Ensuring Continuing Operations

and Disaster Recovery

By: Alyssa GatrellMike Harker

Amy Shumway

What are the Threats?

Natural disasters Power failures Hardware failures Theft of assets and data Hacking Virus infections Departure of key personnel or

disgruntled employees

What is Ensuring Continuing Operations?

Preventative measures to ensure that a system is not disrupted by potential threats. Uninterruptible power sources Storage measures Measures to protect from departure of key

personnel Measures to protect from disgruntled former

employees Physical security measures Virus protection Firewalls Encryption

What is a Virus?

A piece of self-replicating code

Kinds of Viruses

Boot Sector Viruses Macro Viruses

Identifying the Threat

Floppy disk brought in PC’s taken home or on business

(laptops) Increased use of e-mail Increased use of the Internet

Minimizing the Virus Threat

Regular backups of data Check all incoming software Write-protect floppy disks

whenever possible

Anti-Virus Tools

Floppies “Sheep-dip”

PC’s On-access scanners On-demand scanners Behavior blockers Heuristic analysis

Functions of a Firewall

Controller Filter Monitor Security guard Screener

How Firewalls Work Firewalls are like gatehouses in a

medieval castle that provide perimeter defenses to determine who or what will be allowed to enter

Castle

Gatehouses

Commons/Market Area

Inner Mote and Wall

Illustration taken from Disaster Recovery Journal Winter 1999

Outer wall

Types of Firewalls

Dual-Home Gateway Screened-Host Gateway Screened Subnet Dual-Homed Routers

Dual-Home Gateway

Internet Private Network

Bastion Host

Screened-Host Gateway

Internet Private Network

Bastion Host

Router

Screened SubnetInternet

Private Network

Router

RouterSub-network

Dual-Homed RoutersInternet

Private Network

Outside Router

Inside Router

Other Thoughts on Firewalls

Internal firewalls are as important as external firewalls

Not the answer to total protection Firewalls come in degrees of

protection and complexity. Companies should measure risk

with costs of implementation and maintenance

Encryption

Alters information into an unintelligible format to prevent unauthorized access

Can only be decrypted with specified digital key

Prevents against data theft as it is passed from one person to another

What is Disaster Recovery?

Measures taken before a disaster that can lead to a successful reimplementation of systems Backup regimen Redundant hardware Recovery facilities Backup phone lines

Process for Determining Backup Needs

Step 1: Location identification Step 2: Establish criticality of data Step 3: Select backup medium

Factors Quantity of data Speed of backing up Ease of recovery

Possible Mediums

Removable disks Second hard drive / PC Magnetic tape cartridges Optical disks Online services Storage area network (SAN)

Implementation Procedures

Scheduling intervals and time of day Verification Media stocks and rotation

Two sets Extra media

Source documentation Storage

Away from destructive force Off-site location

All Measures Should be Tested

Backup restoration Firewall penetration testing Intermittent checks of backup

power