RECOVER

How might we restore services and learn from incidents to improve cybersecurity resilience?

Security incidents happen, but having multiple layers of backup and recovery ensures minimal disruption. IT-ESS (Enterprise Systems and Security) and IT-EA (Enterprise Applications) at USU have robust backup and recovery processes in place and are experts in restoring critical services efficiently.

While institutional data is backed up and recoverable, users are responsible for ensuring their personal data and applications are backed up.

For guidance on where different types of data should be stored, visit USU’s Data Storage Guidelines.

Best Practices

  • IT Enterprise teams maintain multiple backup layers to ensure data and services can be quickly restored.
  • IT teams routinely test backups to confirm they are functional and ready for use in case of an incident.
  • Users should back up personal data regularly using external drives or cloud services—institutional data should be stored in Box at USU.
  • Follow USU’s data classification and storage guidelines to ensure sensitive information is stored securely and compliantly.
  • If your system or data is impacted, contact your department IT support immediately.
  • Post-incident analysis is conducted to improve security posture and prevent similar incidents.
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Call To Action

Store institutional data in Box at USU to ensure secure, backed-up cloud storage.

Review USU’s Data Storage Guidelines to ensure you are storing different types of data appropriately.

Regularly back up your personal files and applications—IT does not back up personal data stored on local devices.

Work with your IT support team to restore affected devices or data if an incident impacts your work.

Follow recovery guidance provided by your IT support teams to prevent reinfection after an incident.

Document lessons learned from security incidents to strengthen future defenses.

Key Questions Answered

What happens if a critical system goes down?

Enterprise Systems Engineers and Database Administrators have multiple backup and failover solutions in place to restore services quickly.

Who is responsible for restoring impacted services or lost data after a security incident?

The IT-ESS, IT-EA, and IT-DBA teams handle enterprise systems and data recovery, while IT support assists with individual system restoration. Users are responsible for their personal data backups.

Where should I store university data to ensure it is backed up?

Institutional data should be stored in USU's Box instance. Visit USU’s Data Storage Guidelines for guidance on the appropriate storage locations based on data type and sensitivity.

Can I restore my own files or system after a security incident?

Work with IT Security and your department IT support to ensure a secure and complete recovery.

Available Tools & Resources

  • Backup & Disaster Recovery Solutions – Managed by the Enterprise Systems and Database teams for data integrity and rapid restoration.

  • Box at USU – USU’s secure cloud storage for institutional data.

  • USU Data Storage Guidelines – Guidance on where different types of data should be stored for security and compliance.

  • Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BC/DR) Plans – Frameworks to guide system and data recovery efforts.

  • Department IT Support and Service Desk – Contact for recovery assistance.

  • IT Security & Incident Response Team – Coordinates recovery and ensures security post-incident.