A data breach can shut down your company for a critical length of time, sometimes forever; it can certainly put your financial future at risk and, in some cases, it can even land you in jail. But none of that has to happen because, if you plan correctly, you and your company can recover and continue in business, sometimes within minutes. Ultimately, it all comes down to planning.

Last week, we discussed how to prepare for a data breach. Assuming you did that before your breach happened, your next steps are reasonably straightforward. But one of those preparedness steps was to create a plan and then test it. And, yes, that's going to take a significant amount of work.

The difference is that the advance planning done before any breach is intended to minimize the damage. After the breach, the plan needs to focus on the recovery process and dealing with aftermath issues, assuming there are any. Remember your overall goal, just as it was before the breach, is to minimize the impact the breach has on your company, your employees, and your customers.

To read the full article, head over to PCMag.