Humans generate 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day.¹ A lot of that information is tied up in videos and photos, but there is also a significant amount of critical business data being generated as well. As a business operator, it is important to recognize the value of that information within your organization if you are to continue operating uninterrupted. Unfortunately, failing to keep up with the ever-changing cyber security risks could cause an event that wipes your data in the blink of an eye. In fact, ransomware has more than doubled in frequency since last year, accounting for 10% of verified breaches.²

Not only are ransomware attacks becoming more prevalent, but they are becoming more “effective” in their tactics by wiping out backups, exfiltrating data, and just generally working to make your life miserable. Therefore, we believe a layered approach to your cyber security is critical, please continue reading to learn more about best practices for data protection and backup.

Companies lose data in many ways, and while we’ve opened this article talking about ransomware, the reality is that most data loss incidents occur because of equipment failures, theft, disgruntled employees, and human error. Whatever the reason may be, data backup can provide the relief you need by helping restore data on your devices should an incident occur.

Protecting your business information should be priority #1 for your IT team and implementing a robust backup and disaster recovery plan is a critical component to this initiative. Unfortunately, some businesses have put off implementing these kinds of backups because they believe one or more of these myths:

Backup Myths Debunked

Myth #1: Data Backup Is Too Expensive

There’s no doubt that you’ll have to invest in protecting your data – you’ll need some software, some hardware, and some expertise.  When you start searching, you’ll find a wide range of pricing models in the market and it’s important to recognize the differences between those solutions.  For me, I never look to save money on security solutions… I’d never buy the cheapest parachute on the market, so why would I look at the cheapest data backup solution.

And while the best solutions might cost more you need to consider the cost of not having those backup systems when you need them. Data loss can have a cascading effect, resulting in downtime, productivity loss, revenue disruptions, regulatory fines, and reputational damage. The total cost of these setbacks is typically higher than the cost of a backup solution.

Myth #2: Having One Copy of Your Data Backed Up Is All You Need

You need to have more than one data backup copy, on more than one medium, in more than one place for the highest level of protection. In our business, we also ensure that we have two different types of backups run by different software packages. This helps us to ensure these copies are indeed unique and “air-gapped” from each other. Within the industry, we call it the 3-2-1 strategy.

• Three copies of data: Having at least two additional copies of your data, in addition to your original data, is ideal. In our example above, we mentioned having two different backup solutions to achieve this.
• Two different mediums: Keep two copies of your data on different types of storage medium such as a local NAS device and a cloud storage service.  At least one of those solutions must be considered “air gapped” – meaning that it is separated from the local network access.
• One off-site copy: One of your copies must be off-site.  For this to “count,” it should happen automatically and provide activity reports to your key staff.  Unfortunately, we see far too many businesses that still rely on a manual copy to a USB drive to be carried off-site by an employee.

Myth #3: Set It And Forget It

Almost every new client we take on has a gap in their backup selections because they haven’t been revisited in the last quarter or more. If you’ve hired new staff, changed software packages, or adopted new cloud solutions your backup strategy needs to be updated to match. 

We also find that the large majority of businesses don’t receive automatic status reports telling them the success ratio of their backups, in one case we found that the previous IT company had not provided a successful backup in three years due to an administrative password change. If no one is watching these reports, this kind of mistake will go unnoticed and that’s why a proactive Managed IT Services provider will dedicate a portion of their technician’s time to reviewing these reports and remediating problems on an ongoing basis.

Myth #4: Data Backup and Disaster Recovery Are the Same

This misunderstanding stems from the fact that many people do not understand the difference between data backup and disaster recovery. Even though they are both vital components of business continuity, they are not the same.

While data backup is the act of backing up critical data, disaster recovery is the act of recovering those backups. Another distinction is that while data backup is defined by the recovery point objective (RPO), which is the amount of data that must be restored to keep operations running, disaster recovery is defined by the recovery time objective (RTO), which considers the time it takes to recover.

Tier 3 I.T. Is Your Partner for Success

Trying to safeguard your organization against data loss on your own can be overwhelming. Fortunately, we’ve got you covered.

Tier 3 I.T. Solutions can make it easier for you to implement a long-term security and data backup strategy that also meets IT and endpoint device security and data protection requirements – especially considering new, growing cyberthreats that target vulnerabilities you may have overlooked. Contact us today for a free consultation.

Sources:

1. Techjury.net
2. Verizon 2021 DBIR

About Tier 3 I.T. Solutions

Tier 3 I.T. provide development, procurement, implementation of technology solutions for businesses that require scalable, high-security solutions. Our monitoring and development allow you to grow your business with the knowledge that your data and infrastructural needs are fully covered.