The fire at Europe’s largest data center, OVH, in Strasbourg on March 10, 2021, made us all aware that even the cloud has its availability limits.
Natural disasters, fires or human error can never be completely prevented, but it is possible to take appropriate measures in time that can prevent a complete loss of data as suffered by some customers of the provider of the French cloud provider OVH. First, a brief review for a current occasion.
Our aim is to inform our customers and to suggest solutions on how to approach the topic of data security in general and in particular when outsourcing to a cloud provider.
We recommend that every company take a close look at this issue, because the consequences can be painful and an investment in information security saved at one end can be expensive at the other. It is therefore worth taking a closer look at some points in good time.
How can you answer the question of an effectively implemented risk management system for yourself? Do you have one established in the company? Is it known which information and IT systems could cause the greatest damage to the company in the event of a loss of confidentiality, integrity or availability? How much damage can the company take?
If you do not yet have any or only insufficient answers to these questions, we strongly recommend that you work on these issues as part of a Business Impact Analysis (BIA). This creates the basis for a backup and restore strategy tailored to your company’s needs and allows you to take care of the design of the technical and organizational measures in the next step.
Regardless, it is recommended to ALWAYS have a data backup in a different location than just on a cloud server. A different location also means that the data is not located in the room/house next door, but there is a geographical separation between the servers used. This should apply at least to the company’s most critical data.
With the CRISAM® risk management software, the relevant risk assessment questions are already stored in the system. The advantage is that with CRISAM® you have an integrated risk management system that combines different disciplines and methods and you can check against the state of the art. This makes it easier for users to control the process and, above all, to evaluate and aggregate risks.
Do you need advice or have questions about this topic? We are here for you with pleasure!
Sources:
Markus Müller has successfully built up risk and compliance management projects internationally and in practically all industries over the last 12 years. Starting as a consultant and today managing director of one of the leading software manufacturers(CALPANA business consulting GmbH) for Integrated Risk Management solutions(CRISAM®), Markus Müller is familiar with every problem that an organization may encounter when implementing an ISMS.
