ransomware attack recently crippled a temporary national data center (PDN) and left integrated public services paralyzed. Among the approximately 200 impacted agencies was the immigration service.
The latest incident, as well as the numerous cyberattacks and data breaches predating it, only reveals the apparent lack of a well-communicated, robust crisis mitigation strategy in the government.
The event underscores yet again that in the digital era, it is crucial to have an incident response plan (IRP), a disaster recovery plan (DRP) and a business continuity plan (BCP). These three elements are interconnected and essential to ensure that institutions can withstand and recover from cyberattacks.
The first step when a cyber incident occurs is to implement the IRP. This ensures that organizations have structured procedures to quickly detect, analyze and respond to incidents. The steps in an IRP include incident identification and analysis, impact control, recovery and post-incident evaluation. A well-developed and communicated IRP can reduce organizational losses and speed up cyberattack recovery.
A DRP focuses on operational recovery after major disruptive incidents like ransomware attacks, and includes data and information technology (IT) system recovery, shifting operations to backup locations as well as steps to ensure continuity of critical services.
An effective DRP allows organizations to resume operations for the shortly after an incident, thereby mitigating negative impacts on operations and reputation. After completing the DRP steps, it is expected that the affected company or organization can resume operations at minimum or standard operational status in an emergency.
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Meanwhile, a BCP is intended for the long term, and includes strategies to maintain business continuity following an incident. A comprehensive BCP includes stakeholder communication, resource management and operational strategies. With a good BCP, organizations can maintain their previous level of operations following a significant disruption.
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