Page 40 - The Insurance Times March 2025

Case Study

IT Disaster Recovery - Restoring Data after

Cyberattacks

Executive Summary halted for over 48 hours, leading to financial losses and
customer dissatisfaction.
In an era where cyber threats are escalating, businesses
must implement robust IT disaster recovery (ITDR) strate- 3. Security Vulnerabilities: The attack exploited outdated
gies to mitigate the impact of cyberattacks. This case study software and weak endpoint protection.
examines a mid-sized financial services firm that fell victim 4. Lack of a Disaster Recovery Plan: The organization
to a ransomware attack, leading to critical data loss, op- had incomplete backup systems and lacked an auto-
erational disruptions, and reputational damage. The firm mated recovery process.
adopted a comprehensive IT disaster recovery approach, 5. Regulatory Compliance Risks: Data loss and system
integrating real-time backups, cloud-based solutions, and a downtime posed regulatory and compliance challenges.
robust incident response framework. This study explores the
key challenges faced, the recovery strategies implemented, Definition of Key Terms
the results achieved, and the broader implications for
organizations aiming to enhance their cyber resilience. 1. IT Disaster Recovery (ITDR): The process of restoring
IT systems, applications, and data following a
By understanding the recovery framework and best prac-
tices, businesses can better prepare for and mitigate IT di- cyberattack, hardware failure, or natural disaster.
sasters. 2. Ransomware Attack: A type of cyberattack where ma-
licious software encrypts files, demanding a ransom for
Introduction decryption.

With the increasing sophistication of cyber threats, IT disas- 3. Business Continuity Plan (BCP): A strategy outlining
ter recovery has become an essential component of busi- how an organization can continue operations during
ness continuity planning. Cyberattacks such as ransomware, and after a disaster.
phishing, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks 4. Cloud Backup: The practice of storing copies of data
have the potential to cripple an organization by causing sig-
in cloud-based storage solutions for redundancy.
nificant data loss, financial loss, and reputational damage.
The primary objective of IT disaster recovery is to restore 5. Incident Response Plan: A structured approach to han-
data, applications, and IT systems in the shortest possible dling and mitigating security breaches and cyber inci-
time to minimize disruptions. This case study explores a real- dents.
world scenario where a financial services company faced a
ransomware attack that encrypted its critical data. The The Problem: Challenges Faced by the
study details the challenges encountered, the recovery strat- Client
egies employed, and the long-term security enhancements The financial services firm became a target of a
made post-recovery.
ransomware attack through a phishing email that an em-
Major Problems Identified ployee mistakenly opened. The attack:
Encrypted over 90% of critical business data, includ-
The financial services firm encountered the following criti-
cal issues during the cyberattack: ing customer records and financial transactions.
1. Data Encryption & Loss: A ransomware attack en- Shut down internal servers, disabling online transactions
crypted critical customer and financial records, making and communication channels.
them inaccessible. Created a compliance risk as data security regulations
2. Operational Downtime: Business operations were required timely reporting and mitigation.

36 March 2025 The Insurance Times