Recently, we received a call from a concerned customer who had lost access to the server where their CIMCO Software was installed. Compounding the issue, their backup environment was also lost in the same incident. In an era where cyber threats like crypto locker viruses are rampant, particularly targeting the aerospace industry — our most serviced vertical — these challenges are increasingly common and detrimental.
Managed Solutions Backup to the Rescue
Customer: “Do you have a backup of our configuration?”
Managed Solutions: “We should, let me see what I have.”
Managed Solutions: “Yes, we have a backup of your configuration. It’s a bit dated, but it should cover most everything.”
Customer: “Great! That will be really helpful!”
In such cases, the complexity and integration of many projects make it challenging to recreate everything from scratch. However, a robust backup configuration can significantly shorten the recovery time. As a standard practice, we store configurations of all our customers’ CIMCO Software systems. We often utilize these configurations offline to customize and enhance reporting and other capabilities further. Without this backup, the cost of system recreation and associated downtime could have escalated to tens of thousands of dollars for this customer, exacerbating an already difficult situation. With a simple configuration backup, the functionality of the CIMCO software can be swiftly restored.
CNC Configurations
CNC configuration parameters also fall under this umbrella. While more intricate, we are committed to including this in our projects or offering it as a separate service for those desiring added assurance.
General Recommendations
For optimal business continuity and data protection, we recommend the following best practices:
- Hybrid Data Storage: Store live data in a hybrid environment, combining local company server storage with cloud storage. This approach, featuring full encryption and two-factor authentication, offers enhanced security. According to a 2022 survey, 58% of IT decision-makers were using a hybrid cloud strategy, up from 51% in the previous year.
- Offline Backups: Maintain offline backup media that are not accessible via your network environment. Historically, solutions like DAT tape drives were invaluable for data archiving, despite their limitations.
- Comprehensive Backup Procedures: Implement rigorous backup procedures for data files, databases, etc. Studies show that 29% of data loss incidents are due to human error, highlighting the need for reliable backup processes.
- VM and Server Snapshots: Keep snapshots and backups of VMs and full servers in the offline backup. High-profile incidents, like the Rackspace Crypto-Locker attack on their Exchange hosting environment, underscore the importance of such measures even for large companies.
Consultation on Data Integrity and Business Continuity
We urge all CIMCO software users to ensure robust backups of all mission-critical platforms and CNC machine parameters. If you’re uncertain about how to begin, we’re here to help. It is a widely recognized fact in the industry that a significant majority of companies suffering from catastrophic data loss do not survive in the long term. This highlights the critical importance of ensuring data integrity and having a solid business continuity plan. Ensuring these measures are in place is not just a best practice; it’s a necessity in today’s digital landscape.
