No matter how tight your controls, there still may be a breach of security. Additionally, there are disasters beyond your control, such as fires, floods, or even simple power outages. Therefore, you will need a plan to recover data when such a disaster strikes.

The first step in coming up with a recovery plan is to list possible risks that could threaten your system and then rank them in the order of likelihood.

For instance, those computers in flood-prone areas may place flood damage higher on their list than someone with a business in an area that is prone to summer wild fires. You will also want to rank these possibilities according to impact.

For instance, the impact of a power outage may have a higher impact on your business than that of a hurricane threat; therefore, a power outage would be a higher priority in your disaster recovery plan.

Once you’ve figured out your risks, you must determine your budget. Keep in mind that preventative costs are typically far less than the cost of a disaster, should it happen. A good place to begin is to understand the cost of downtime to the business. How long can your business afford to be without its computer systems should one of your threats occur? Disaster recovery budgets vary from company to company but they typically run between 2% and 8% of the overall IT budget.

The recovery procedure should be written in a detailed plan or “script” with specific duties assigned to each member of your business. The script will also outline priorities for the recovery.

Once your procedures are set, you should test it frequently. This will validate that everything will work and allow you to address shortcomings. You will also want to re-evaluate your plan yearly to make sure that your plan still meets your growing business needs.

Obviously, one of the best things you can do to alleviate the problems of disaster recovery is to make backups of important files and folders. Firstly, you will need to determine:

• What files to back up? These should be files that are not easy to recreate or reinstall.

• How often should the backups occur? In the best case scenario, this should happen daily.

• Where should you back them up to? For instance, you can back up your files to a CD, a removable disk drive, or even an Internet service. Many Internet services, such as Mozy will allow you to back up files for free. If you have a large amount of files, you can access their service for less than $5 per month. Therefore, for less than $60 a year, you can have your files secured.

If you decide to store your files on disks or drives, be sure that they are stored in a secure location not prone to the same threats as the primary computer.

Concerned about your company’s Internet security?