Cybersecurity Lessons from Hurricane Helene: Business Continuity in Action
One year ago, Hurricane Helene tore through communities across North Carolina and beyond. For many, the storm was measured in downed power lines, flooded streets, and weeks of rebuilding homes and lives. But for businesses and organizations, Helene was also a test of something less visible but just as critical: business continuity and cybersecurity resilience.
Natural disasters are not just physical. They cascade into digital disruptions, leaving organizations vulnerable to downtime, data loss, and cyberattacks. The anniversary of Helene offers a valuable moment to reflect: what did the storm teach us about keeping systems running, protecting data, and preparing people for the unexpected?
1. Power and Connectivity Losses Mean Business Downtime
In many regions, power and internet were out for days. For organizations that had not planned for prolonged outages, operations ground to a halt. Retailers could not process transactions, hospitals struggled with electronic records, and universities paused online services.
Lesson: Backups are not just about data. Businesses need redundant internet connections (cellular failover, satellite links) and reliable backup power (generators, UPS systems, battery reserves). Continuity depends on keeping the lights and the Wi-Fi on.
2. Cloud Resilience With Local Access in Mind
Organizations running cloud-based services generally fared better than those depending on on-prem servers vulnerable to water damage or local power failures. But there was a catch: if employees had no way to reach those cloud systems, the resilience did not matter.
Lesson: Cloud is powerful, but it is not a silver bullet. The best models are hybrid, combining cloud-based systems with local fallback options. For example, having read-only backups of critical data available offline can keep teams moving even without full connectivity.
3. Communication Channels Are a Lifeline
After Helene, some organizations scrambled just to reach their people. Email servers were down, phone trees broke, and employees turned to personal apps to stay informed. In a disaster, uncertainty spreads faster than water.
Lesson: Businesses need multiple communication channels such as SMS alerts, Slack or Teams, emergency hotlines, or even printed instructions. Clarity and redundancy prevent chaos. Continuity is not just about data; it is about keeping people connected.
4. Disaster Recovery Meets Incident Response
While organizations worked to restore operations, cybercriminals saw opportunity. Phishing emails exploiting “disaster relief updates” and fraudulent donation requests surged. Some businesses faced two crises at once: physical disruption and digital deception.
Lesson: Disaster recovery and incident response must run in parallel. Natural disasters are magnets for social engineering attacks. Your IR plan should include monitoring for opportunistic cyber threats during and immediately after a crisis.
5. Practice Makes Resilience
A common theme after Helene was the gap between having a plan and being ready to execute it. Many organizations had business continuity binders gathering dust on a shelf. But when the storm hit, teams were not sure who was in charge, what to prioritize, or how to act.
Lesson: Plans are only as strong as the people trained to carry them out. Regular tabletop exercises, drills, and staff awareness training are as important as written documentation. Resilience is not paperwork; it is practice.
Turning Lessons Into Action
Hurricane Helene underscored a truth many in cybersecurity and IT already know: disasters rarely unfold in silos. A hurricane is not just a weather event; it is also a test of data availability, cyber defense, communication, and human readiness.
As we mark the one-year anniversary of Helene, the best way to honor the lessons learned is to act on them:
- Audit your backup power and connectivity options.
- Reevaluate your cloud vs. on-prem balance.
- Establish at least two independent communication channels.
- Update your incident response plan with disaster-specific contingencies.
- Schedule a tabletop exercise within the next 90 days.
Resilience is not about eliminating risk. It is about ensuring that when the storm comes, your organization can bend without breaking.
Takeaway: If you only do one thing this week, schedule a short continuity drill with your team. A one-hour exercise today could save you days of disruption when the next Helene arrives.