Nearly one third of credit unions have had to use their Disaster Recovery Plans
Occasionally we are reminded of the value of having a Disaster Recovery Plan. In fact, a survey by NAFCU recently found that 32.1% of credit unions responding had to put their disaster recovery plans into action. Sometimes it is due to some heavy storms that hit an area (see our blog from last month, "When Disaster Happens: One Small Credit Union Tells All"), while other times it is due to human error. Whatever the case, a DRP is required for compliance, and a good DRP is encouraged for security.
Today we are sharing some words of wisdom from fellow bloggers at enCompass Group, an IT Support company for credit unions. In their blog from a few months back, "5 Reasons a Foot of Snow can Bury a Credit Union," they presented 5 possible issues you may encounter in the face of a disaster... and enforces why having a Disaster Recovery Plan in place is a requirement:
- Connectivity: It sounds like a no-brainer, but connectivity services to your locations and your core can be compromised during adverse weather conditions. Even something as seemingly easy to address as a bad port at your ISP can cause significant problems for your organization. Do you have a back up connection at your site? Has it been tested lately?
- VPN Access: If your disaster recovery backup is in the cloud, you have a leg up on others. If you have not allocated the correct number of virtual workstations for essential employees, with the correct access to critical systems, you have issues. Have you tested your VPN lately? Is it working correctly? Do you remember your password?
- Network Configuration Backups: When was the last time you backed up your network configuration? If that question gave you an uneasy feeling, you need to backup the most critical pieces of your infrastructure now.
- Essential Personnel: Who should be in the office when a disaster strikes? Core personnel are vital to ensure tasks/processes continue even when business is "closed." If you don't have a plan in place on who is on duty when disaster strikes, now is the time to make one. Step 1 is easy: make a contact sheet of phone numbers for critical systems support, including your IT vendors, such as your credit union core processor.
- UPS: Not the delivery company. Uninterruptable Power Supply. Do you have a policy in place for when to use the generator? Does your generator work? What workstations and systems need to run when you are on generator power? Are those systems plugged in correctly?
Trust in Your Credit Union's Vendors
One of your core systems to ensure is disaster proof is just that: your credit union core technology. Taking the due diligence in choosing vendors for your credit union core and IT systems that are capable of handling disasters, and that you can trust, will pay off when issues arise. Read our client testimonial, that shares the story of how FLEX's product set assisted a small credit union in not only disaster preparedness, but in recovery when a catastrophe struck.
