Scenarios that actually happen
An employee leaves and takes access to a poorly shared account with them. A phone with 2FA gets lost. A forgotten password for an account used once a year. All seem unlikely until they happen.
What to prepare in advance
- A clear list of the company's critical accounts and who has access to them.
- Correctly configured recovery methods (backup email, saved recovery codes).
- An audit log showing who did what, useful exactly when something looks suspicious.
Not just passwords
Documents and digital certificates deserve the same care, a lost signing certificate with no backup can stop the invoicing process until it's reissued.
Bottom line
A recovery plan doesn't prevent incidents, but it cuts the time from "I have a problem" to "I've fixed it" from days to hours.