Are you late for the data backup party? Still using the old 3-2-1 strategy? Cyberthreats are becoming more common, severe, and sophisticated, while remediation costs are surpassing cybersecurity insurance payments.
Start worrying immediately if your backup plan is out of date, since protected data is directly related to business outcomes. You want to maintain your data clean, available, and recoverable. The new backup must-have is “immutable backups.” Immutability is a security feature that prevents data loss due to cyberattacks, accidental deletions, viruses, and so on.
Is your data safe from the approaching cyberattack?
Begin Fresh with Clean Data
Risk mitigation is crucial for business continuity, and restoring data and operations after an attack is the key to business stability. ChatGPT, a new threat, could become a significant aggressor. Companies must invest in comprehensive security measures, including integrated data backup and disaster recovery solutions. Data is a valuable commodity, and while larger organizations are more susceptible to data loss due to their massive databases, smaller companies are not immune.
Over half of SMBs fell victim to a cyberattack, emphasizing the need for a multi-layered cybersecurity and data protection strategy. Data loss can result from ransomware attacks or natural disasters, and recovery can be costly, time-consuming, and seemingly impossible. Data backups remain essential for recovery, and all organizations are vulnerable to attack. To develop and implement incident response and data backup recovery strategies, consider the following best practices:
Objectively Review Existing Legacy Systems
Before your organization begins creating a backup and recovery strategy (or using the 3-2-1 method), objectively review existing legacy systems. Identify gaps in your organization’s systems, workloads, data storage, and applications within your digital environment. Consider moving less sensitive data offsite and to the cloud – this is often the first logical step for many organizations to begin the journey to the cloud.
Leveraging existing on-premise solutions and cloud-based alternatives provides businesses with a platform that enables growth and scalability, setting your backup strategy for success from the beginning.
Ask questions to determine if your current infrastructure and backup programs still offer the protection you need:
- Where are opportunities for data corruption?
- How are we controlling access to data backups?
- Where can we streamline processes for cost efficiencies?
- What is our risk profile?
- How do we distinguish critical from non-critical data?
- What is our current data retention policy?
2.Use a 3-2-1-1-0 Data Backup Strategy
Having a data backup strategy is fundamental to a comprehensive business continuity plan. Relying upon a single data backup source is insufficient for protecting your data from deletion, disaster, and corruption. Using a 3-2-1-1-0 can help protect company assets using diversified backup methods.
- Keep 3 copies of data: retain the original data copy along with at least two backups in case one or more get lost.
- Use 2 different storage types: diversifying storage devices can help protect a company in the event of data failure. For example, if data is stored on an internal hard drive, use a secondary device such as an external drive or cloud source.
- Keep 1 copy of data offsite: retaining two or more copies at the same location can be disastrous in the event of a natural disaster. Storing one copy offsite is a reliable protection strategy.
- The 3-2-1-1-0 backup strategy ensures multiple copies of data are backed up and retained in the event of a natural disaster or other unexpected occurrences.
3. Perform Regular Tests of Backups and Recovery
Organizations should regularly perform backup tests to protect against potential data losses, but more is needed depending on the size of the organization. Regular testing helps identify deficiencies and make necessary changes, allowing for corrections in case of corruption or hacking. Frequent changes to data, such as new applications or software, should be tested more frequently. Disaster recovery strategies should also be revisited and adjusted as needed in case of emergencies or unexpected events.
4. Document Policies and Procedures
Data backup policies are crucial strategies for businesses to ensure recovery in case of disasters. They involve copying and backing up business applications to prevent financial loss and potential shutdowns. Companies should have updated backup policies and standardized action plans due to the increasing risk of cyber threats. Mission-critical data should be backed up during off-hours, stored offsite, and encrypted if necessary. Trusting only selected individuals with critical data and working with reputable vendors is essential for ensuring the security and accessibility of business data assets.
Benefits of Backup and Recovery
Backup and recovery are key components of any data management strategy, and they provide various benefits:
Data Protection
Backup and recovery safeguard your data from a variety of threats, including hardware failures, software mistakes, human error, cyberattacks, natural catastrophes, and other unexpected occurrences. Backups allow you to restore your data to its prior condition if it is corrupted, lost, or hacked.
Business Continuity
Backup and recovery solutions enable organizations to preserve continuity by reducing downtime in the event of a disaster or system breakdown. This is critical for businesses that rely largely on their data and systems to function properly.
Compliance and Legal Requirements
Many sectors have stringent standards governing data preservation and protection. Implementing backup and recovery solutions enables businesses to comply with these rules and avoid legal ramifications.
Risk Mitigation
Having backup copies of data lessens the likelihood of data loss and the possible negative impact on corporate operations. It serves as a safety net against unforeseen incidents that may otherwise cause substantial disruptions.
Cost Savings
While investing in backup and recovery solutions has some upfront expenses, it may save businesses money in the long term. The cost of downtime, data recovery, and possible income loss is significantly more than the investment in backup systems.
Improved Data Management
Implementing backup and recovery methods frequently entails evaluating data storage and organizational practices. This can lead to better overall data management, such as increased data asset organization, classification, and documentation.
Enhanced Security
Backup and recovery solutions help to improve overall cybersecurity by offering a way to recover from ransomware attacks, data breaches, and other security disasters. Having backups decreases attackers’ leverage when seeking ransom payments.
Peace of Mind
Business owners, IT managers, and stakeholders may rest assured that essential data is securely backed up and can be promptly recovered in the event of an emergency. It reduces the stress and uncertainty that come with potential data loss scenarios.
Conclusion
To summarize, preserving your data with current solutions such as immutable backups is critical in today’s cyber-threat world. Implementing a thorough backup and recovery strategy, following best practices, and routinely testing backups are critical steps toward risk mitigation and business continuity. Organizations that prioritize data protection can traverse the growing threat landscape with confidence, resilience, and peace of mind.
