like a nightmare, right? Unfortunately, this is a harsh reality many businesses face today.

Because technology drives our every move, cyberattacks have become a menacing force that can strike at any moment. The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center received 800,944 complaints in 2022 for a $10.3 Billion USD loss. According to Statista , 68% of organizations in the United States experienced a ransomware attack and paid the ransom. But let me tell you a secret – protecting your business in the digital realm goes beyond firewalls and antivirus software. You must ensure the continuity of your operations. This continuity will safeguard your assets and build trust with your customers.

Why Cybersecurity Is Crucial for Continuity Planning

Cybersecurity is a cornerstone for business continuity planning. It shields your business from the ever-looming dangers of the digital world. Hackers, cybercriminals, and malicious actors seek to exploit your systems' weaknesses. Without a strong cybersecurity strategy, your business becomes a sitting duck. You are vulnerable to data breaches, ransomware attacks, and other devastating cyber incidents. Focus on cybersecurity to safeguard your critical assets. This ensures the uninterrupted continuity of your operations. Investing in cybersecurity gives you resilience, trust, and peace of mind.

Cybersecurity Strategies for Business Continuity

To ensure business continuity, you must put in place effective cybersecurity strategies. The current threats call for proactive measures to protect your sensitive data. These measures will help maintain seamless operations.

Employee Awareness and Training

Educating your staff on best practices can reduce the risk of human errors that can lead to security breaches. These best practices include:

• – strong password management
• – detecting phishing attempts
• – multi-factor authentication

Vulnerability Assessments and Penetration Testing

Performing penetration testing and regular vulnerability assessments can identify weaknesses in your systems. By finding these weaknesses, you can patch them before malicious actors exploit them.

Defense-in-Depth Approach

You can strengthen your infrastructure by embracing a defense-in-depth approach. You can do this by having multi-layered security measures, such as:

• – firewalls
• – encryption
• – zero-trust architecture
• – intrusion detection systems

Incident Response Plan

You need to have a robust incident response plan in place. This plan ensures that your team can swiftly and effectively respond to a cyber incident. A quick response minimizes the damage and downtime. Update this plan regularly. New threats will emerge, and your organization's cybersecurity needs will evolve. An incident response plan should include these procedures:

• – Reporting a security incident.
• – Identifying the cause of an incident.
• – Recovery from an attack.
• – Identifying which data, systems, or applications were affected by the incident.

Train your team on how to put in place the plan in the event of a security incident. Using these cybersecurity strategies helps you fortify your business's resilience. This ensures that any disruptions caused by cyber threats are swiftly addressed. This allows you to continue serving your customers and maintaining business continuity.

Steps to Protect Your Business

Because cyber threats are constantly evolving, you must protect your business. Implementing effective cybersecurity measures can safeguard your sensitive data and ensure smooth operations. Here are two steps to protect your business from potential cyberattacks.

1. Focus on employee awareness and training

• – Educate your staff on best practices. These practices are creating strong passwords, using multi-factor authentication, and detecting phishing attempts.
• – Promote a culture of cybersecurity awareness. Ensure staff understand how to help maintain a secure environment.
• – Conduct regular training sessions. This keeps everyone updated on the latest cybersecurity threats and preventive measures.

2. Fortify your IT infrastructure

• – Use multi-layered security measures to create a strong defense against cyber threats. These measures include firewalls, encryption, and intrusion detection systems.
• – Invest in good antivirus software. Antivirus software is an essential tool to combat cyber-attacks. This tool scans your computer systems for malicious software. It then removes it before it can do any damage.
• – Use zero-trust architecture. A zero-trust architecture is a security approach that assumes that all users are malicious. Users must be constantly monitored. It uses access control, authentication, and encryption to restrict network access.
• – Set up a backup system. Back up your data regularly. If you have a ransomware attack or other data breach, you can restore files quickly instead of starting from scratch.
• – Perform regular pen testing and vulnerability assessments. These can identify and address any weaknesses in your systems.
• – Keep your software and systems up to date with the latest security updates and patches. This will help remove vulnerabilities from your systems.

With these steps, you can significantly reduce the risk of cyberattacks. This will protect your business from potential threats. Don't wait until it's too late — take action now to secure your business and ensure its continuity.

Costs of Cybersecurity

Many businesses may hesitate to put in cybersecurity measures. They are concerned about costs and resource allocation. But, the potential consequences of a cyberattack far outweigh the investment required to install effective cybersecurity measures. The financial costs of a data breach can be staggering. An IBM and the Ponemon Institute study found that the average cost of a breach in 2022 in the United States is $9.44 million. The global average is USD 4.35 million, a record high. The average cost per compromised record is $164, a seven-year high. These costs include data loss, legal fees, and regulatory fines. These costs do not include the disruption to your business operations and the loss of customer trust. According to Statista , businesses spend an average of 12% of their IT budgets on cybersecurity. This is an average, and several factors affect these numbers:

• – the size of your business and your IT budget
• – the industry you operate in
• – how much data you handle
• – the sensitivity of the data you handle

The average for small businesses is 8%, while large enterprises spend around 20%. Cybersecurity can be expensive if you are a small business with limited resources. But if you do not pay for cybersecurity upfront, you will pay for it later.

Conclusion

Cybersecurity is not a cost—it's an investment. It can be expensive, but it's also necessary for business survival today. A data breach's financial cost can devastate your bottom line. It also affects your reputation and trust with customers. If you want your company to survive, invest in cybersecurity today! Agility is here to help you.

Though rural bank and credit union branches typically serve comparatively smaller communities than their metropolitan counterparts, remote and rural communities tend to rely on their local brick-and-mortar branches much more than city dwellers – making prompt recovery from an interruption that much more critical for those locations.

Physical branch recovery innovations like mobile recovery branches , quick-ship equipment , and rapid data recovery allow a branch to quickly restore most critical operations with relative ease. Still, broadband limitations in rural areas continue to present challenges for branches dependent on satellite connectivity.

Old Challenges

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) establishes broadband minimum benchmark speeds for communications providers to ensure every community has adequate access to internet connectivity. Currently, the FCC standard is 25 megabits per second (Mbps) for downloading and 3 Mbps for uploading. Unfortunately, those speeds are far too slow to meet most small businesses’ needs. To address this issue, in July 2022, the FCC proposed increasing the benchmark to 100 Mbps for download and 20 Mbps for upload. This significant increase is still less than a professional office with at least 20 employees online would require for typical use, meaning many businesses and financial institutions in rural communities may still struggle to access the broadband connectivity they need to maintain critical operations.

How Connectivity Loss and Subpar Mbps Speeds Threaten Branch Resilience

• – Inability to access and execute incident response plans, impeding both physical and remote branch recovery
• – Compromises remote control and access capabilities
• – Increases vulnerability to cyberattacks
• – Inability to provide secured service to customers and members; loss of digital banking mechanisms, including ATMs

New Solutions

Technology has answered the call as the need for faster connectivity has increased. Smaller, more efficient satellites offer speeds up to 350 Mbps (and up to 40 Mbps latency) and are becoming increasingly accessible to businesses everywhere, including those in rural communities. Most impressive, though, is that some of these faster satellite solutions offer substantially easier setup and use. While traditional satellites require a certified technician and a lengthy on-site installation process, modern broadband recovery solutions can be shipped directly to a branch and set up in minutes without any previous experience or expertise required. These new portable solutions support faster recovery from connectivity interruptions and are more reliable and less vulnerable to severe weather and line-of-sight challenges.

Looking Ahead

Though the FCC’s proposed minimum benchmark speed has not been widely implemented yet, remote and rural communities can look forward to increased broadband speed availability soon. Roughly $42 billion in funding through the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will help states build new broadband networks in previously underserved, low-population areas. As businesses and financial institutions look forward to enhanced standard connectivity speeds and reliability, faster, easier-to-use branch recovery options are available now. Together, these advancements mean increased resilience for rural bank and credit union branches and sustainable access to critical community services for individuals in rural and remote parts of the country.

In a perfect world, you’ll never have to worry about what to do after a data breach. Unfortunately, cybercrime is too sophisticated and growing too fast to safely rest in that assumption.

The reality is that 52% of all businesses have experienced a disruptive event in the past five years. Cybercrime accounts for an increasingly significant portion of that disruption, and it’s always evolving. While it’s essential to have strong cybersecurity defenses, breaches can still happen, so you need an emergency response plan. Here’s what you should do after a data breach.

1. Contain the Breach

The first step to take when you discover a breach is to contain it. If you can stop it from spreading early, you’ll minimize the damage. Conversely, failure to contain it could result in massive losses. Alert your IT department or security response team immediately so they can get to work stopping it. That process should involve finding the breach’s source, looking for vulnerabilities to secure, and taking things offline to prevent it from spreading. Because many breaches come from insiders, you should restrict user accounts’ privileges until you learn more. As teams go through this process, it’s important to record everything. Save a copy of the breached system, avoid deleting any data, and write down what you find and do. These records will help you later.

2. Assess the Damage

Once you’re sure you’ve contained the breach, look through your systems to see what the incident affected. Remember to check everything – not just where you found the breach – because sometimes attacks are more extensive than they seem initially. Check system logs to see what files people or systems accessed around the time of the event. Looking through the records you kept during the first step can also help. As you discover what kinds of data or accounts the incident affected, consider the future damage it could cause. Learning the true extent of the data breach will help you know what else you should do. If you discover the attacker found employee email addresses or names, you’ll know phishing may be a bigger threat in the future. You can then alert everyone to stay on their toes and run more anti-phishing training.

3. Inform All Affected Parties

Next, it’s time to inform any employees, partners, or customers the breach might’ve affected. Part of good cybersecurity is teaching workers to report suspicious activity and respond to emergencies, but they must know about events to act. The quicker you can tell everyone, the faster they can take action to reduce the impact. Many legal regulations require businesses to notify users of data breaches. While these timelines aren’t always specific, it’s best to do that sooner rather than later. Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) says to alert them without undue delay , so communicating within a few days of the event is likely the best way to go. These alerts should include what happened, how it may affect the party in question, what you’re doing about it, and how they should respond. Some actions on their part, like changing passwords, may be necessary.

4. Test New Security Patches

As you investigate the breach, your IT or security team should be able to patch the vulnerability that led to the event. Rolling out these updates quickly is essential, but ensuring they work is equally critical. Once you have a fix in place, test it. Just as fire departments test fire hydrants against set standards , IT departments should test security patches to see if they hold up. Without these tests, you can’t be sure another attacker won’t breach your network the same way the last one did. Be sure to apply this across your whole organization, not just where the incident occurred. It’s also a good idea to make this penetration testing part of your regular business continuity plan . As your business grows, networks and security systems often become more integrated and interconnected, but with more complexity and connectivity also comes more attack surfaces you need to cover. Every time you change something about your IT environment, test it against the kind of attack that breached your systems the first time to ensure it doesn’t suffer the same fate.

5. Review and Improve

Finally, take this event as an opportunity to improve your security posture. After you’ve fixed the vulnerabilities, informed all parties, and settled any legal side effects, have a meeting to review the situation. Look over what happened, how everyone responded, and how those actions impacted the outcome. What worked well? What didn’t? You can use the answers to these questions to see where and how you can improve your data breach response in the future. Having a defined business continuity plan will lessen the overall cost and damage of a future emergency. Creating and refining such a plan requires understanding your strengths and weaknesses, which these reviews provide. Ideally, you’ll never suffer a data breach, but if you do, don’t let this real-world experience go to waste.

Data Breaches Don’t Have to Spell the End

Data breaches are an intimidating prospect and an increasingly likely scenario for many businesses. While these events can be damaging, they don’t have to be disastrous. Quick responses and proper planning will mitigate their impact. These steps will help you contain a breach, lessen the damage, and prevent future ones. If you can do that, you can ensure your business thrives despite these attacks.

Zac Amos is the Features Editor and a writer at ReHack, where he loves digging into business tech, cybersecurity, and anything else technology-related. You can find more of his work on Twitter or LinkedIn.