Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity

What is disaster recovery?

Disaster recovery, particularly as it pertains to software systems, is a term used to describe the actions taken to regain access and functionality to an entity’s system or IT infrastructure once it has been jeopardized, often by malware, other system failures, or physical damage. In particular, when an organization is hit with ransomware, they may have very few options if they don’t have the proper disaster recovery measures in place. If your organization can’t pay, or won’t pay, the ransom, you may never be able to regain access to your files and documents.

The cost of a cyberattack

Organizations subjected to a cyberattack can be on the hook for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars, and the data loss caused by an intrusion can cause irreparable damage to the company’s operations, reputation, and organizational morale. Due to the increasing sophistication of these attacks, some studies suggest global cybercrime will amount to trillions of dollars annually by the year 2025. Small to large enterprises are prone to an attack if they don’t introduce advanced security measures.

Cloud systems and cybersecurity

Well managed Cloud infrastructure is generally more difficult to access by criminals, especially those managed by big Cloud providers such as AWS, Azure, and Google. These providers have installed some of the most powerful technology for identifying and preventing unauthorized intrusion in their data centers, paired with operating software to minimize and mitigate the impact of any intrusion. For example, if ransomware software can’t get to your files, they have no teeth to demand a ransom.

EngineBox uses commercial-grade security, provided by AWS to ensure your companies files and documents are safe. The system also comes equipped with cloud syncing capabilities, allowing you to back up your company’s files to multiple servers. If the ransomware does get to your files, you can instantly shut down your systems and look to restoring your files and applications from your backups (which are typically maintained on totally different VPCs [Virtual Private Cloud], Amazon’s Cloud architecture).

If your company wants to use a more conservative configuration, you can make backups in multiple data centers. Getting back up and going from backups takes some time and energy, but nothing like negotiating over encryption keys that may or may not ultimately release your files from ransom.

Disaster recovery and business continuity systems

eQuorum provides two solutions for organizations looking to maintain and backup files in the Cloud – ImageSite, a private Cloud option with a single organization per VPC; and EngineBox, a Cloud SaaS option with multiple organizations per VPC. EngineBox, as a multi-tenant SaaS offers pricing by subscription, reducing overall system costs and capital expenditure layouts.

Both options run on the AWS platform with its industry-leading security and intrusion protection. (For government contractors and vendors, eQuorum even provides an AWS govCloud option.) AWS, and other Cloud providers, are in the business of protecting their customer’s systems and data and spend considerable money on keeping their operations ahead of the cybercriminals.

How does it work?

eQuorum also backs up all customer files daily to a different VPC. (An option to backup to a different AWS Availability Zone [different datacenter] is available.) So even if your operating files get attacked and encrypted (the way ransomware keeps you from using your files), the organization can delete the encrypted files and restore the non-encrypted backups. (eQuorum, through AWS, scans all files for malware and viruses prior to making a backup.)

Not having a Business Continuity plan leaves your organization vulnerable to disasters like ransomware attacks and other acts of God. Though these plans may seem unlikely to be needed, they are necessary insurance, especially when your customers may be impacted. Using Cloud-based systems like EngineBox with sophisticated protections and robust backups provides the type of comfort companies need and should be included in your Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Plan.

Additional security via access control

In addition to ransomware and virus detection, EngineBox provides access control functionality that prevents unauthorized users from gaining access to sensitive company IP. The software provides password protection, IP address whitelisting, and time and location-based access controls, and even comes equipped with the option of including multi-factor authentication (MFA) in their authentication protocols.

Once a user has entered the system, they can only view the files and documents they are permissioned to access. ImageSite and EngineBox allow admins to create comprehensive security profiles, restricting access to files and documents at the global, project, user, file, or file metadata level. Admins can also control the user's functionality including the download and revision capabilities of a specific user.

Additional EDMS Features