Introduction
According to Matt Davies Stockton, data loss comes out of nowhere and in all shapes and sizes. From an account that got accidentally deleted to a server failure that wipes out a critically important database. Let’s figure out if your business is at risk of losing data and how you can fight against it.
The Details
- Human error – Most people assume that data loss is primarily caused by cyber criminals. While cybercrime and its risks have increased over the years, human error is still one of the greatest causes of data loss. A lot of data is lost due to the simplest human error of deleting something, typing the wrong button, or sending the wrong command. While businesses may hedge against technical errors and other technology-related causes of data loss, hedging against human error is quite difficult.
Even the most knowledgeable and experienced system administrator may make a mistake in a moment of distraction. Data loss doesn’t even need to happen due to complex actions by people high in the hierarchy. Just think about how many times you’ve lost a USB drive. If the data inside the USB drive isn’t backed up, it’s gone for good.
- Software bugs – Software bugs are another reason for data loss. Even the most reputed enterprise software may have bugs. If it’s something benign, your system may take a performance hit and slow down for a while till you revert to the older version. However, if the bug causes data corruption, overwrites existing data, or simply deletes files, you’re going to be in a lot of trouble without a backup.
- Online crime and natural disasters – Ransomware has been on the rise for many years. Moreover, they aren’t even diligent anymore. Even if you pay the ransom, they may not honor the deal. Instead, they might sell your data to competitors for more money. Apart from that, natural disasters may also cause data loss. Fires, floods, earthquakes, lightning storms, and other such events may damage your hard drives and make the data stored on those devices unrecoverable.
- Backup strategy – While there are several more ways your business may lose essential data, a simple and efficient backup strategy can help you make a turnaround in the worst possible condition. Adopt modern disaster recovery plans and implement a 3-2-1 backup strategy. That means there should be at least 3 copies of data on at least 2 different mediums with at least one of them being offsite.
You can easily and inexpensively achieve this backup strategy with the combination of a cloud backup service based in a different geolocation and a local backup strategy. This ensures data recovery even if your business is hit with a severe natural disaster.
Conclusion
Matt Davies Stockton suggests that you assess your business for risks of data loss and take precautions against it. Use the 3-2-1 backup strategy so that you can recover critical data even if something goes wrong. Make sure you have enough backups both onsite and offsite.
